#but brb regretting all my life choices | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

miraculouscontent · 4 years ago

Text

Didn’t Need Burrow (April 24th-May 3rd)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is exposed to the world as Ladybug by the end of the series. This is largely so Adrien gets to bask in everyone knowing that HE ended up with Paris' protector on his arm, emphasizing her status as a trophy that he won.

This feels too likely, I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After being badgered into trusting her with the Fox, Marinette tries to convince Alya that she can't expose herself as Rena Rouge any further, and should take advantage of the Fox's long-range capabilities to stay hidden. Alya dismisses the danger; if she tries hiding at all, it doesn't take long to reveal herself, claiming it's unheroic to hide. Shadowmoth then targets her personally, with Marinette taking the blame.

I WOULD EXCUSE THE FOX THING IF IT STAYED LONG RANGE BUT I’M WAITING FOR THEM TO RUIN IT

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Rather than outing Ladybug, Alya reveals *herself* as Rena Rouge. She claims that this is fine since Hawkmoth already knows her secret identity... and besides, it gives the LadyBlog more cred!

Because why not I guess, the bar for her is already so low.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be forced to give up Guardianship/go through the memory wipe... but continue as Ladybug. This is mined for Sadrien AND resets LadyNoir; she no longer recalls all the annoying shit he's pulled, offering a fresh start. May lead into Reversed Rectangular Romance with Chat Noir pining after the old Ladybug while she develops a crush on her brooding partner. He's so ~dark~ and ~mysterious~ and gives her such ~wistful looks~!

Marinette gets to give up guardianship but at what cost. (also, that last line about Chat being dark and brooding)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a Shocking Twist, Emilie is revealed to have been evil and manipulative like Chloe/Lila, and presented as solely responsible for her husband's jerkassery. This sets up GabNath as endgame with Gabriel absolved for all his misdeeds. (Any similarities between Emilie and her son's behavior are summarily ignored.)

Because Adrien is male, obviously. He gets a pass.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A lot of Adrien's supposed childhood friendship with Chloe was actually with Zoe. Which is supposed to give the new character some instant connections and serves as another proof of Chloe being irredeemable. Bonus: Marinette finds out and whether or not she spills the beans, it will be something she'll get called out for.

So, either a retcon or Adrien comes off as even more of a liar in “Origins.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will tell Marinette outright that her responsibilities mean she's not allowed to be happy. This is used to garner sympathy for HIM - Isn't it sad how his duties have completely consumed his life? Clearly he needs help learning how to unwind and relax! Meanwhile Mari's drowning in the background, but this isn't about HER, now is it?

I’M SO SAD

WHYYY

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien discovers Gabriel's secret and hides the truth, forbidding Plagg from telling anyone. Not just to protect his father/family, but because he's not ready to stop being Chat Noir. No villains means no reason for heroes, and he doesn't even know his lady's secret identity yet--! Naturally, his reasoning is treated as totally understandable and sympathetic, even as he enables the conflict to continue indefinitely.

“CHAT BLANC” VERSION 2.0 I HATE IT DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Hawk/Shadowmoth starts aiming to *kill* the exposed/temp heroes in order to prevent them from potentially joining battles. This only happens during akuma fights (so that it falls upon Ladybug to 'set things right' with her powers). Chat Noir makes minimal (if any) effort to protect them, relying upon his 'partner' to carry the day instead and bring them back.

Ladybug: *trying to save everyone*

Chat Noir: *filing his claws in the background*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be pressured to make others permanent heroes and let them have their Miraculi full-time. This sets up for Hawkmoth to eventually get his hands on the Miracle Box, meaning any Miraculi that haven't been distributed are now in the villains' clutches. Not only does this dramatically cut down her pool of allies, Marinette gets to be guilt-stricken over failing all her duties and not listening to their demands while she had the chance.

Marinette, you’re such a fAilUrE as guardian!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe will turn out to be another love interest for Adrien - only it's as the New-Bee with *Chat Noir*, enabling the dreaded Reversed Romo-Rhombus dynamic with Ladybug becoming jealous of their chemistry.

girls are such jealous types, haven’t you guys heard? :)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug gets a new default look (for the sake of selling more ML merch in Real Life), trading the spotted onesie for another form-fitting spandex suit that 'highlights her feminine charms' even more. This is treated as a sign of her 'growing up'.

wow i hate it

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya shipping Marinette with both Adrien and Chat Noir after finding out her identity.

I am 100% not here for shipping shenanigans.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be responsible for leading Lila to suspect that Marinette and Ladybug are connected. Though Alya may actually *realize* that she slipped up, she won't warn Marinette about the potential security breach, not wanting her to get upset/any more paranoid than she already is.

And of course, this will be used to make people “sympathize” with her. See, she cAreS about Marinette’s feelings, how can you be mad at her for this??

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be more plots where Marinette's 'lesson of the week' is that she must learn how to better control and suppress her emotions, and that she is literally not ALLOWED to be upset because Hawk/Shadowmoth will win if she does. At the same time, Adrien is encouraged to marinate in his own unhappiness over Ladybug not giving in to his advances. If the danger involved ever comes up, it's presented as purely Ladybug/Marinette's fault for rejecting him.

I’m starting to think some of you are ZAG insiders because wow that sounds likely. DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: A recurring theme in episodes featuring the 'girl squad' will be Marinette meddling too much, as her efforts to help them cross boundaries THEY aren't comfortable with. If she dares to bring up their past insistence that friends don't keep secrets, they'll call her out as a hypocrite while refusing to acknowledge their own hypocrisies.

“Marinette’s boundaries? Who??? No, Marinette, what about THEIR boundaries???” - the writers

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien will feel sorry for Chloe and regret the role he played in her losing her Miraculous. This is mainly a vehicle to help explain why everything that went wrong with her/Queen Bee is totally, 100% Marinette/Ladybug's fault, along with showing how forgiving Adrien is and how he 'sees the best in everyone', and is clearly right to do so. Bonus: this is combined with him distrusting the NewBee for not being Chloe/making her jealous.

*sigh*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will get akumatized out of anger over the New Bee, and Ladybug is blamed for her insensitivity/forced to apologize to her.

I’m still stunned at the mental gymnastics they go through to make Marinette/Ladybug apologize to people.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will confirm the popular fan claim that Ladybug and Black Cat bearers are, in fact, soulmates/bound together by destiny. Chat Noir gleefully rubs this in Ladybug's face; her disbelief and horror is played entirely for laughs at her expense. Adrien's behavior escalates further afterwards, bolstered by the knowledge that it doesn't matter how shitty he gets, as she belongs to him regardless.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In addition to confirming the notion that Ladybugs and Black Cats are 'meant to be', it's revealed that other Miracli are destined soulmates, like Foxes and Turtles or Butterflies and Peacocks, and other random Miraculi pairings that 'coincidentally' align with various official ships.

brb, need to step away to scream on my porch

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: At least one episode will have Marinette mess up a potion, preventing her and the other heroes from enjoying its benefits during a big fight. This is blamed either on her anxiety causing her to overthink it or on her being a poor student, lamenting the fact that she didn't have more time with Master Fu. (Bonus if Su-Han takes advantage of this to slam Fu; extra bonus points if Mari defends him by insisting *she* was the one who screwed up, not her master.)

It’s like a main course of Marinette blame, oh my god.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will make various sexist comments about Marinette and the other heroines, implying that they were all poor choices Because Girl. Since nothing says 'Girl Power' like insisting they must prove themselves to doubtful men who will never fully accept them. After all, Marinette is the only one who ever learns lessons; therefore, Su-Han will never grow out of his 'old-fashioned views'.

And when the writers are called out, they’ll go, “bUt hE’s jUst oLd fAshiOned”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gets his Ring revoked by Su-Han for misbehavior. This is depicted as a terrible miscarriage of justice, and Marinette must convince Su-Han to return the Ring without learning who Chat Noir is. The more terrible the inciting act, the bigger the bonus points; did he skip another battle like Glaciator? Pull another Syren-level stunt? Cataclysm another innocent? Who cares? Sadrien is Sad, and that's the biggest crisis of all...

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien pulls another Syren-level stunt (or worse); rather than holding him responsible, Su-Han berates Marinette for her poor leadership and failure to keep him in line. Bonus if she confides/vents to Alya afterwards only for Alya to AGREE with Su-Han that she's failed at being a good partner to Chat Noir. Fever Mode activates if Alya implies Marinette's failure is due to her inability to admit her feelings for Chat Noir and/or confess to Adrien.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will pull an Adrien re: Lila, refusing to openly support Marinette against her. She'll claim that they need to 'gather evidence' first before exposing her to everyone. In practice, this means that Alya is willing to continue feigning ignorance, pretending that she's taken in by Lila's lies, while Marinette continues to suffer since she won't play along. Any evidence-gathering we see Alya engaging in is minimal, if she's shown doing it at all.

This is 150% one of the most accurate Alya-Lila confrontations I’ve seen from these predictions.

I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: When confronting Lila, Alya will insist that 'Ladybug told me herself' that they aren't friends. Lila attempts to convince her that Ladybug is lying to try and protect her; this either works or spurs Alya to declare that LB 'hates liars', making her suspicious of Marinette's potential connections to the superheroine.

Alya

Alya why

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will only treat Marinette with anything approaching a veneer of respect while she's Ladybug. (As in 'Transformed/wearing the spotted suit/actively superheroing'.) Her behavior towards her 'regular BFF', meanwhile, will continue to degrade.

and, as a alternative:

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Having learned that Marinette = Ladybug, Alya shows less and less respect towards the superheroine. (Not that she displayed much in the first place, but you know what they say: familiarity breeds contempt. And Alya's convinced that she knows her SO WELL, despite all signs to the contrary...)

Thanks. Hate them both. T_T

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will end up outing Ladybug in a moment of anger. Though this is treated as impulsive and spur-of-the-moment, the act itself hints otherwise. (For example, she posts it on the LadyBlog; that post had to be *written up* first, and she likely had to think about what evidence she'd use to back up her claim... Not to mention if she includes pictures or video. Showing that Alya thought about it well before her 'tipping point', no matter how she claims otherwise.)

okay but you missed the part where Marinette is blamed for it--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Tikki's comments about kwamis not understanding love are foreshadowing that they will later claim that Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship has shown them what true love is. Because none of the other relationships they've ever seen or experienced in their long, looooooong history compare to the Four-Cornered F**kery.

Tikki sure knew a lot about love when she commented on all of Marinette’s love issues.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Kagami will come to regret 'impulsively' breaking up with Adrien for being a lying jerkface, while Luka moves on and finds happiness with somebody else with relative ease. Because guys are allowed to move on with their lives while girls have to wallow in the miserable mires of wish-you-were-(still)-mine. Woes--!

no but see Adrien is “worthy” of love while Marinette isn’t

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is either responsible for the secret Juleka's keeping (such as trusting her with a Miraculous) or inadvertently sets Rose on its scent in the first place, making her *supposedly* responsible for the strife which follows.

We already know that it’s not Juleka’s secret at least but Marinette could absolutely still set Rose off.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be taught techniques/given a power-up that shuts off her emotions completely, or simply reaches the point where she figures out how to do so on her own. This is ultimately shown to be a bad thing/another mistake not because of the toll it takes on her psyche, but because the fully repressed Marinette/Ladybug no longer has any interest whatsoever in Adrien, and *we can't have THAT!*

Us getting to see Marinette not crushing on Adrien... but at what cost?

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya posts more embarrassing content on the LadyBlog, making it look like Ladybug keeps screwing up/making mistakes. Marinette asks her to stop, worried that she's undermining people's faith in her; Alya blows off her concerns and accuses her of getting a swelled head/becoming a 'control freak' about her image, insisting it's no big deal if people see she's human while refusing to treat her as such. (Meanwhile none of Chat Noir's mistakes/misbehavior make it onto the blog.)

“Bonus” if Alya gets particularly huffy because it’s jOunrAliSm and she’d be bIAsEd if she took down something that made her fRiEnD uNComOFTablE.

elflynns-horde-of-stuff said:

Don't need a burrow: The upcoming episode "Guiltrip" is gonna be 50% Sadrien. And we won't even get any new developments on his character for it.

so the usual

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that Ladybug holders are 'natural good luck charms' for everybody around them, but are punished by karmic backlash for even the *slightest* hint of selfishness (or self-consideration). Hence Marinette's whole plight, which is still presented as her fault for not being able to reach an impossibly perfect ideal. (Anything we learn about Black Cat holders, meanwhile, is purely for Agrestangst and has no bearing on anything observable within the show itself.)

Honestly, with the bad luck Marinette had in “Origins,” you’d think she’d be meant for the cat and been taught about the values of destruction and just being able to Go Off on people, or how to spin her bad luck into something good (or the black cat miraculous in general helps her channel her bad luck, such as making her Cataclysm stronger or being able to give her bad luck to others).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show ends with Marinette and Adrien getting together, with Marinette declaring that everything she went through was worth it and that she's 'incredibly lucky' -- that the fact fate brought them together is 'nothing short of Miraculous!'

The sheer level at which I just cringed in immeasurable.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A S5 episode will drop before S4 is finished.

Oh! Ahaha, we’ve got a wavelength, anon! I actually already added that one at some point.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: The series will not really make Rose/Juleka canon. They will imply it but the official language used in the episode will be "best friends". Yet on Twitter the creators will pat themselves on the back repeatedly for it

I mean, this already partially happened in “Reflekdoll” so--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It'll be confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that Adrien 100% knows about Marinette's crush when he uses it to manipulate her. Plagg comments on it, and Adrien affirms that he knows, but her feelings don't compare to his own for Ladybug. ('And aren't worth sparing' goes unsaid, but is naturally implied.) Naturally, his manipulation of her is treated as 'clever', and any pain or mortification she feels as a result is just gravy.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien reveals to Plagg (and the audience) that he's fully aware of Marinette's crush, but refuses to acknowledge it because he doesn't want to 'crush her dreams', comparing it to how Ladybug keeps rejecting him. Making the situation entirely about HIM and how HE feels, even showing some resentment towards her for HAVING that crush for HIM to deal with. Marinette and her feelings are painted as just an ANNOYANCE that he's ignoring, heedless of the impact upon her.

wow i hate them both

thank you, both of you

</3

#category: salt #Didn't Need Burrow

78 notes · View notes

hellothere-generalangsty · 3 years ago

Note

hey hey hey 📝

Hey you 🥰 Let me tell you straight away there's more than one because I'm a sucker for your fics and I will absolutely read all the one I haven't read yet because I just know they're good. I just know it. Same, my absolute favorite is in blue! 💙

@murdertoothpick

________

young volcanoes

Of course I love this one, Fives' fic AND Fall Out Boy?? I knew you would come up with something awesome but this... This is absolutely wonderful.

I just love the delight, the comfort in knowing that the war is over, and there will be no more fight to the death for the clones. For these men who will finally do something else than die; they will finally live.

It's not until Echo nudged him that Fives sees you approach the ramp with quick feet, colliding into him with a force so strong that he stumbles back a little, and yet, it's the most grounded he's felt in a long time.

Again, I screamed a very real scream when I read that. It's sad; but also beautiful, to be the one person that grounds him and offers him enough comfort and care and that feeling of safety-

'Don't ever let me go,' you press into him, and the way he squeezes you just a little tighter makes you melt.

It does make me melt. I am a puddle. This quote alone cured my anxiety. No but; for real; I just love these silent moments. I am very vocal about my emotions and feelings for the people I care about; but sometimes words aren't enough, or argent quite right so we turn to these silent exchanges - a look, a pression, a touch - something to let you know it's okay. I love that.

Fives meets Jesse with a proud grin, his hold on you relenting except for the one arm he keeps around your waist. 'Not tonight vod,' he breathes, meeting your eyes as you turn to face his brother, 'I'm going home.'

And Fives' words repeat softly in your head. He's going home. […]

That home is wherever the other is. It is the one thing that perseveres beyond the war. It is the one constant Fives' has ever had the choice to have, the one thing you'd never give up for anything.

This. This is it.

Being someone's home is so personal and meaningful. The trust, the care, the feeling of safety- everything that comes with the fact that you are someone's home.

And for it to be a constant in a life and a galaxy where everything keeps changing?? It's the same energy as Ari's fic It's been a long, long time.

It's comforting, and it gives me hope. This is the essence of Star Wars - hope - and you depicted it so perfectly.

I am honestly amazed and in love with this fic. (And Fives.)

at least, percentage wise

This one was a bit painful but also tender; let me explain.

'Hunter sold me as a droid today.'

He continues, 'I know he doesn't think of me like that but...it was hard enough being treated as a clone and now...I don't know what I even am.'

This. Is very painful.

I absutely love Echo, right. I adore him, he's awesome and handsome and kind and funny and he's Echo.

Yet he doesn't know that. He doesn't know who he is anymore- "what" he is.

What. That's so painfully sad. Like I said clones are already caught in this sort of identity crisis because what are they? Clones? Soldiers? Men? Brothers? Humans?

And now. Now Echo isn't even sure he fits the last category anymore. And it honestly pains me when people call him "android" or "droid man" because he already feels so self-conscious about this. And yes- he has prosthetics and robotics implants- but never should he be considered less of a human because of them. He's still Echo. He's still human.

He changed, but he's still Echo.

His next words are whispered, afraid of receiving an answer. 'Tell me you'd love me more if I weren't...' the words catch in his throat, 'this.'

And this is the moment where I tear up because.

This.

I can hear it. I can hear the pain and the fear in his voice and it honestly breaks. My heart.

How deeply rooted is his self-consciousness? How deep does the self-hatred run for him to think so little of himself??

I hate it here it just makes me so angry and sad for him.

My handsome boy deserves BETTER.

'You handsome man,' you jest, blessing him with a short kiss on the lips. 'You ready to sleep now?.'

I love this because I always call Echo "my handsome boy" or "handsome boy" and that's 1. Because he IS handsome like have you seen the man?? And 2. Because I believe if he hears it all the time he will slowly but surely believe it. He will accept that he's handsome and maybe feel less self- conscious about his body and himself...

I just need him to feel loved and beautiful because he is.

And I mean... Soft. Domestic. "You ready to sleep now?" is something you tell to someone in such a casual yet caring way and I am absolutely here for it.

This fic is just- I would react the same way reader did. It's so obvious to me he's absolutely trustworthy and nice and smart and handsome- he's filled with qualities and so many reasons to love him and care for him.

I mean- Echo. He alone is a valid argument.

Anyway, this fic just has me feeling much love for Echo and you made me fall for him again;;

push and pull

'Tsk, why won't you do what I say?'

I read that in his voice every. Single. Time. That's just- so him. 100% pure Crosshair content here.

And "the little umbrella" thing? Tech's remark on the food?

These little funny moments are so soft and a nice contrast to the sometimes sad undertone of the fic! I love that!

'I...like being close to you.'

'It's hard enough letting you in. I don't want my brothers thinking I've gone...soft.'

This. This is also very Crosshair. He's not very vocal, and to see him struggle a bit to confess what's really going on and feel awkward and embarrassed about it is just-

Great. In a sweet way. And the way you write him so well, so accurately-

Yes. 100% yes.

somewhere only we know

Alright. This fic right here is, I believe, the first one I read from you. At least it marked me enough for me to remember it as the first one.

Anna. This fic right here is. You made me cry. You had me crying while reading it because it's just.

The song alone is already- you know, very bittersweet and nostalgic in a way; and you managed to write something so perfect it's- it's not the fic matching the song. It's the song matching the fic.

I read it again to write this review - with the song on loop obviously - and I got tears again. It's just that powerful.

But your anxiety melts away as he gives you a slight smile, offering his hand to you, 'You'll have to lead the way.' […] He would always trust you, he has never felt otherwise.

I can't even explain how meaningful that it. It means so much to him, and he knows; and you do too. There's a level of trust and intimacy here.

'Just...hold me.'

Don't ask me why, but reader saying this is low-key making me emotional.

'Do you want this?', he murmurs, […].

You take an agonisingly long time to reply, your eyes flit between his, searching for any sign of hesitation, or regret. But you don't find any, as much as Crosshair is good at hiding his emotions behind an impassive and collected facade, you see the silent plea in his eyes, a longing for more.

Tears. Very real tears. The care and respect and trust and love this question alone holds. It's just. So delicate and soft, I just-

And then-

'Are you sure?' he whispers, so close to you, basking in this intimacy.

Girl if you wanted to make me cry you just had to say it, right? Like, don't mind me I'm a sucker for this; being so intimate and respectful of your partner that's like- everything.

Honestly that's what everyone deserves.

He lets out a light laugh, it's beautiful, reverberating deep in your heart, a sound so rare that you try hard to commit it—and the way he looks—to memory.

I promise you...

The candlelight surrounds your face in a halo-like glow like you were sent from heaven. It's a blessing.

...you hold my heart. This is poetry. This is art. This is comforting and lovely. And I am tearing up once again.

Your next words are meek, whispered, hidden away from the outside world, but you bare your soul to him anyways.

You almost don't hear it, but the way the words vibrate against your skin as he spills himself inside you makes it impossible for them not to be heard.

You wrote the words; but honestly I didn't even needed to read them to cry. It's just so vulnerable. They are both in a situation were they are literally and metaphorically naked, and there's nothing else but them - everything else fades away without them noticing and it's just.

Them.

And they allow themselves to be so vulnerable, finally, after all the build-up and the obstacles of the war and the downfall of the galaxy and the chip. After loosing each other and finding their way back to each other.

And finally allowing themselves to be so vulerable, so exposed to each other-

Brb gotta cry some more.

He takes one of your hands in his, pressing a featherlight kiss to your knuckles. 'Just getting you a cloth Cya'rika.'

Your mouth opens in an Oh, and you gingerly nod at him. 'Okay, sorry,' you give him the most beautiful smiles he's ever seen, and there's a part of him that has changed its mind about leaving you even for a second.

I can't even. Explain. How sweet this is. No words can express what I'm feeling as I read this. The comfort. The reassuring tone. The f**king Mando'a nickname.

Your arms open pathetically when he lets go of you, an invite for him to join you under the covers. But he looks at you in pure adoration, a sight that's so peaceful, so domestic, that he finds himself letting his mind wander, imagining that this temporary room was a home, a place where he could spend the rest of his days with you, away from war and the empire.

My heart is aching. A lot. It's so peaceful yet so tragic in a way, but they don't see that. Again, it's just them; this moment of intimacy, of domestic life where nothing else matter but what they are sharing right now.

Somewhere only we know.

alone together

This fic is awesome. I love the dynamic between reader and Crosshair, there's this very obvious alchemy between them and you manage to write about it with limited dialogue and amazing descriptions. I am absolutely in awe.

Also- Confident Reader? Love that! Especially in a Crosshair fic! And it's great because we also see a glimpse of Crosshair having self-esteem issues, so there's a sort of shift where for once Crosshair doesn't have the "upper hand" and reader isn't all shy and flustered you know (though I absolutely love these kind of fics too!)

But yeah- their dynamic was really interesting!

heartbeat

Another Crosshair fic because I love him and you really write him so well and in-character.

'I like...hearing your heartbeat.'

This little hesitation is everything. And it's so... So personal and delicate.

Someone's heartbeat. That's life pulsing through their body. That's very symbolic too; we usually link strong feelings like love and care to the heart, and to lay there with someone and enjoy listening to that life pulsing-

Yeah I'm getting soft again

'I'm not moving,' he grumbles, pressing himself further into you and sighing in relief.

This is so lovely; him holding on tighter because he doesn't want to move, because he feels good here and that's the best way he found to let you know...

I just love your takes on Soft!Crosshair, you really know what you're writing about.

hands meet

I tried to draw Hunter. With the sunglasses and the shirt and him trying to be cool.

I shall do that drawing again because it's absolutely HILARIOUS and I just adore this fic because it's so light-hearted and sweet and funny!

It's a feel-good fic, the one you read when you need to clear your head a bit; and I promise you the laugh I had reading it!

And I just love the dynamic between Hunter and reader; it's awkward yet there's a lot of alchemy and you just know they do like each other a lot and are just struggling to express it directly.

That's very sweet and I love that.

Love it.

________

So yeah! Again, it was longer than expected but I am not sorry because you deserve to know how much I love these fics and how you also hold my heart in your hands with these.

You're an amazing - incredible - writer and I love how you bring these very human and realistic elements to your stories. It just makes them even more relatable and enjoyable, even if sometimes it's painful, and that's what I love so much about your writing.

Also I absolutely love how you incorporate lyrics between in your writings

Anyway- love u Anna, love your writing, you're amazing!!

#anna 💗#you really came here for real business #making my knees weak half of the time #and my heart bleed the other half #and I will come back for more because you're just SO TALENTED AND SKILLED #I'm so happy I follow you and got into your stories like-#so happy it's so worth it #ur awesome I promise you #mesa answers #sw fic rec #fic recs #star wars fic #sw fics #star wars

13 notes · View notes

nicollekidman · 5 years ago

Note

abby can you talk on how deancas and tenrose are the same?

okay so i need to preface this with the usual…. cannot believe i am enlightened enough to be seriously discussing this in the year 2020, but i’m happy for my teen self. also there is about to be a lot of unhinged earnestness to follow, so if you’re easily succebtable to cringe… don’t read on. ALSO RIP I WROTE 1800 WORDS about just the most general and nonspecific concepts…… brb k wording myself

first off i think it’s so funny that i just went back and looked and i typed cas/ten as a one and dean/rose as a six completely independently so… that’s where my head is at.

i think the meat of the issue is the way that tenrose and deancas function both in relation to the overall narrative and each other. there are many differences of course, but at the end of the day, both relationships are positioned as the ultimate working example of what their shows are trying to be About.

i could write an entirely separate essay on the intersections between cas and the doctor, but essentially…… these are figures introduced to the audience as Beyond Human Understanding. they exist as celestial beings unconstrained by the rules of space and time, more closely connected to god than humanity. we meet the doctor farther along in his journey than castiel, but both of their character arcs are rooted in a Godlike Creature observing humanity and becoming enamored with it/driven to protect and care for it. by the time the doctor meets rose, it is well established that he has a soft spot for humanity, she’s not the one who teaches him that. but she is the one he reaches out to and leans on for support and healing post-time war, and she is the one who influences ten’s regeneration so deeply that he is made in her image/for her. castiel rebuilds dean atom by atom is hell, and upon rescuing him from the pit, finds himself similarly irrevocably altered. it is revealed to us that castiel also has had a long affection for humanity, but nothing swayed him from his ultimate duty before he met dean. and just as the doctor finds himself with a family for the first time after gallifrey with rose and her mother on the estate, castiel finds himself cut off from his family/realm, but with a new family, team free will. they lose everything, their attachment to the heavens, and find a new family and a new reason to continue, in these humans.

dean and rose also are the ultimate Human Credentials. we all know this term to be indicative of someone who confers humanity onto the other, someone who, by mere accompaniment, allows their beloved to more safely/easily navigate life. and it’s true in this sense. rose is constantly reminding ten how to Be Human (”am i being rude?”) in both big and small ways, just as dean more or less badgers castiel in the same way ( “dude. we talked about this”). neither cas nor ten would be as intimately connected with their “human sides” with their partners. but dean and rose are also Human Credentials in a broader sense, in that….. they act as character references for the rest of humanity, and by virtue of their own selves/their partner’s attachment to them, guarantee investment in the rest of the human race. castiel is more-or-less content to watch from heaven and take orders until he rescues dean and becomes involved with his life (”the moment castiel laid a hand on you in hell he was lost”). his love and affection for dean and his willingness to bend everything to keep him safe means that castiel learns to defy heaven for the good of humanity. ten has always loved humans, but he loves rose a little differently. The Doctor Needs Someone, and we see rose’s power as his human credential most strongly when she’s gone. Without rose, ten is more willing to put himself/others in danger, to make choices that will result in death, to be callous and reckless and thoughtless. rose’s presence is a constant reminder that humanity is Worth the Trouble, that he’s never met anyone who wasn’t important.

for rose and dean…. these are two, completely Normal, Average People. or so they think anyways. the burdens they carry and their inner lives are very different, but in very simple ways, they both would’ve continued their lives believing there was nothing special about them, getting up to Do Their Duty, never asking for anything special. both view themselves are caretakers, although this manifests differently bc rose is a bratty 19 year old and dean never got the opportunity to be a teenager. but both Feel Deeply in ways/levels that others don’t. each has an extremely open heart and a need to protect/provide for the little people. what ten and cas give them is an entirely new perspective, whereupon it starts to be possible to believe that even the smallest person can affect the world for better, and that they, specifically Deserve More.

THEN we have the ideas of religion/free will/fate that intertwine both shows. rtd’s doctor who was explicitly and obviously written with the intent to show an atheist universe where the human spirit and mind are enough on their own to be holy, to determine right and wrong, and to decide the events of the universe. obviously ten is often situated in christ-like positions, but he learns from humanity as much as they teach him. supernatural is a little more complicated, with an alternate vision of accepted figures of christianity, but both shows heavily emphasize the power of human kindness, passion, empathy, and individual choice. ten may not live within the confines of space and time, but apocalypses in doctor who often hinge on one small person doing The Next Right Thing, just as supernatural’s base credo is We’re Writing a New Chapter. castiel bursts onto the scene and is literally taught the importance of free will by dean, and perhaps even the importance of his own desires/needs by dean. both core relationships exemplify what it means to make choices outside the realm of fate (even whilst allowing for the existence of soulmates). yes, castiel was ordered to raise dean from perdition, but their human connection is what allows the winchesters to subvert God and move outside the printed narrative - love for a human is what makes an angel CHOOSE to fall from heaven. and ten…. well ten knows that rose is going to die. ten understands from the moment he allows himself to care for her above all others, that he is dooming himself to pain and regret and loss. but he decides to do it anyways, because isn’t the best thing an otherwordly being in love with humanity can do is to eperience love and loss on a human level? both cas and ten understand that there is no love without pain, that they will be the ones to watch their beloveds leave them, but that the Choice to love out of free will is worth it.

there’s also the element of Expression/Repression. here is where the underlying emotion remains similar but the freedom of how exactly to illustrate these feelings could not be more different. tenrose is a heterosexual relationship at the end of the day, and their storylines require them to be alone in each other’s presence nearly 100% of the time. thus, we get LOTS of familiar touching, lots of body language and casual intimacy and teasing. dean and cas…. lol. not so much. instead of physicality, we get looks, both because of dean’s own upbringing/sexuality and because they exist on the show that they do. deancas deals in the unspoken - the acts of service, the grace healings, the tense moments of battle, the lack of personal space. the expression is different, but the emotion is the same. ten and dean hold themselves back from the more Obvious open-book partners, for their own personal reasons. the end effect being that everyone on screen understands/insinuates what’s happening, and their relationship is so thick with subtext its a wonder no one suffocates. Words are seen as the ultimate step, once which cannot be overcome in normal life. both pairs use death/separation as the final step towards full transparency, but even then we are never granted the ultimate catharsis of an I Love You. castiel couches his confessions in generalizations towards groups, and dean swallows his truth even in prayer. rose says the words through a veil of uncrossable distance, but she doesn’t get to hear them back. they can Know, and we can Understand, but we cannot hear it.

lastly (for now)…. and perhaps as an ultimate summation…….. death and parallel universes and fate cannot stop them, those who are drawn to each other through heaven and hell, through time and realities. it is to be understood that will all four individuals fight to ensure that each human being is safe, protected, and able to make their own choices they are soulmates. they are soulmates who are bound to each other to be sure, but they’re not Fated in a way that takes away their free will. they’re fated by the series of choices they make, over and over again, to prioritize each other, to traverse time and space and dimension and hell to get back to one another. god cannot see castiel in his plans for the world, and yet castiel has evaded death again and again, to give dean a win. nothing could tear rose away from her doctor, and even while trapped in another dimmension, she hears his voice, she runs to him, and she finds a way to get back to him. each and every choice they make brings them back to one another, regardless of the ultimate ending. we don’t know yet if we will ever hear castiel and dean get their doomsday moment, but we do know that in order for castiel to leave dean’s side, an entirely new dimmension (the empty) will have to be in play to keep them apart.

ultimately, castiel and ten are both celestial beings with self-worth issues but a burning and true desire to see humanity thrive, directly and indirectly because of their attachment to dean and rose. dean and rose make castiel and ten more human, all while exemplifying why human is a good thing to be. dean and rose become more themselves under cas and ten’s influence, both are given more opportunity to bloom into who they are meant to be. all four become More in the presence of each other, and save the world while doing it. ultimately there is a heavy dose of tragedy in both - whether or not dean and cas get their moment is yet to be seen, but these are still Soulmates with differing relationships to mortality. but is there anything sweeter than defying god’s and fate and our own doubts to grab love with both hands, even when we know there will be pain?

#JESUS MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST #the way i could write an additional 2k words on any one of these sections/elements #anyways happy high holy day #deancas #tenrose #dw #spn #meta #Anonymous #LMAOOOOOO

46 notes · View notes

not-a-christmas-tree · 4 years ago

Text

i just watched the dallas theatre company les mis here are my observations

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THIS PRODUCTION I SUGGEST YOU DO! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS THOUGH!

so, in case you didn’t know: in 2014, Dallas Theatre Company did a modern interpretation of les mis. i just watched it on youtube (i will link it later, i promise) and took SO MANY GODDAMN NOTES so here they are!

ACT ONE

(Look Down-WHID)

starting out strong! we got some HARSH TRUTHS ABOUT THE JAIL SYSTEM!! blatant police brutality happening BASICALLY the entire first part of the song. it hurts me.

note on the cops costumes: they legitimately terrify me and they are dressed in like. full riot gear.

okay so,,,valjean wraps the rope from his bag around his neck at the end of WHID. this is interesting bc, a) he’s trying to find a solution as to what he should do after the Bishop and that’s a direction I’ve surprisingly seen no one take, but b) this part has the same melody as javert’s suicide, when javert is ALSO trying to figure out what he should do after his perception on life is altered. for a moment there, they both are on the same page, the page being suicide. however, only one of them takes that choice.

the above makes the lines (in both songs) “i’ll escape now from that world / from the world of valjean” ESPECIALLY interesting because. in two different ways, they did escape, but they ALMOST had the same conclusion for a brief second.

(At The End Of The Day)

in ATEOTD fantine ends up being the last one working, causing everyone to look at her with varying degrees of annoyance or frustration. She do be hardworking doe

OH SHIT KIDS IN THE FACTORY!! three little kids run up to the foreman when he’s giving daily stipends to the ladies!! (they’re also the last to be paid, giving significant sass to foreman who also sasses back)

Girl #5 mockingly calling fantine “innocent sister” when 5 is white and fantine is a WOC...that’s kind of interesting given that that can be read as SERIOUS racial profiling on 5’s part

foreman looks like bob’s boss in the incredibles but like. tall lmao

(I Dreamed A Dream)

her look of like,,shock-but-not when everyone from the factory exits and she takes off her bandana,,,that. that is good acting

her transitions from chest to head voice are so good

i’m kinda sad she isn’t younger?? or just. doesn’t look super young bc fantine is supposed to be like. early twenties. she’s not 45 and had a decently long life before she died, no, she’s young. she was taken advantage of. that’s the whole point. but that’s sUPER little like this lady is way too good

she has the perfect mix of sadness and regret plus anger and shameless hope. like. kudos to you allison blackwell you’re a dope fantine

the cry on “killed the dream i dreamed” brb sobbing

(The Dock Scenes)

MALE PROSTITUTES I REPEAT!! MALE PROSTITUTES!! (no idea what wig he’s wearing tho. he was done dirty in the wig department)

oh male prostitute is prostitute #1!

oh damn there is. lady def on some bad drugs with her kid passing behind fantine on the bench. ouch.

hoo okay they did n o t censor lovely ladies!! (mini note: camera person has the camera down an AWFUL LOT on these docks scenes lmao)

there are cops on the docks. gross.

(Who Am I-Confrontation)

OH SHIT THEY HAVE A FALSE JVJ IN THE BACKGROUND OF WHO AM I

jvj comforts not-jvj for a second!! (money note was FANTASTIC btw)

fantine being WOC and DYING in a modern hospital also is,,yeesh because. you know. racist doctors.

jvj cries after fantine dies JUST STAB ME NOW OKAY—

confrontation is really funny when u see that javert has a GUN and jvj has A CHAIR

JVJ DID THE LIL RUN ON “live within my care” YAAAAY

(COAC-Master Of The House)

oh boy baby cosette,,so small,,so pure plus classic baby head shake when she sings I STAN

MADAME T LOOKS—OH GOOD GOD

DID SHE SPIT ON MY BABY--

cosette: “please do not send me out alone—“ madame t: “oooooh my gOOOOOD” omg

what the fuck is thenardiers hair i—

WHAT THE FUCK IS THENARDIER IN G E N E R A L

random idea regarding thenardier’s prison tattoo: he has the same number on his chest that jvj has. Meaning he was in jail too. so why isn’t he as messed up as jvj? i wanna say maybe he was in for less time, but like. I doubt it. However, he has a whole ass gang. did the thenardier gang break their boss out of jail? please say yes

him listing things for baby éponine to charge i love it

OH MY GOD THENARDIER FLAUNTS HIS NUMBER WHILE JVJ DOESNT!! jvj hides his past because he believes it will get him into better places (it does, he becomes mayor for god’s sake) while thenardier shows off his past with stubborn pride. while thenardier cheats his way to success, jvj lives an almost honest life where he ultimately suffers due to the stress all the hiding he does gives him

i love that éponine looks like neither of her parents,,,madame t got around huh?

(The Bargain)

I JUST REALIZED THE STAGE HAS A CATWALK DOWN THE CENTER INTO THE AUDIENCE THAT IS THE COOLEST OMG

Instead of madame correcting thenardier on cosette’s name he asks cosette herself which prompts the CUTEST ANGRY YELL OF “it’s cosette!” I HAVE EVER SEEN

also thenardier fuckin MANHANDLING cosette i’m DYING

JVJ LOVES HER SM I AM SOFTTT

(The Beggars)

omg marius is so ADORABLE i love him

gavroche is a style icon

kid holding sign saying “my mom got laid off” POOR BB

i love éponine

that’s it that’s the note

wait a sec was that montparnasse with the prostitute earlier in beggars??

ALSO I SEE AZELMA AND OTHER THENARDIER KIDS PRESENT FOR “turn on the tears!!” THANK YOU FOR UTILIZING THAT LINE PROPERLY

why does enj have a bat?? If it;s not a bat then,,,what is it? someone please help me

marius saves cosette from bad guy gang!! 🥰🥰

bruh javert misses jvj running by like,,,MAYBE two seconds that is hilarious

jav looks so done when thenardier is trying to get out of this lmao i love it

javert looks so cop-like it scares me

(Stars)

the line “safe behind bars” in stars kind of kills me here because as the audience you SEE the cruelty that the convicts face. you see the guy on the ground getting beaten you SEE the chains around their throats and yet. yet javert still somehow thinks that putting jvj in jail is safe? i think the thing to focus on here is not whether it’s safe, because it obviously isn’t. the focus is who it’s safer for, jean valjean or javert?

has it always been “your father” rather than “her father” when marius asks éponine to find where cosette lives?? if they changed it that is SMART because yk. jvj would be ALARMED if he found out he’d been found by éponine but he wouldn’t hurt her. he’s not the guy she has to worry about, it’s her own father. thenardier gave her a job and she’s straying from it, he’s what would endanger her.

THE PLAYFUL BOOP AND SHOVE FROM MARIUS 🥺🥺🥺

(The ABC Café)

“note-ruh daym”

hee hee pretty enjolras

pretty enjolras in skinny jeans even better

OOH we have,,,angry enjolras in this version o k a y

grantaire raises his hand before agog/aghast part omg

“i’ve never heard him ooOOOOh and aAAAAh *excited squeal*

“dan joo-wan” i love texas

bossuet spotted :)

longing gay looks NOT spotted :(

i love enjolras okay but this one is just,,,a little too aggressive. enjolras isn’t just angry all the time, he’s not that one dimensional. of course, there is more of the show to see and i hope he changes a little bit, but so far red and black isn’t doing much for me. enjolras is hopeful, not just angry.

A CAPELLA SECTION IN RED AND BLACK?? I think YES

the amis finding out lamarque is dead has “fuck trump just won the election” energy

okay i was hoping that enj would change his aggression thing when they find out lamarque is dead (bc that’s when most enjolrai figure out what may happen and kinda sober up yk) but. it doesn’t look like he did. there is hope for barricade scenes

OMG LIL NOTE ON COMBEFERRE GIVING OUT FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS: that is fucking pERFECT and yk why?? because it’s a call to action!! it’s less obvious in DYHTPS because they’re mostly singing to each other but later in epilogue when the words and melody is repeated, it’s meant as a call to action! “will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?” is a cALL TO ACTION AND THEY ARE HANDING FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS—that’s officially the only way to break the fourth wall THANK YOU

hey fantine doubles as a student i think!!

HARMONIES ARE C L E A N OOOOH

(In My Life-Heart Full Of Love)

okay yes i already love cosette because she plays awkward-teen-in-love-for-the-first-time PERFECTLY.

book-ish cosette hell yes a cutie

father-daughter forehead kisses 🥺

awkward mARIUS TIMEEEEE

placing marius, éponine, and cosette in a triangle is a MARVELOUS decision thank u for that symbolism

marius checking if he looks good and ép giving him a thumbs up omg

*aggressively tries to sit normally* same cosette

*awkward curtsy* also same cosette

(Attack On Rue Plumet)

robbery time let’s see how they do this

ooh marius and cosette run off but i can’t tell if they notice gang before running

thenardier fuckin SLICES éponine after her scream

NOOOO HER LIL WHIMPER AFTER BEING THREATENED AGAIN

(One Day More)

this lil part between robbery and one day more is interesting bc i legit have NO idea what jvj is thinking here. he keeps looking between his watch (i think it’s a watch idk) and cosette after she runs off to pack so like. what. is he doing here bc he looks like he’s choosing between two things but i don’t,,know,,what things

red berets on the amis are dope btw

i think marius is discussing what to do with éponine here, which is FUN because we all know why she goes to the barricade in the brick :’) éponine might be convincing marius to go to the barricade knowing this is her chance to die with him like in the book

omg

OMG

that stomp bit with the students was the coolest fucking thing i’ve ever seen

END OF ACT ONE

act two will be posted shortly :D

#enjoy my super long analysis on WHID and Stars lmao #i went ham with the english brain #les mis #les miserables #dallas theater company #modern les mis #les amis de l'abc #les amis

16 notes · View notes

transitverse · 4 years ago

Text

Faith (an interlude)

WORDS: 1800 CHAPTERS: 1 CHARACTERS: Zenith, Pox

You have to trust that everything will right itself, one way or another. (Or: Pox and Zenith find a depressing kind of peace in a hotel room.)

Set between chapters 1 and 2 of Long-distance charges, but not mutually required reading.

Soundtrack: take care, lady legs - hyi

The walk back to the hotel is spent in near silence. Even as you climb into the elevator, fly past all of the other arrondissements to your floor, neither of you says a word. Pox clings to your arm, though, her head against your shoulder. It says all that needs to be said.

"What are we gonna tell Tech?"

She poses the question as you're entering the hotel lobby. Dak--you can only assume, having seen neither head nor tail of him, and knowing who he is as a person--is still out at the bar.

"I... I don't know. I don't think I want to tell him anything." Easier said than done. "I don't want to have this conversation yet."

Pox doesn't question it. What she does question--what you both do--is the empty hotel room you arrive back to.

"What the fuck?" Pox stares alongside you at the room; The Nutting Professor is still playing on the TV, for some goddamn reason, and Tech's robes are laid out on the bed, but the man himself is nowhere to be seen. She opens the bathroom door, and--"What the fuck?"

"What?"

"'WENT WITH GUY, BRB .'" You poke your head into the door to see what in God's name she's talking about, and, yep, there it is: "WENT WITH GUY, BRB," smeared across the mirror in soap.

"What the fuck?" Your immediate instinct is to fire off a message asking where he is. He's probably not dead. Probably. If he was in trouble, he'd let you know. You think. You hope.

"He's... fine, probably. Look, I'll ask him." You send the message, just for peace of mind. Pox's danger sense would flare up if he was in harm's way, too, right? Yeah, sure. So he's good. It’s hard to think about this with the sound of nasty sex going on in the background. "Okay, Jesus, I need to turn off that fucking porno before I lose my mind."

Switching the channel to something mundane and boring but at-least-not-sexually-graphic takes all of about three seconds, at which point you've already claimed a bed and thrown yourself down on it. Pox sheds her coat, crawls up beside you and half-drapes herself across your body, her head tucked into the crook of your neck. It's a little more than what you're used to, even from her, but tonight, you're glad for it. You let your head fall against hers. She nuzzles into you gently.

"It's gonna be okay, you know," she says, after a little while, so matter-of-factly you feel like you almost have to believe her.

"Yeah." You press your face into her hair slightly, eyes drifting shut for a moment. A nauseous feeling has settled itself in the pit of your stomach and hasn't left since you walked into that godforsaken shop.

"It was Aubrey you called earlier, right?"

"Mhm."

"Did she say anything?"

"She said she knew about this. About how they wipe our minds if we get too fucked up to be useful anymore. But that was it. She never knew-- doesn’t know any more than I do."

Pox shifts slightly, adjusting her position in a way that makes her hair tickle your neck. "Anything else?"

"...She said it'll be okay." Conveniently ignoring that you left out that you-- No, you don't even want to think about it. But you told her everything else. "She said I've been through worse. And, like, I guess I have, but I don't know how useful that is when I can't remember most of it to put it in context." You take in a slow, measured breath and exhale. "But she said I’ll be fine, because I have people to look after me. As long as I... let them look after me."

You can't stop thinking about that. You think back to your conversations out on the balcony, too, barely a day ago. It wasn’t a request, was it? It was a warning. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

"So let us look after you." Pox pulls idly at one of the tags on your jacket. "We're going to get this fixed. And then you can do whatever you want about… finding them."

Mm. The delicate matter of what you want to do about the organisation responsible for the way your life played out. After all this, you're still wanting for answers; that much you know, and you're still going to get them. After that... somewhere, under the nausea, under the fear, under the uncertainty and regret and apprehension, anger is already flaring to life. They took everything you could have had in life. Promises be damned; you have your own reasons for wanting to burn them to the ground.

But right now, you have more difficult issues to grapple with: not what they did, but what you did. Ten rounds out in battlefields you barely remember. All those visions and dreams of dead bodies that now feel so, so much more real. You think of what Aubrey said about bombs and fire and killing; about it all being twisted into some kind of sick game. The cold, hard truth has been thrust in your face, and there's no way you can turn a blind eye to it anymore. No more pretending. No more burying. No more mental gymnastics in search of an explanation to extricate yourself from deeds you’ve quietly suspected for a long time that you might have participated in.

You have to face this head-on. Stare it down. You can't change it. Your only choice is in how you respond to it.

"You're brilliant, you know," Pox continues, quietly, after a moment, drawing you out of your own head. "Whatever they say about you. They don't really know you."

"I feel like I don't even know me right now."

"I know you." She turns her head up to you, silver eyes wide in the low light. "I know you're not weak. And Dak knows you, and Tech knows you, and they don't think you're weak. Not how these--this--some big creepy fucking corporation thinks you are. Whatever they think is bullshit, okay? They don't care about you. They think you're weak because they didn't want you to care about things. But you do. That's what makes you better than them.”

All you can do is... stare, wordless. You manage a nod. Even if you had the energy, you wouldn't argue with her. There's no point. She's an immovable object when she's made up her mind about something.

Besides: you know, somewhere, deep down, that there's truth in what she says.

"I-- Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's just-- This is--" You keep stumbling and tripping in the process of trying to form a coherent sentence, but Pox understands without having to hear it aloud.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow." You heave a deep sigh and let your eyes slip shut for a moment as she settles back against your chest. How you're supposed to sleep tonight, you have no idea. At times like this, it'd be handy if you could switch your brain off as easily as you can your complete cybernetics. Emotional burnout has never hit so hard so fast. For now, you need to do what you've become so good at doing over the years: compartmentalise. Box this up and set it aside. There will be time to address it all. The time is not now, but it will come. When you've slept. When this death race is over. When you've left Fyre Tower in the rear-view mirror and you can all look towards the future with clear heads and fresh eyes.

"Did Tech answer yet?"

You glance down at Pox with your left eye. Your AR feed is clear.

"No. You'd get the creeps if something was up, though, right?"

"Not if he's miles away!"

"I mean, he said he'd be back! He'll be fine. I... I think I trust him. Anyway, you saw how he was earlier. I don't think we should go looking for him. I think he wants to be left alone right now."

Pox is silent. She lays her head back down on your shoulder, fingers fiddling with your shirt this time.

"I just want everyone to be happy," she says, eventually, just above a whisper. "With Tech, earlier, and Dak--and now you, and-- Everything keeps getting fucked up, and I don't know what to do."

Your immediate response is to slip an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer into your side. You forget how tiny she really is without that coat on and a thousand mystery objects padding it out. She turns her face into your neck and you rest your head atop hers, chin sinking into stark white curls.

"You're doing fine, Pox." You feel her hand under your jacket, sliding all the way around you, clinging to you. "You're here. You're doing everything you can. That's more than enough." You pause, and then, because you realise you never said it earlier: “Thank you.”

She doesn't answer, or move, or respond in any way that you can tell. You keep hold of her anyway. God, you hope Dak doesn't come barging in, drunk off his ass right now. You kind of hope Tech doesn't, either, sober or not, though either way (and no matter his substance of choice) he'd be more manageable than Dak.

You find yourself curling a lock of Pox’s hair around your fingers as you lay there with her, tuning out the late-night reruns of shitty trid shows in the background. With that gone and your own woes packed away for the time being, you're left with a completely clear head for the first time in... well, probably the last two weeks. It's refreshing. You bask in the tranquillity of it for a little while. God only knows when you'll get another moment to do so.

Seeing perhaps your only window of opportunity in which to fall asleep, your brain seizes the chance and before you know it, you’re dozing off. You're vaguely aware, at some point, of switching off the TV. With the room now silent, and Pox a comforting dead weight on your side, drifting back off right where you lie comes easy.

Maybe when you wake up, everything will make more sense. Maybe the world will have fixed itself: Tech will be back, unharmed, happy. So will Dak. Your little visit to Sons of Adam will have been one big mix-up and you won’t be hurtling towards an uncertain death at a hundred miles per hour. Pox won’t need to feel guilty and helpless about problems far beyond her control.

Maybe none of it will be fixed at all.

You’ll just have to hold on tight,

Wait,

And see.

#neoscum #lost in transit #side story #standalone #complete #zenith #pox

3 notes · View notes

thecloserkin · 5 years ago

Text

book review: Meg Rosoff, How I Live Now (2004)

Genre: Young Adult

Is it the main pairing: yes

Is it canon: yes

Is it explicit: no

Is it endgame: yes

Is it shippable: yes

Bottom line: It finally happened, I broke my own “no cousincest—in this house we turn the TABOO dial up to eleven” rule. In my defense this book is gobsmackingly good.

Lately I’ve been mulling on the difference between books about teenagers and books for teenagers. This one is the former, and a joy to reread as an adult. Our American heroine Daisy is sent across the pond to live with her British cousins; a war breaks out; details are scant but who cares about the war, she starts fucking one of the cousins. She describes it as “falling into sexual and emotional thrall” she said THRALL I am living for it. On a scale from “pure” to “problematic” this ship is almost all light and no darkness—what darkness menaces our protagonists emanates from outside the charmed circle of their big ol’ farmhouse and their sheepdogs and their goat:

The real truth is that the war didn’t have much to do with it except that it provided a perfect limbo in which two people who were too young and too related could start kissing without anything or anyone making us stop. There were no parents, no teachers, no schedules. There was no where to go and nothing to do that would remind us that this sort of thing didn’t happen in the Real World. There no longer was any Real World.

The notion of carving out an idyll where you & the object of your desire spend all day doing nothing but drink each other up? It’s attractive even for those of us conducting mundane relationships in the “real” world. Maybe especially for those of us in the real world, where we compartmentalize our relationships and no one person can fill every filament in our universe. Daisy’s cousins live a cloistered life in the countryside and within a week she’s saying stuff like “I felt like I’d belonged to this house for centuries.” Which is an awfully dramatic way of saying she never felt like she belonged in New York. She doesn’t just fall for Cousin Edmond; she falls for the whole telepathic dog-whispering cousinly clan and their big anarchist energy. When Daisy, an only child, says “I had about as much experience with sex and boyfriends as I did with brothers and sisters,” she is intentionally conflating romantic and familial relationships and I am 1000% here for it. Sure it’s technically cousincest but it feels claustrophobic and codependent and everything I want out of an incest ship.

Every step of Daisy’s obsessive infatuation is chronicled with agonizing tenderness:

I wondered if that’s the feeling you’re supposed to have when your cousin touches a totally innocent part of your anatomy that’s fully clothed.

that’s right it’s the thought and the intention and the pining behind the touch, not the bare fact of physical contact.

Things were so intense I was sure that other people could hear the hum coming off of us.

Imagine desire rising like mist from the surface of one’s skin. And the “other people” part of the equation is important, because it’s the sneaking around behind the other kids’ backs that gives urgency to their coupling:

we started sleeping most of the daylight hours so we could be awake at night when everyone else was in bed … Then we would sleep for a little while and eventually reappear and try to act normal

But what is “normal”? There are no adults and no rules; nothing is forbidden save that they themselves deem it so. What then explains Daisy’s conviction that this is “not a good idea”? Why shroud their affair in secrecy if the most powerful reaction they provoke from smol!cousin who learns about Daisy/Edmond is “Well I’m glad you love him because I do too”? That’s pretty anticlimactic given the lengths Daisy & Edmond have gone to be stealthy. It also emphasizes (in case we’ve forgotten that Daisy has both no siblings and no boyfriends) how romantic & familial attachments spring from a common source. I think what the text is getting at here is that it’s dangerous to put all your eggs in one basket the way Daisy puts all hers in Edmond. It’s dangerous and unhealthy to make one person your whole world, as we see later when Daisy comes to much grief. At no point, however, does she regret her decision.

we could try and try to get enough of each other but it was llike some witch’s curse where the more we tried to stop being hungry the more starving we got.

That’s a hard-hitting simile right there. The thing about curses in fairy tales is they don’t always do what they’re designed to do; frequently they accomplish different ends entirely. If we look at what Daisy’s insatiable hunger for Edmond is displacing we note that Daisy is no stranger to the feeling of constant, gnawing, unsatiated hunger because Daisy has an eating disorder. In her own words:

at first not wanting to get poisoned by my stepmother and how much it annoyed her and how after a while I discovered I liked the feeling of being hungry and the fact that it drove everyone stark raving mad and cost my father a fortune in shrinks and also it was something I was good at.

…which is just about the world’s most cogent account of eating disorders as quests for control & autonomy. By the end of the novel she no longer experiences hunger as “a punishment or a crime or a weapon or a mode of self-destruction” and that's something, anyway.

Y’all know I’m a big skimmer right? I mention this because I want you to take my full meaning when I say I read every single word of this (very short) novel. The syntax helped—most sentences are structured like so: “… and …. and … and then …” but it was engrossing af and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use Ironic Capitalization to such devastating effect. The stylistic choice to use zero dialogue brackets means Daisy’s thoughts and Edmond’s thoughts (Edmond’s a telepath) and external action and internal commentary all run together. I didn’t find this confusing btw I just found it extremely effective.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Daisy and Edmond are separated at about the one-third mark and she spends the remainder of the book trying to get back to him, traversing a war-torn countryside with Edmond’s smol!sister and his dog in tow (since Daisy is a city girl who can’t even read a compass, maybe it’s more accurate to say smol!cousin + dog have Daisy in tow):

I guess the difference between Gin and me is that when Gin got shut in the barn she thought Edmond didn’t love her anymore but because I could feel Edmond out there somewhere always loving me I didn’t have to howl all night.

The parallel between Edmond’s girl and Edmond’s dog is not an idle one. There’s consistent strain of anticapitalist sentiment that runs through this book, that comes out most strongly in the relationships between Daisy’s cousins and their animals. Some military junta appropriates the farmhouse and displaces Daisy, her cousins, and the menagerie of animals that depend on them—that’s how Edmond and Daisy become separated, they’re “relocated.” The army is hierarchal and in wartime, the army is in charge. By contrast, Daisy’s cousins model a nonhierarchical kind of relationship with their animals, a relationship based on reciprocal obligations rather than dominating other people. “At times,” professes Daisy, “I thought I was more animal than human.” In other words, human beings live under an absolutely barbaric system, and it’s often more “humane” to behave like animals. It’s Edmond’s sheepdog who proves key to Daisy’s successful escape. City girl Daisy still can’t wrap her head around it:

one of the things I most dislike about nature, namely that the rules are not at all precise. Like when Piper says I’m pretty sure that mushrooms aren’t poisonous.

But nature’s strength lies precisely in the fuzziness of its rules! It encourages interdependence & reliance on others, rather than trying to go it alone as an atomized individual. So surviving on the run actually forces one to prioritize community (however you define it) over individual, which has salutary effects on Daisy, who reports “Somewhere along the way I’d lost the will not to eat.” She’s defeated her eating disorder, that’s good news. Unfortunately, Edmond and Daisy are not even reunited before she’s expelled from England and shipped back to America for Reasons. Dw she comes back! As soon as the borders reopen she comes back:

The soldier had stamped my passport FAMILY in heavy black capital letters and I checked it now for reassurance because I liked how fierce the word looked.

Very powerful passage but now for the ending. Let’s not talk about that ending. I don’t know why I called this a good book I am still incredulous we got THAT ending after everything we went through brb I’m suing Meg Rosoff for emotional damages

#book review #how i live now

24 notes · View notes

kaiju-z · 5 years ago

Photo

Seon Adventures Episode 21: Two Days

Following the strange sighting of a shadow not being cast by Mournimar, and yet being close to the Tiefling Ranger, Luctan took some time before finding his rest. With legs crossed and hands in a position, the disguised tiefling closed his eyes... And meditated for what felt to him like an eternity...

Whatever had gone on in his vision, the incognito fighter took an hour before going to bed. And then, by the time the sun began to rise, he had taken the elf baby boy with him and left, with only a note hinting at where he had gone.

“I’m off shopping with the baby. Brb.”

Mournimar is the one to find said note and, given the last note he had to read involved the other martial combatant’s exit, he can’t help but feel that seperation anxiety kick in harder, with Belli out of town with Ficus right now and the only other person in the party he was close with now being out of reach.

Malak has a more peaceful morning awakening, having yet to acclimate to the party fully, while Amelia?

Amelia wakes to another cup of coffee on the nightstand beside her. And a note of her own to read, from Nel specifically, though. Nel had left on a business arrangement.

All the mysterious party pals going off with letters, it seems.

The three remaining guests (and their respective animals) convene downstairs in the kitchen, having themselves a breakfast as best they can prepare. Toast, made by Malak.

And, uh, bacon???! By Mournimar?!

“I is bacon supposed to have that weird-I’m sure it’s fine. “ (This is even funnier when you consider he’s lived in the woods for years.)

It goes without saying that Belli is the cook the Cultbusters not only need, but deserve.

While they enjoy their breakfast, to the best of their abilities, the caped fighter is on the move. Not so much grocery shopping as person searching.

First try at the temples of the gods doesn’t bear him any fruits, but he most definitely soon finds the one he’s after soon enough, by revisiting the house of the cultist of Zarahm.

A few knocks pass, before the door opens and Luctan is met face to face with the very man Belli convinced to turn himself and his husband in. Luctan is allowed inside and the two fellows hold a conversation, involving the passing of a note, the contents of which are unknown.

Luctan learns about the man’s husband, what fate befell him after the arrest and, it was as expected. The cruelties and evil he had commited against his fellow people had brought the final judgement on him.

The now widowed man had made a decision for his future. To leave Crystalgate and take to the road, travel and, gods willing, do something with himself. Luctan is certainly in agreement with this course of action and proceeds to deliver a certain speech, encouraging the widower to follow a certain path, on his travels.

“I ask this, because, well. Life is short. And… like I said, I believe in second chances. Up until recently, that faith I had was in a severe state of quaking, where solid footing wouldn’t allow me to proceed ahead. No chance for peace and all that. But then I read a book, related to my own woes and... that gave me perspective on how to proceed ahead.

“It’s no holy text, I assure you. It’s-It’s actually this-“ And Luctan would bring out the Handerstaad and show the cover to the man with the fine beard. ”Kheyha’s story gave me a chance to find perspective in what I’m doing. What I’m planning on doing with my life and how I can zig, where I normally would have just zagged blindly ahead.”

When questioned by the shorter man at what he’s getting at, Luctan explains:

“ What I’m trying to establish here, sir, is that, while I still believe in punishments for crimes, I also believe that, given the chance and opportunity presenting itself, where the perpetrator feels remorse and regret and a genuine want to do something about it, pay off a non-monetary debt to those they’ve wronged? They should take it. Be allowed to take it and do the best they can out there in the far and wide, within and beyond these stone walls.”

“How would you like to turn your life around and help those in need, for a change?”

With the man ingesting the contents of the note, Luctan would offer the man a soft smile.

“You know, I find the best way to atone for someone’s past is to help someone’s future... You’re a religious man. One, who followed one deity at one point, before things went down the old turd hole.”Luctan would rub be back of his neck awkwardly, some, before reaching a hand forward to the husband. “Dare you believe in another and do yourself and the world favors without any payback in turn? For your own sake and that of those around you...”Luctan would smile. “Dare you redeem yourself? Dare you be just?”

“Take your leave from this land. With your possessions and memories and travel. Meet people, help people, spread the word that there is hope, out there... Young and developing in it’s abilities as we all are. And never take a life lightly again. Regardless of what a loved one considers.”

These were Luctan’s words.

But before he made his exit... He doubled down on what he meant. As he revealed the little one he carried in his arm. He would explain the story of the child and how he got from the trail road, all the way to the widower’s home today.

Tragedy of loss and next to no chance onward. Luctan would share how he was uncertain for the longest time where to leave him, as he couldn’t find his extended family.

He couldn’t leave him with the rich, for they would spoil him too bad and he had certtain experiences with that, growing up. And he couldn’t leave him with a temple, for he would be raised with someone else’s values, as opposed to the ones he could learn for himself.

No.

Just like the widower.

This child needed a new lease on life.

And Luctan offered the young one to the husband. To take him. To raise him on the road. For the two of them to go and help and grow together, as people.

The man was, to say the least, stupified at what had transpired. For he and his husband had always wanted a child, even when they didn’t have the means to. And for him to have this chance now-he was greatful.

Luctan would pass him over, along with the young one’s possessions and then some (30 gold given to the fellow, for a good travel). And he would have a word with his little traveling companion. As hard as it was for him to keep a strong face during the whole thing.

“H-hey, little one. It’s me, Luctan again. I, ah. Okay, I knew this moment was going to come eventually, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon, to come so fast. I, ah. Yeah, this is where we’re parting ways. I don’t know if what we’ve done so far, with you on board will come back to you in some form. Whether a relative, close or distant, will come to pick you up or you’ll be adopted within the next few months or years, but... – sigh- I want you to know this. Even if it’s a far off memory in the back of your head, little one, I want you to keep this in there, eh?

Life is... short. And for some far shorter than expected. But life is also long, oh so very long. And if what I know about elves is correct, you’ll be around for long enough to see little Rimefang grow into a beautiful adult one day. Hells, you might even end up riding him.

But I digress. You will grow up one day. You will have a life of your own, meet people that make you happy and people that make you sad and. Choices will be made, right?

... I guess what I’m trying to get at here is that, I wish for you to do the best you can out there. Whether you take the adventurer’s life or settle to a respectable profession like a carpenter, or glassblower, or hey! Even an enchanter, like ol’ Peppery Pete. Oh. Whoah, now that I think about it, you’ll probably get to interact with him eventually. For centuries. Gnomes and all that.

And when that happens, I want you to do the best you can. Not be as good as the next best guy, right? Be better, be kinder. You don’t have to be a hero. You can be a helper. Not everyone needs a monster slain or a band of rogues decimated. Sometimes… sometimes you need to be a shoulder. An ear. A mouth for someone else. To support, to listen, to tell them that it’s going to be okay, while you wrap them up in a blanket and bring them to safety.

There are a ton of us out there. Not enough helpers, who could prevent people from going down the wrong path before they even get it suggested to them.

And when those times come in your life, whether you think of me or not, I’ll be there. Physically, maybe not. But in spirit, in the literal sense, if I can. When times seem darkest and hope seems lost, I will be there, at your side to give you that encouraging shoulder. That ear. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll chant a word or a few from my mouth.

I’ll always be there for you little one. May all the luck be in your favor.”

Luctan would then lean down and kiss the little one’s forehead, before removing the cloth from around his neck and passing it over to the baby. There’s a little something there, on the inside, for the baby to search for when he becomes of age. “That” and a similar letter to the one he gave the elf boy’s new father.

And Luctan would leave.

A few blocks down he’d hide around a corner and cry onto his knees. He had formed an attachment towards the little one. for all his attempts to avoid that, he really had gotten to care for the kid, damn it!

He would eventually return to the Shadowspire Mannor, groceries in his arms. And the others would note the lack of baby. And understand what went down.

Malak would offer his services on investigating the identity of the bartender, but Mournimar, for some reason, opted out of that line of thought. For one reason or another, the ranger had chosen not to pusue that course of action.

Malak, in stead, then takes the three on a tour around town.

Somewhere along the way, through the line of conversations, the party learn that Malak has an ability to make someone appear dead, without them actually being dead.

(What we learn, I think both OOC and IC that is how he goes to bed)

To prove his claim, he casts the spell on Amelia.

With the tieflings freaking out, Malak just dispells his magic on the Air Genasi monk and Amelia expresses, from an odd place of comfort, how she loved the experience.

Possibly due to this series of events, Malak leads the others to another location.

An establisshment called the “ “Nature’s Bounty” café. A café, where people can sit back and relax alongside comfort animals, which they can feed, if they so fancy and are encouraged to.

Expecting it to smell of animals, it quickly dons on everyone, who isn’t Malak, that it smells very aromatic, like a spa of sorts. Everything seems built for comfort and peace, with the color theme involving pink and green as the main two standing out colors.

Within the room the four + Morgan find themselves, a bald woman (all, who work here seem to be bald as a means of cleanliness around the animals) stands with a raven on her shoulder and a number of animals around her. Among them: 3 cats, 1 weasel, 1 rabbit, 1 deer and 1 large Mastiff dog.

Malak goes straight for the bunny.

Amelia immediately goes to the deer. The deer is nice and boops her hand.

Mournimar sits with Morgan. He waits for animals to come to him, while Morgan seems on edge around all these creatures. You know. With him being a DIRE WOLF and all that. For his troubles, Morgan gets pats and rolls over, getting belly rubs.

As though sensing the initial anxiety, the mastiff sits up next to the floofy newcommer and they bump heads and sit next to each other.

So yeah.

Morgan made a buddy!

The bunny is regal and proud as he gets the gentle pats and scritches. “Yes, I deserve this for existing. I’m a rabbit, for I am perfect.”Snoot twitch.

Luctan feels something running up his leg and the weasel comes up, popping out from inside his his armor. The little one gets real coasy and friendly with the enamored tiefling and nuzzles him but good, all the while Mournimar casts speak with animals, so he can understand what the weasel would be saying to all this.

Much to his shock. The weasel speaks in a New Jersey accent. And is using Luctan to get treats. Though luctan ignores the warning and just feeds the little bugger anyways, because come on! Leetl creecher, deserving of pats!

The weasel soon gets to rest on a fitting cushion with a blanket.

Amelia is walked over by 3 cats + Deer. Lost in the sauce.

With Archie being left at home, Amelia’s player makes a D100 roll. on a roll of 77 from 100, Archie totes didn’t steal from Nel’s pantry.

And the gang have themselves a nice sip for an affordable price.

Splitting off from the group,later on, Malak asks at the dungeons whether they have the cultist’s equipment there, his cultist stuff for Zarahm.

They’ve collected a symbol in a cerulean color and other symbols in association with Zarahm. They’ve collected the dagger, because it was giving a magical aura and some non-related stuff.

Malak thanks the cops and then casts Locate Object for related stuff to Zarahm. He catches a couple of blips across the city, namely one close to the Nature Bound Café, on it’s eastern side and one below the FM

With Mournimar being woken up from a peaceful sleep in the room and Amelia giving a smooch to the head of each and every animal, Luctan goes off and sells the monster heads offscreen for a price of 300 gold, thanks to a good Persuasion roll.

And the trio soon reconfigure with Malak, outside, and head off on wherever their legs will take them next.

Mournimar keeps an eye out, curiously, something that gets noticed by Malak and then Amelia. While Luctan just notices nothing.

He spots on the pavement next to a door a shoddy house. The symbol he’s looking for is there. There’s a symbol of Potencia on a door. Everyone, but Luctan catches onto it.

A cautious, but determined Malak wants to know why they’re here. Him being the cleric to a legal deity, this seems incredibly off to him for a place to be.

Mournimar suggests he had a “gut feeling” at the time. That this place not only existed, but that they should investigate it. And stop a cultist of Potencia’s, by any means, including killing.

Morality comes into question over this decision and Malak suggests they shouldn’t worry about the implications of busting into someone’s home in this particular situation. As a Potenciate’s death would be presented with much grattitude.

Malak opens the door and-

And inside, at a table, sits an older woman with thin gray hair.

Before anything else can happen, as Malak leads the others inside, he casts Zone Of Truth and asks her about the symbol and what it is to her.

The old woman, failing her save, admits that at some point back in the day she made a deal with Potencia.

Her husband was an abuser. She implies that he had killed their son and that she made a deal with Potencia for strength to kill him in turn. And so she did. But after that, she hadn’t done much after.

She doesn’t regret her choice and Luctan and Amelia tend to agree with this statement. Vocally. (Not sure if Amelia saved or not, but Luctan failed on the Wisdom save and wasn’t even sure he was under a spell at the time. So he was just compelled to speak his mind more than he has usually done).

Before anything else could happen, Malak asks her if she harbors any other Potencia cultists in here. She truthfully answers no. No one, but Stuffins the cat.

“He’s a bald, wrinkly old bastard.”

Luctan asks Mournimar how they got here to begin with. Who Mournimar talked to, in order to get the general viscinity of a Potencia pact maker.

Mournimar, in turn, suggests that he spoke with someone called “Jorzoth.” ANd he believes this “Jorzoth” told him to kill this woman?! Which to Malak’s ears came off as music.

He reached for the old woman, demanding to take her with them, one way or another.

Luctan gets in between the two and tries to keep a conversation going.

But before he can even finish his alloud thought, he gets put under the Hold Person spell and freezes in place. T-Posing as the last thing he physically did was try and create space between the cleric and the... uh... shall we say warlock? Sure. Let’s call Agatha (her name is Agatha) a Warlock.

Malak wants this old woman dead or brought to justice.

Half-heartedly, Amelia makes a swing for him, but misses. She doesn’t really want to cause him any harm and just tries to appear to his kindness and perspective. Given his background and all that. Malak, instead, flips the script on Amelia, regarding the situation they find themselves in.

Mournimar screams in Infernal and asks Jorzoth what he’s supposed to do.

No answer.

He instead begs his “friends” to free Luctan.

The old lady, who has Amelia step before her to protect her, makes a big show of threatening Malak with an enchanted knife, maybe her pact weapon, and that’s about it.

Malak attempts to bring her down with one move altogether, what we know as Inflict Wounds and Malak as “Inflict Vibes”.

But for some reason he misses.

Luctan tries to speak and begs Malak to stop and rethink his course of action. But Malak, based on who knows what from his experiences, doesn’t accept this.

Amelia continues with the appeal, while Mournimar tries to call forth the help of the two he had befriended. Jorzoth and the other. At a Nat 22 Religion roll, Mournimar gets his wish and contacts whomever it is he was in contact with.

He suddenly screams out in protest: “Guys! Can we not fight!” and steps to Malak, touching his cheek with one hand. Trying to talk him down.

Malak doesn’t take well to the familiarity Mournimar tries to apply, given that he has only known the Ranger for about a day and a half by this point.

As Malak tries to and fail to hit the old woman with the Vibes spell, Mournimar manages to persuade Agatha to change her alleigiences towards Mournimar’s friends.

Be it due to frustration, fatigue or a sense of defeat, due to being outvoted or what have you, Malak drops the Hold Person spell he had on Luctan and proceeds to step out, heading back to the temples.

Luctan follows after him, leaving Amelia and Mournimar to pick up whatever the hell they want the situation to be in the house of the once allied with Potencia woman.

Apologies are had and Mournimar and Amelia meet Stuffins, the cat. Mournimar gives the old woman some gold and makes his leave, following the trail of Luctan and Malak, while Amelia stays to have a heart to heart with the woman, included with it sharing some personal information that she hasn’t with the rest of the party.

As she makes her own exit...

We cut to the Narah Mannor. As Belli and Ficus arrive with Kevin and Killer. Once inside the grounds, Belli is practically sprinting inside and to her parents’ bedroom, determined to get this done.

Once they reach the familiar sight, now at a different time of day, they ponder on how to do this. Should they apply it one person at a time or one potion per person?! They were uncertain, though Ficus would make the eventual suggestion they try with their father first.

Bob Narah, a massive mountain of a man.

After some trial and error involving the ammount of potion necessary, they succeed in de-paralyzing him. As his body takes on it’s original state, the large orc drops to all fours, able to breathe for the first time in five years.

Clutching his hair and his face, he makes a first, pivotal realization. “My hair’s greasy as balls.”

“Dad?” Belli gets her father’s attention and as the man’s eyes set on her, he first mistakes his full grown daughter for Keemis. But then, she corrects him. And together with Ficus, help him up and out of the room.

Now in the family office, Harold gets caught up on events and explains from his perspective what happened, before the old lights went out in his head. The last thing he remembered was someone running in and yelling. That’s all he could think of the time, after sending Belli off to her given task.

There is a pause that follows. Long and uncomfortable. And awkward. Someone has to pierce that pause and break through the skin and organs to let the innards flow out. All this pressure being too much, a release necessary.

It’s Belli. Belli speaks.

Belli catches him up on what happened after that moment. She tells him every bit. Every. Single. Bit in detail. How she tried. To bring all of them home. Confused and alone, worried, scared. And the panic she went into when she “broke” Rona, Harold’s wife. Belli and Ficus’ mom.

All this is too much for her as she breaks down crying. Ficus applies a hand on her shoulder for support as the remainder of the story is told, from where she left off. How she had been living for the past few years, day by day. First from home, then on the road, in taverns and the like, making money for herself.

She blames herself for “killing” her mom. That pain, that guilt, still having such a powerful grip on this mighty bard.

The feelings are raked up to 11. Belli being able to be so vulnerable right now with her confession and emotional pain.

Fighting through tears, she shares of the events that transpired after. The cultists in Bavorum, the formation of the Cultbusters, the battle in the Death Cult’s strongholds, the travels, Sa Doma, everything!

For Belli, of all his kids to take to the life of an adventurer? Why, Harold was immencely proud, all things considered. He is in awe of his little girl. His youngest, now at 17 years of age.

As things calm down some, the two have themselves a big ol’ embrace.

Harold then notices Ficus all the better. He looks. He thinks and he has a confrontation with Ficus, given how things went between them last they saw each other.

Belli steps in. And takes to defend her brother’s actions, explaining why he left. She stands her ground and gives a heartfelt examination of his motives, without holding back on the jabs at his Wisdom on the matter.

Ficus, on his end, awkwardly explains what he had been through i nthe time since and. Further emotions are had. It’s-He had been through so much, ok?!

And then Belli starts spilling tea on Ficus and his Special SomeoneTM(Luctan). A horrified and redfaced Ficus tries to make a run for it, but Belli’s being her powerful self, holds him in place and dishes the gos out all the more. She is. persistant as all hell.

There is a moment of bisexual solidarity between father and daughter as they fistbump and Harold, now adapting well to his current situation, reveals that he had been hiding money from the kids. In special mounds around the yard.

When asked why not invest in a bank, he basically states that he distrusts the banking system.

Further revelations come that Harold was not only aware of Peppery Pete, but had had business dealings with him. Included, but not limited to, the Orc Strength Potiosn that Belli had almost gotten into fisticuffs over with Pete for.

Harold fucking loves that funky little gnome.

As Harold goes to inspect the kitchen, Belli Sends a message to Mournimar, sharing with him that the potion had worked and that they will soon return to Crystalgate. Mournimar is absolutely radiant about this and informs Luctan of this fact. AND that she spilled the tea on him and Ficus. Which simply befuddles Luctan. That seemed like a private matter at the time, didn’t it?

All the while Malak meditates.

Belli wants to and proceeds to search for the money mound. She finds the spot of her own destined mound. The one that her dad bullshited her 4 cats had peed there and if she touched it, she’d die.

There were more, of course. A spot under the swingset and a straight up mound no one ever questioned.

Lore reveal, but the Twins had come up with the Cannonball move.

Bob recalls that the largest spell slot of healing was used back then to fix them up. So much damage.

After a call to ol’ Pete, from Harold, the gnome comes on over through a magical gate.

The two men share a reunion and Sick burns are had by Pete, who reveals that the combined price for the remaining four potions is 800 gold. Money, which to Belli is basically chumpchange as she makes the transaction with the entusiastic old gnome, who bamfs back and forth one more time with the set of potions.

Belli has cash money. Harold is proud, he doesn’t care how.

As they make their business transaction, she makes peace with the Peppery one.

And then?

“Oi, get your ass down here, we have the other potions!” Belli casts sending at Ficus.

Soon after the trio proceed to fix the remainder of their siblings, leaving out Rona, due to the injuries to her stoney form.

It doesn’t take long, until their four siblings are free as well.

Belli approaches the confused and honestly amazed quartet. “Hi guys, don’t freak out. You’ve been stoned for the past 5 years.” To see their little sister, the youngest of the bunch, all grown up and changed as she was is an unreal experience.

But to also see Ficus there confirms it all the more that this wasn’t an illusion. There is almost an altercation there, if not for Belli stepping in yet again and defending him.

In her own way.

No holds are barred in her verbal defence.

Tears begin to flow from everyone. As emotions are on the high. Except for Keemis. Keemis is too cool to cry.

These people need to sort their lives out, man.

There’s a questi on the war. As at the time, the war was still going on.

The war... the war’s over, of course. Aetorumia won the war.Ficus, having fought for his country, confirms this from the direct witness perspective. It was not a pretty sight.

After another awkward silence, the family now catch up once more, beginning to plan on how to re-instate themselves in Crystalgate as the top musical family.

Shit’s wild.

At some point Belli informs them all about the possibility of meeting the Cultbusters. And Morgan. And Archie. At the mention of the cat, it becomes pretty obvious pretty quick that the Narahs fucking love cats.

And as Belli, Harold and Ficus take off to Crystalgate with Kevin and Killer and the four other Narahs begin strategising and building the constructs for their grand return to popular culture...

The session comes to an end.

Previous Episode / Next Episode

10 notes · View notes

tearfulgirls · 5 years ago

Text

i bought a new pack of stigs today and then right after i opened it my mom sent me an article about a girl in new york who almost died from pneumonia she got from vaping....

brb im busy regretting all my life choices

#vaping #stigpods #lush ice is the best flavor #my mom is disappointed #disappointment

2 notes · View notes

juminshans · 6 years ago

Text

RFA as texts from my friends + other ppl

Jumin: My fucking cat threw up on my fucking bed again I’m gonna shit in her food

Jaehee: I had espresso from a nespresso machine today and I regret every choice I’ve ever made in my life

Yoosung: YALL THE FUCKIN BUS BROKE DOWN AND I HAVE TO P E E on the bright side: i miss math

Zen: big bean, big peen. Lesbians.//appreciate the ass you got

Seven: fill my skeleton with salami and the person brave enough to eat from it gets all my possessions

Saeran: im a nasty gremlin i cant wait until i perish

V: Does it HAVE to be meth?//I’m kin with the bag of chips you took scissors to

Vanderwood: I can’t wait to watch his death in HD

Rika: brb gonna eat some ok ass

MC: want some blood and a bottom :/

#rfa #mystic messenger #mysme #jumin han #jaehee kang #yoosung kim #zen mysme #hyun ryu #saeyoung choi #saeran choi #v mysme #vanderwood mysme #mysme rika

51 notes · View notes

simplebearperson · 6 years ago

Photo

AFK, BRB.

Discord let out a long and loud sigh as he melded himself onto his couch. "There's absolutely NOTHING going on right now! This is it, this is how I disappear. Again!"

As much as he desired to pester his favorite Pegasus, Fluttershy was out of Ponyville, doing her annual visit with the Breezies. Spike was busy with Twilight and the school, as well as Big Mac with the apple family orchard, so they were all out too. For once in his millennia of being (somewhat) alive, the master of chaos...had nothing to do. At all. And it was making him worry for his well-being. The other ponies were just...too mundane and so...so ORDINARY and uninteresting! It wasn't his fault they were so...bland. But it was their fault for not being a reliable source of entertainment, but he found it within himself to forgive them. I've grow oh so exponentially since finding friendship, I never cease to amaze myself. Maybe I should write a book about it.

Discord drummed his digits along the arm of the couch, sighing once more as he let his eyes roll...out of their sockets to the ground below, making squeak toy sounds as they did. "Confound those breezies, taking up valuable time that could be much better spent with-- Hellooooo~. What is this doing here?"

One of his detached eye balls caught a glimpse of a black cable beneath his couch, one that was unfamiliar. Certainly not from any lamp he owned anyway. He blinked a few times as his body shrunk down to the size of a dust bunny and observed this new finding. Discord gave it several light tugs, trying to hear for where it was coming from. If the aforementioned lamp broke as a result, well, more power to it. Literally. That's how the thing works. Several more tugs, harder this time. To his surprise, there was an answering tug right back, making Discord pitch forward from the force of it. Grumbling to himself, he follows the cord to a very slight nook where the carpet meets the railing of the wall.

"What in blue blazes?"

Discord dug his feet into the floor and pulled at the cord with all his might, trying to pull in whatever was at the end of it. He immediately regretted everything as the cord took on a serpentine-like shape, hissed at him and coiled around his body, yanking him down into the nook.

A sudden cry of alarm rang out as Discord felt himself collide with something at the other end. Something that was solid and...fuzzy??

"Ohhh...what the what was..?" A voice that was not his own spoke out. "Oh! Well, this is new."

Still stuck to the cord, Discord felt himself being lifted up. He shook the dizziness from his head, trying to stop his vision from swimming long enough to see where he was and who he was with. He was met with a beige wall of fur, with yellow eyes and a black mane tied back. Also, rectangle spectacles. What's this? Another draconequus?? They looked slightly irked, to his confusion. And super fluffy.

"Heya, could ya do me a favor, neighbor, and quit pulling on my power cable please? I'd really appreciate it."

Discord seemed to become more alert at their words, surprise turning into indignation. "P-Power cable? Do you mean to tell me that you're asking me to stop pulling on your power cable? When you're the one mooching off MY utilities?"

Discord snapped his talons and poofed the cable away, a scowl on his muzzle. The other draconequus rolled their eyes (said eyes remaining in their head) and held up a massive bear-like paw, taking an invisible hold of Discord and bringing him along into their home. "I never said it was your utilities I was using, you old coot. Your home is connected directly to the chaotic dimension."

As they ventured further in, Discord took note of the bare tackiness of the other creature's home. Normal furniture, normal kitchenware, normal...everything. And what was that black device they were holding onto in their other paw? "Then what was your cable doing there in the first place?"

They settled down in, what Discord perceived as, the living room, where he was released onto a simple brown couch as the other drac planted themselves onto a black leather recliner that sat in front of a...box? Adjacent from Discord sat. "You're directly nestled comfortably in the chaotic dimension, whereas my home is, literally, between dimensions. Like that awkward little crevasse between the fridge and the stove. I need chaotic energy to live here. Hence, where the cable came in. So it isn't...mooching off you, per se. It's more of...mooching through you."

The other drac adjusted themselves in their recliner, bringing up the black device in both their paws and began moving their thumbs, bringing some sort of character to life. Above the character was a light blue name that read "Sorbet". Said character was currently running around (or smashing around, if that fist was any indication) in a place where metal characters were, some of them the same color blue and others were a bright red. Discord looked around and saw thin cases with titles and strange characters on their fronts and observed each of them. "'Overlook'? 'FellThrough'? 'Final Fantactics'?? What kind of tomes are these? They look...too flimsy to be actual books, and there's no pages. OR pictures inside! And what kind of name is 'Sorbet'?"

With a light, annoyed breath, the draconequus stopped their character and regarded their guest. "Those are my games, not books. And well, 'shaved Ice' was already taken, so I used the next best thing. Not a safe thing to do by the way, I advise against using actual names in a console."

"Con...soul?"

Sorbet dragged her paw down her face as she groaned. "Right. I forget. All of these things you see here", she points to a small monolith looking thing (router), the "tomes" in Discords' hands (cases) and to a big square black box (console of choice) by the even bigger, slimmer box (50' flat screen) on a book-case like display. "All of these things are from one of the dimensions I frequent. They're just so much fun!"

A mischievous grin spread across Discords' muzzle and Discord poofs atop Sorbet's head. "So all of these...doohickeys are from another world, in a way. Is that what I just heard?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, if I could do it, I thought we all could. Made sense anyway."

"So, there are...other worlds to wreak havoc on?"

"From my experience, yes." As they spoke more, Sorbet began moving the sticks beneath her claws. In turn, the massive character she controlled moved the way she moved it. It suddenly stops as Discords' face showed up in place of its own head.

"So then Why aren't you out sowing chaotic oats throughout the worlds?! You're just...sitting there, taking control of these...heroes?? Ugh, such tasteless attire this one has. Why take control of them when you can just hop right in and make your own fun! I mean, where's the fun in playing fair?~"

With a grumble, Sorbet reached her paw into the screen and pulled out Discord, then resumed another game. This time playing as a female character with scary looking hands. Perhaps it was a harpy. "Look, I get it. Believe it or not, I have done some chaotic stuff in my greenhorn years, but...there's something relaxing about playing through a visual story line or just blowing up stuff in a simulated scenario! Well, for me anyways- OH, C'MON!!"

Discord looked to the screen with a start. A big metal...thing just got destroyed while she was spraying gold at them, after which she too met her demise at the hands of some laughing explody guy and a big, pink haired angry looking female. "I WAS RIGHT THERE HEALING YOU, YOU GOOB! SPAM ALL YOU WANT, I WAS RIGHT THERE DOING MY JOB!!"

She hears a snort of amusement from her guest, and Sorbet purses her chops. "Oh yes, real relaxing. Mm-hm."

"Here", Sorbet paws over a thin, rectangle device with another game on it to Discord. "Try this one out. All you have to do is touch-and-drag the cards. So simple, even a relic like you can get it."

Discord arches his white brows in confusion as he reads the title. "'Heroes of the Hearth'? What kind of-"

"Just give it a shot! If you can complete one game, then I'll take you to one of the dimensions."

"That's it? Just one? Bwahahahahahahaa!! Be ready to have a chariot for me, I have very demanding...demands when it comes to traveling."

"Oh yeah", Sorbet tosses out from over her shoulder. "No chaos magic allowed!"

"WHAT?!?"

"Hey, If I can play these without magic, then so can you! Unless, you can't, that is. I understand completely if you need a handicap. I just thought the actual master of chaos could...y'know, do it. Ack!"

In a literal flash of magic, Discord is glaring daggers at Sorbet as he presses her muzzle, snout-to-snout, in a challenging manner. "Very well, you're on!"

Sorbet watches as Discord plants himself onto her couch and hears him grumble as he tries to tap and slide his paw across the screen. She chuckles to herself and resumes her own playing. That oughta buy me some time. Now then... A digital voice announces the start of another game, displaying two separate rows of names. One in particular name, on the red side, makes Sorbet narrow her eyes and grip her controller. We meet again on the battle field...Moonlit underscore M4R3*!

-End

Author's Note:

* This was a made-up name for this fic, and is not related to any [known] player, though I wouldn't doubt it.

#my little pony friendship is magic #Discord #fan fiction #my MLP:FiM OC #My art #My fan fiction #writing sucks #but I write for me #So #Yeah #^_^

1 note · View note

cartoonlonk-a · 6 years ago

Text

Hello, I’d like everyone to direct their attention to the wonderful and sweetie pie, Yume ( @maskedl0ve ) !! I just want everyone to know how amazing she is as a friend and a RP partner. I hope you’ll enjoy my TED Talk. WARNING: I’ll get gay cheesy af

First off. Look how fucking CUTE these icons are. Like ???

Look at this. I love them already. Cute lil ginger sunflower boy. I love it. It’s unique but not annoying to look at trying to figure out wtf is going on in at reaction.

Lets not turn our cheek away from the mobile view of the blog and the theme. No sir. Don’t miss it.

God dang, aesthetic af. The font, colors, pictures of choice---what a great way to introduce someone to a blog. BRB, crying.

Then we got the character himself. Original Character, Claus ( jk ). It basically feels like that by the sheer mass of thought you put into this character that barely even talks in his game. She gives so many details that I usually just ignored and it’s just...MMMMMMM. Also, look up her “Yume’s Art” tag, her art is the bomb.com and it’s TRADITIONAL. Gosh, if it’s that good on paper, just imagine what it would look like if it was digital ?? The visuals of her muse is really good and I appreciate what she’s created for us.

Her writing style is liquid gold too. Stunning whenever I read it, be it threads, asks or even headcanon posts. It suits Claus well, it really makes him come to life in all of those things said above. Her muse is super sweet, despite all the hell he went through. OP please...my heart is gonna explode for this guy.

And uh ?? Yume herself ?? You’ll never find anyone as sweet as her. She is a top notch friend ( luxury only few can affor--- ) she’s been there for me more times than I’ve ever seen anyone has for me. I love her, her vibe she gives out is so welcoming and wholesome. Life will be complete if I got to hang out with her for a day u-u

I hope those that are reading this checks out her blog if you haven’t already. You won’t ever regret it, I promise. Just make sure if you haven’t played / seen MOM3 that you wait if you don’t want to be spoiled ( IMO her blog is worth being spoiled bls )

Sends all my love to Yume ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

#{ I TOLD YOU YUME I WAS GONNA DO IT #Y'ALL GO GIVE YUME SOME LOVE #YUME APPRECIATION DAY #I'd write more if I wasn't so tired lol }#◜Out of chuchu jelly◞ ▬ ❧ ( OOC )#◜Just pixels on the screen ◞ ▬ ❧ ( Mun )#maskedl0ve #// long post

4 notes · View notes

mnemehoshiko · 7 years ago

Text

Star Wars: The Last Jedi [BULLETPOINT TRASH EDITION]

A SPOILERS AND OPINIONS ABOUND AND POOR FORMATTING CHOICES

(with bonus citing of external canon sources mainly the visual dictionary leaks)

Short version: I FUCKING LOVED THIS MOVIE ON SO MANY LEVELS AND IASDFSDFDASFASDSFDSFDSFSSAFDSADFSDF

Long version:

I enjoyed TFA. But it was very much a safe remake movie because JJ can literally only do remakes and monster movies. I’m also still bitter over Into Darkness BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU’RE HERE FOR SO I’M GONNA MOVE ON.

I really enjoyed Rogue One. It broke new ground etc etc but it had the freedom to do that because it wasn’t dependent on anything ultra important.

TLJ had the awkward positioning of figuring out how to move the main story forward in new and interesting ways AND not remake ESB. And I’m going to be super honest, I was 20% certain they were going to go Rey Skywalker??? Mainly because fanboys are amazingly uncreative but also because it would be a very safe way to go. Ohhhhh, of course Rey has the force. It’s because she’s of the Skywalker bloodline. ALL MAKES SENSE IN THE WORLD AGAIN.

As soon as Luke tossed that saber off the cliff, I knew that all my expectations were going to be subverted. AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!!

AND ON THE TOPIC OF LUKE, there seems to be two camps the

HELL YEAH LUKE SKYWALKER camp or the

OMG RIAN YOU RUINED STAR WARS AND LUKE ANDFS@#EWREWRWE camp, to which I’m like

so like did you watch the Original Trilogy my dudes?

No really did you watch the “OMG SHE’S PRETTY WE TOTALLY NEED TO RESCUE HER!!”

the “WELP BRB HEADING TO DAGOBAH WITH NO WARNING BECAUSE REASONS!!!!”

“NO WAIT MY FRIENDS NEED MY HELP SORRY GOTTA GO”

“BRB I JUST GOT MY WORLD VIEW TRAUMATIZED AND I NEED TO FALL IN THE ABYSS LIKE AN EXTRA (TM) BITCH”

“OH HEY I’M GONNA FIGHT MY DAD IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE NO TRAINING WHATSOEVER BECAUSE YOLOOOOOOOOO”

like Luke Skywalker lives on impulse

much like his father

like according to the visual dictionary, Leia was supposed to be his first student and she like said no due to like politics and family stuff

but lbr she probably looked at Luke YOLO Skywalker and was like....yeah no my dude you are a messssss

never be the first grad student

also like IF REYSKY was a thing

you’re basically saying

YES I WANT MY HERO LUKE SKYWALKER

TO DROP A KID OF A SANDY WASTELAND THAT EVEN HE BELIEVES IS NOWHERE

which like my dude, he’s from Tatooine and if he’s saying Jakku is nowhere. then like that place is like purgatory

like I STRONGLY BELIEVE if like Rey was his kid he AT LEAST would have dropped her

somewhere with reliable foster parents

and like water

LOTS OF WATER

OKAY I’M DONE RANTING ABOUT THIS

ANYWAY like I can totally believe with like Luke seeing the #darkness + probably Snoke’s influence in his head his immediate response was OMG WE GOTTA KILL IT and then went...oh wait this....is not a chill idea maybe we should talk shit out first/meditate etc

and like IMMEDIATE REGRET AFTERWARDS

honestly this is like textbook Male Skywalker bullshit 101

I HAVE DONE A THING!!! i regret everything now

THIS IS A HORRIBLE SEGUE BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY AVENGING SPACE ANGEL LEIA ORGANA!!!!!

*CRIES A LOT*

RIAN JUST LOVES LEIA AND CARRIE SO MUCH

*UGLY SOBBING*

LEIA USED THE FORCE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!

EAT IT FANBOYS!!!

FUCKING IT!!!

LIKE I KNEW BUT LIKE PURE PROOF IN FUCKING CANON

LEIA! IS! FUCKING! FORCE! SENSITIVE!!!!!

also i’m 99% certain Luke didn’t teach it her that trick so like my homegirl literally DID THAT

i just love leia so fukcing much and yes okay the cgi was kind of wonky BUT I DON’T GIVE A FUCK BECAUSE MY GENEARAL/PRINCESS JUST USED THE FORCE LIKE A BOSS THAT SHE IS

Also i just love Leia so much in this

like That Shot on Crait with her eyes over the collar is like

POETIC CINEMA

no really someone hook a girl up and give me that shot as a lock screen

Also that scene post mutiny showing up in a 3000-thread count couture bathrobe, a matching cane, and blaster? #AESTHETIC

also personal opinion but Billie Lourd in that scene wasn’t acting as much as oh god i’m in trouble face that all children go through

**MORE UGLY SOBBING*

OKAY LETS TALK ABOUT POE ONLY BECAUSE IT’S MY BLOG AND I DO WANT I WANT

*steps on step stool*

I DID NOT CARE ABOUT POE DAMERON IN TFA BECAUSE IT WAS SUPER OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND ONLY GOT TO LIVE BECAUSE OSCAR ASKED JJ TO LIVE AND OSCAR ISAAC IS PRETTY BUT LIKE THAT’S ALL I GOT OUT OF THE MOVIE.

*climbs off soapbox* Poe in this film GAINED SOME DEPTH, sadly it seems to be very polarizing and I think that’s in part due to the fact that it’s pulling on backstory from the EU, primarily Shattered Empire and the Poe Dameron Comics. Shattered Empire doesn’t directly include Poe but it involves his parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron. His mom, Shara, went on a mission with Leia and some others for some reason I can’t remember BUT ANYWAY SHE’S A BOSS. A HERO OF THE REBELLION. Poe literally grew up around heroes. One of his squad mates in Poe Dameron is another hero from the rebellion. He has a very wide-eyed view on the concept of heroism? For him it’s daring deeds and important war-changing missions, he’s very much a soldier and not at a leader. At least not yet. You get this immediately from the fight scene with First Order and the bombing run and the aftermath of it.

Poe sees what’s in front of him which is a destroyed Star Destroyer (?), Leia sees the whole picture which is a single ship destroyed at the cost of a significant part of their fleet. Yes, there were heroes but a resistance can’t survive on dead heroes.

You see this again in his willingness to go after the high-risk plan to somehow hack the main ship to get them to stop tracking them. He’s thinking YES THIS IS THE BOLD PLAN MISSION OF MY DREAMS!!! Except it fails, and yes I completely understand that this could have been avoid with like communication but to embark on communication? You need to let go of your ego. Ego is not a BAD THING, but sometimes it can prevent us from being our best self. The best leader we can be. And Poe does learn this as you can see with Leia passing the baton of leadership to Poe on Crait. As Poe realizes that a dramatic last stand isn’t worth the loss. It’s better to run to let the rebellion live than to die in a burst of glory. Those are the hard choices a leader has to make.

OKAY MOVING ON BECAUSE I SUCK AT TRANSITIONS, LETS TALK ABOUT ONE OF MY SONS, FINN TICO

I LOVE MY SON AND HIS TRANSITION FROM BEING A MERE FIRST ORDER DEFECTOR TO A MEMBER OF THE REBELLION !!!!!!! First I loved the fact that his characterization followed naturally from TFA which TO RECAP consisted of:

realizing that the First Order is a horrible idea;

getting the fuck out via some convenient pilot dude who (supposedly) dies;

meeting a girl who STRAIGHT UP ATTACKS HIM under the hearsay of a droid

realizing she’s the BEST THING SINCE TROOPER RATIONS and attempting to flirt because running away from a organization is best done in at least a pair

getting caught up in Resistance nonsense you are 1000% Not Here for because YOU KNOW THE FIRST ORDER and you know losing odds

aforementioned Girl is taken by the First Order and you’re like WELP GUESS I GOTTA TEMPORARILY JOIN this horrible idea to save girl

Tries to save girl but gets knocked out

END OF MOVIE

TLJ PICKS UP immediately after this in which his first and only thought is FIND REY AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS NONSENSE. THIS IS NOT WORTH DYING FOR Y’ALL ARE CRAZY. Which lets be real, you’re dealing with an organization.....that can destroy an entire space system that you have personal experience with. You’ve just been attacked by the First Order, the Resistance is worse off than they were BEFORE YOU WENT TO (attempt) SAVE REY. Finn’s main priority is WELP THIS IS A LOSING CAUSE GONNA GET MY FRIEND AND BOUNCE BECAUSE I DON’T WANT HER TO DIE.

Then it hit’s him like a shock. Figuratively and literally because Rose shows up.

BEFORE I TALK ABOUT ROSE I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT PAIGE ALSO KNOWN AS i was pretty sure she was gonna die but it felt natural-ish and I also know need to buy Cobalt Squadron for like TICO SISTER FEELS. But during that bombing run you immediately got the sense of

what she was doing was already extremely risky

YOU’RE IN SHIP FULL OF BOMBS

and that her last moments were of someone incredibly important to her

and like eventually TO ALL OF US AND MEEEE

I’m going to be honest and say that this plot was probably the weakest for the audience and for me. I understood what they were trying to cover but I feel some sections got cut for the final version.

BUT BACK TO CHARACTERS, FINN!!!!

had to deal with the struggle of moving past Rey as his sole guiding focus of his story?

Also people are like OMG WHY IS HE SO WIDE EYED ON CANTO BIGHT?!?! THAT’S OOC!!!

and i’m like my dudes

he’s never been outside of the pod of stormtroopers like EVER

HE’S FROM A LIFE OF MONOCHROME AND NOW INFUSED IN A LIFE OF COLOR

Finn: OMG THIS PLACE IS AWESOME Rose: this place is trash and I’m gonna fight it

Also can I give a shout out to that section where he’s explaining the plan to Poe and like Rose is like AHEM I’M HAPPY TO HAVE A FELLOW NERD BUT ALSO I CAN TALK!!!!

Poe on the otherhand is like....ah yes...cute nerds are talking....OH WE CAN BLOW SOMETHING UP FOR FREEDOM!!! YES SOUNDS GREAT!!!

Also his interactions with DJ are essentially him seeing a potential future for himself

and like trash meta moment, unlike Kylo “I Make Poor Life Choices” Ren, he makes the decision to reject that future for himself.

Like Finn’s arc in this movie I would argue is to stop being a passive observer in the narrative and to start CLAIMING his space in the narrative that is Star Wars

like FANON!Finn is very much the Resistance automatically accepting him and him become The Dude in The Resistance

this movie ACTUALLY DID THE CHARACTER WORK for him to become a leader in the Resistance

Look I really love Finn and he finally got the character development he deservessssss

MOVING ON TO MY NEWEST DAUGHTER!!!!

ROSE!!! TICO!!! BEST DAUGHTER!! GOOD DAUGHTER!!! MY SMOL ENGINEER!!

Okay, first off. I will like forever and ever be thankful to Rian for casting Kelly Marie Tran SO JOT THAT SHIT DOWN

BUT MNEME SHE ABUSED--

finish that sentence and i will unhinge my maw to consume your filthy soul

AHEM, I mean you’re entitled to your opinions

which are wrong

SERIOUSLY THO, every time someone goes “Rose straight-up shocked a black boy till he passed out!!!!!” I’m like

okay one, he’s canonically 23 years old

like as a black woman and one with a little brother I’m very cognizant of the impact of black violence in media and the constant view of black boys as adults

but also HE’S 23

two, Rey straight up clobbered him under the hearsay of BB-8 saying that “oh that dude has my dad’s jacket” compared to Rose catching him escaping via escape pods after catching 2/3 people doing the same thing earlier that day + losing her only living family

like if this is the hill you want to die on!?!?!?!?

I JUST REALLY ROSE BECAUSE SHE’S THE ENGINEER TAKE NO SHIT DISNEY PRINCESS OF MY COLD DEAD HEART SPACE

I just she’s so quick and smart but get put into the ANTI-SOCIAL ASSHOLE BOX???

like yes she’s very good and detailed at her job

She also wants to fight everyone

like if i wrote an academia au (but Mneme you do---) she would be like the HELLO CLASS THIS IS OUR EXAM ALSO BONUS POINTS IF YOU GO ON A FIELD TRIP WITH ME ^_^

Student: Dr. Tico, that field is a protest.

Dr. Tico: I HAVE SIGNS AND HANDCUFFS!!!!

I just really loved her arc on Canto Bight and her care for the little people and also the emphasis it’s not the wide dramatic actions that make the resistance but the people that make it thrive.

“We win by saving what we love.”

Mneme that kiss was sexless--

THE GIRL JUST KNOCKED A SHIP OUT OF THE WAY OF A CANNON, GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK

She’s be more than down to climb him like a tree later.

OKAY WHILE WE’RE STILL DEALING WITH THE RESISTANCE

I UNDERSTAND WHY ADMIRAL AMILYN HOLDO DIED AND THE SHOT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT AND JUST

#POETIC CINEMA

but also *UGLY SOBBING*

so like yes I understand that this probably could have been solved via OPEN COMMUNICATION but

Poe has literally just been demoted for flyboy antics

Poe initial interaction with Admiral Holdo consists of “soooo do you understand the situation” in front of a bunch of upper level brass

like maybe if he was like HEY HOW CAN I HELP it would have been better but he literally goes

HI ADMIRAL PLEASE LET EXPLAIN YOUR JOB AFTER I JUST MANAGED TO GET A HUGE CHUNK OF THE FLEET DEMOLISHED

cue Oscar Isaac’s prettiness

so like I understand but also I DISAGREE

also when Amilyn talks to Leia when Poe is like being carted onto the transport saying “I like him!” I’m 99% certain it was implied that she was also down to bang

actually knowing what I know from Leia, Princess of Alderaan

she’s TOTALLY DOWN TO BANG

OKAY LETS FINISH UP THIS NONSENSE WITH REMAINING TWO CHARAS ALSO KNOWN AS THIS IS A BIASED REVIEW AND IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO YOU CAN LIKE STOP HERE AND GO

......

.....

....

*looks around* okay they’re gone?

*TAKES OUT MIC*

FIRST THING FIRST, I HAVE BEEN REY NO ONE SINCE FOREVER AND NOW I AM VALIDATED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD~~~~

It also follows from what Maz said in TFA, “you know they aren’t coming back.” This movie is Rey coming to terms with the failure that her parents inflicted on her, abandonment, and realizing that she doesn’t need some grand legacy to save the galaxy. Being herself is enough, and that’s so so beautiful to meeeeeeeeeeeeee. *weeps*

#POETIC CINEMA

SECOND, KYLO’S ARC WAS GEARED TOWARDS MEEEEEE!!! THANK YOU FOR VALIDATING ALL THE CHARACTER SHIT I HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT KYLO REN SINCE TFA THAT I THOUGHT WAS FUCKING OBVIOUS!!!!!!

Them: KYLE RON WAS TOTALLY DOWN TO KILL HAN AND UNREMORSEFUL. Me: ???? did we watch the same movie??

did you like look at the lighting in that scene???

the facial expressions??

LITERALLY EVERYTHING BEFORE THAT SCENE ABOUT BEING SEDUCED BY THE LIGHT?!!?!?

Kylo himself in TLJ: i didn’t hate him

THIS CONFLICT, THIS UNBALANCEDNESS CONTINUES THROUGH OUT THE FILM!?!? Also, I’m going to be hella honest

pre-TLJ: Renperor is such a horrible trope because Kylo Ren is a disaster human being who has no business and no interest (see Bloodline) in ruling??? LIKE YOU ARE ASSIGNING COMPETENCE TO MY SON WHERE THERE IS NONE

post-TLJ: alright, I can Work With This and I’m 99% certain he is going to be ousted because the FO is like who is this human disaster with the political savvy of a blunt post

like any credibility was lost as soon as he decided to have force tantrum when Luke showed up

and the SHOOT THAT SHIP OUT OF THE SKY!!!! moment

like my son leads wears his trash heart on his sleeve and EVERYONE KNOWS IT

honestly the fact that he managed to lie about killing Snoke is a miracle

but this CANON!renperor

this Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, which i am like laugh my ass of over, is not some triumphant Dark Fuck Prince??

He’s broken man who has thrown so so much into rejecting the light, becoming the monster that his uncle he feared he would become and realized that he done fucked up.

He tells Rey, Let the past die, kill it if you have to.

LITERALLY CANNOT LET THE PAST DIE

does copy his namesakes dramatic robe dropping so like there’s that

Also pre-TLJ: meh there’s a 50/50 chance he’s a virgin but lol it will never but touched on in canon

Post-TLJ: oh god he’s a virgin i will fight you on thissss

AND NOW BECAUSE I AM THAT PERSON REY AND KYLO’S OVERLAPPING ARCS

*SCREAMS* FORCE BOND FORCE BOND FORCE BOND

oh did i mention FORCE BOND!?!?!?!?!

Okay yes Snoke helped it along but like THAT LAST SCENE WITH THE DICE AND KYLO LOOKING UP AND SEEING REY

Snoke is dead bitches

what is it

it’s the Force

it was so good to meee

Honestly that face was peak “I’m disappointed but not surprised, I left all your shit on the porch. *SLAMS DOOR IN FACE*”

Like THE INTIMACY OF THOSE FORCE BOND SCENES

and like the evolution and like ASDFDSFSDAFDS

this was so good to me y’all

so good

no really i like never rec meta but like this *kisses fingers* http://corseque.tumblr.com/post/168629533017 good shit

THAT REGENCY TRASH PROPOSAL OF FAILURE

so good

so awful

congrats Kylo, you’ve surpassed your granddad in poor wooing skills

Like literally I can see Anakin standing next to him Force Ghost!Stylez and is just like appalled

so appalled

okay i’m done I’m going to think about star wars and start throwing all my money at the EU YET AGAIN

#tlj spoilers #reylo #finnrose #star wars #STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI #i just loved this movie a lot y'all #it was so good to me on so many levels #I AM LIVING

450 notes · View notes