#debated with myself all day whether to post this or not or if it spoiled too much but. i don't... think so..? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

haik-choo · 4 years

Text

karasuno boys as boyfriends

a/n: im just basically astral projecting myself into these situations; ALSO if you want more detailed ones, just ask, and you shall receive! (also this is my first post i’ve written on here! but if you want plenty of kpop content i’m @hyucksong where i’ve been writing and I am still active! :))

---

[KARASUNO BOYS AS BOYFRIENDS HEADCANNONS]

-tsukishima, yamaguchi, hinata, kageyama, tanaka, nishinoya, sugawara, daichi, and asahi

---

tsukishima kei.

the type to look you straight in your eyes when you ask for a hug and say “no, who do you think i am, your boyfriend?”

runs his hands through your hair from the front and then when his hand reaches the back of your head he pulls you into him and kisses you either on the forehead or the lips <3

in order to be in a relationship with him you HAVE to have the same type of humor.

i don’t think he could date someone who doesn’t make fun of people with him

you guys are like best friends who make fun of each other and. make out a little every once in a while

he’ll hold your hand and hug you in public but he will NEVER do anything else, especially not in front of the boys

he thinks the blush that ignites on your kissable cheeks should be for his eyes only

he gave you a keychain that had a cute little strawberry shortcake on it. and it’s your most prized possession

will shoot a glare at anyone who watches you too closely. like no. don’t get googly eyed over MY girlfriend.

and you don’t have a problem with that ;)

yamaguchi tadashi.

he likes to watch you when you’re not looking to pick out the little habits you do

he thinks that knowing someone’s little hardly noticeable habits is one of the most intimate things on mother earth

he knows that you stir the milk in the bowl three times before you pour the cereal in to check for chunks because you accidentally drank spoiled milk when you were younger

NEVER has an issue getting you a gift for any occasion. he ALWAYS knows what you’re looking at and what you want and you lowkey think he can read your mind but in reality he just pays attention <3

you’re either just as shy as him to bring out his more assertive side or more assertive than he is to bring out his more timid side -- both are good

kisses you on the forehead and holds your hand in public -- he loves PDA because he can show you off :’)

yes. he kisses the back of your nape in public. so what.

YES. HE CLOSES HIS EYES WHEN HE DOES IT AND ACCIDENTALLY INHALES YOUR SCENT AND WHISPERS IN YOUR EAR THAT YOU SMELL GOOD. IDC IF YOU THINK THAT’S CREEPY. IT’S CUTE. YES. HE GIVES YOU THAT LOOK THAT SAYS HE’S CRAZILY IN LOVE WITH YOU. SO WHAT.

kageyama tobio.

he probably fell in love with you because you were just as passionate about something else as he is about volleyball; music, drawing, writing, math, science, reading -- whatever

i see this relationship as being one that’s like...accelerated friends. like,,, you act like him and hinata except you kiss sometimes and he can see you at the end of the wedding aisle

DEFINITELY reads cosmopolitans once you start dating because he wants to be a good boyfriend for you <3

PDA is literally little to NONe,,, not because he doesn’t like it...it’s just because he doesn’t realize that he’s not showing you affection lololol

like in one arm he has his athletic duffel bag and the other he has a volleyball

he doesn’t mean to neglect you he just does AGAGAG

realized he liked you when he thought about you when he was drinking his milk and mindlessly bought you one too

the first time y’all kissed. he literally stared at you so intensely for a SOLID ten minutes debating in his head whether or not he should just go for it or wait or just smash his face into yours and hope your lips connect

he chose to cross his fingers and ended up smashing his forehead and nose into yours

it was cute tho <3

hinata shoyo.

YALL HAVE DATES WHERE YOU BABYSIT HIS SISTER. WTF SO CUTE

when yall cuddle and you’re the little spoon he likes to put his head on your shoulder/between your neck and watch as you scroll through tiktok or instagram and just mindlessly talk about his day

the type of boyfriend where neither of you can cook and you both confusedly look at recipes on google like: ????? wtf is the difference between brown sugar and regular sugar

it’s his INSTINCT to hold your hand. no matter what. his hand just...gravitates to yous.

AND HIS LIPS JUST FIND YOUR CHEEK??? like it’s so natural to him to kiss your cheek when he sees you, even in public. it’s so adorable i--

THE TYPE OF GUY TO WIPE OFF FOOD FROM THE CORNER OF YOUR MOUTH AND STILL EAT IT AND SAY “you taste good!~” AND NOT EVEN REALIZE WHAT HE SAID. BUT WHEN YOU DO IT TO HIM HE BLOWS A FUSE

he loves to tickle you. like you’ll be vibing, drinking whatever you drink in the morning and he’ll come up to you all casually and kiss you cheek...and then he’ll pounce

he holds you close to his chest when he tickles you, partally because he likes feeling your laugh vibrate on his chest, and partially because it’s easier to not get tickled if he’s right behind you

his sister LOVes you and it just. makes him so happy

tanaka ryuunosuke.

you CANNOT remove his hand from your ass. it is permanently glued there. it is attached to you. yes, even in public.

number 1 hypeman! he will always support you, no matter what! you could be in a competition to raise the biggest beetle and he’ll be there rooting you on and staying up late with you as you rear your award-winning beetle

you two lay next to each other on the couch/on his bed and he’ll have his arm around you and you’ll lay your head on his chest as you watch netflix shows

YOU, NISHINOYA, AND TANAKA? UNSTOPPABLE TRIO. POWER TRIPLET.

i don’t imagine him being shy when he first kisses you; the first time he kissed you, you were literally just. existing and he literally just...couldn’t hold it in...and he just went for it

literally CATAPULTS himself into you and kisses you senseless

yes you and saeko are besties she gives you ALL the tea about young tanaka

the type to take off his shirt more during practice if you’re there watching, and literally BURN red if you mention anything about his muscles

you once traced a vein in his arm and commented on how hot it was and he literally short-circuited

kiss his biceps. kiss his abs. kiss his cheek. please. it’s all he wants. he’s touch-starved

nishinoya yuu.

SUCH an excited boyfriend

like he seriously gets so hype doing ANYTHING with you pleaSE give this man an award. you’ll be at the amusement park and the line to get into a ride will be three hours and he’ll be like

“I get to spend three hours with you?!! fucking sick! absolutely radical!”

he’s bold in public, but only because he wants to rub you in his teammates faces, but his ears will be Red

at home, he’s calmer :) he just loves to spend time with you, even if you’re sitting on a bench watching him practice receives for five hours straight in the blazing sun.

he just treasures your time so much, you treats you like a precious gem -- he will NEVER treat you wrong. deadass has no problem admitting when he’s wrong -- but if he thinks he’s right then he WILL stand his ground

he’s a passionate man, who loves just as passionately.

his favorite time to kiss you is after you’ve taken a sip of a soda because he likes the taste of the syrup and the burn of the carbonation, but most of all because he likes the taste of your lips in combination with all of them

NIPS AT YOUR EAR. DEADASS JUST LOOKS AT YOU BRUSH A PIECE OF HAIR BACK WHEN YOU’RE DOING HOMEWORK AND IS LIKE “free real estate” AND C H O MPS

the day nishinoya told everyone yall were dating, kiyoko stopped you in the hallway and deadass got on her knees and thanked you LITERALLY she was like “i’ll buy you anything. give the word and it’ll be yours.”

sugawara koushi.

would kiss you on the first date. deadass. he’ll just drop you off at your doorstep and you’re still high on adrenaline, and you’re lowkey hoping he’ll kiss you and you get little disappointed when he doesn’t and then when you least expect it. bam. his lips on yours

his smell oh god, he literally smells like fresh sugar cookies. it’s like as soon as you get anywhere near him his smell just invades you nose and. you’re powerless. you just wanna hug him

never smells bad. try me, bitch. NEVER.

his hugs are literally god’s gifts. he loves hugging you. he just completely envelopes you with his pretty setter arms and his smell takes up all the space in your head and nothing else exists for that moment, just you two

loves tucking your hair behind your ears or just moving it out of your face; doing homework and your bangs are in the way? not for long because he’ll clip them up for you <3

he’s pretty mischievous and will playfully put his hand next to your head and lean down with such a HOT look in his eyes

and he’ll say some shit like “i wanna devour you” and then he’ll laugh afterwards and give you a kiss on the forehead and you’re standing there. like -.- o.o -.- o.o

whenever he feels insecure about his position on the team, you’re always there to comfort him and he’ll just lay between your legs and rest his face on your stomach as you comb your fingers through his hair and scroll through tiktok

PDA? yes please. uh huh. mhmm. he doesn’t care who sees his love for you he just wants to love on you baby. kisses you on the lips, no problemo

daichi sawamura.

you and suga are the only ones who can scare him when yall are mad lol

boyfriend where you’ve dated for like a year but it feel like 50 have already passed. in a good way!

this relationship is so ungodly domestic. like from the first day it’s just pure comfort and he’s like your rock and you’re his anchor

you two bicker a lot but it’s lighthearted and you just feel so secure with him that poking fun at him and at yourself is just natural

daichi. gives. god. hugs. he does. it’s fact.

his arms are just so big and he has so much body warmth and he probably smells like some bullshit cologne like “smoldering woods” and it’s just so. daichi

you two spend the night at each other’s house so often it’s like you already live with each other and people always forget that you don’t lolol

totally sleeps with his shirt off and only with underwear. isn’t awkward about it either; when he wakes up he puts on sweats but still remains topless (not that you’re complaining)

you two are like. the strict parental couple, when you walk together whether it be down the street or in the hallways, you just look so right for each other it’s. mind blowing

doesn’t mind kissing you a little in public but really thinks that stuff should be for private; so normally he just kisses your temple and always has an arm either around your shoulder or around your waist

WHEN THE TEAM SEES YOU KISS ON THE LIPS THEY GO “EW” EVEN SUGA AND ASAHI AFIEFHEWIF

asahi azumane.

literal fucking teddy bear. god please cuddle him. please kith him. please comb through his hair with your fingers and kiss his nape and kiss the back of his head. please i beg of you.

did NOT ask you out first. he wrote love letter to you and then waiting behind the gym because he thought being near the volleyball gym would give him some luck and them you got in front of him and he was. deer in the headlights

needless to say you asked him out and kissed his cheek. he DIED

even once yall are comfortable in the relationship he still needs reassurance every once in a while because he’s a little insecure, not that you’ll leave him for someone else, but that he’s not good enough

his PDA skill are. subpar. he usually just holds your hand and that’s it, but sometimes kisses the corner of your eye or nose and you just combust

OH RIOGEH TOTALLY DOES BUTTERFLY AND BUNNY KISSES. YES GOD YESSSSS

when yall cuddle he doesn’t like spooning. he likes to be able to see your face and the expressions you make, so doesn’t like being the little or big spoon; yall face each other and just lets your head lay on his arm even tho it’s numb. im: soft

kisses are so sweet, slow, and hesitant. he doesn’t really kiss you often because he has terrible timing but...when he does it’s like the whole world just becomes still in that moment and nothing matters but his hands on your waist and yours in his hair

13K notes · View notes

sweetingseva · 2 years

Text

ACCOUNT UPDATE

Hello, everyone! 😊

I have been debating whether I should say this or not but I have found myself very lucky to have already read The Ballad of Never After.

Which means, I cannot answer any questions about it without:

Evading my inbox and ignoring asks.

Spoiling TBONA

Purposely lying

All I will say is that TBONA is definitely not a book to miss! It was absolutely fantastic, beautiful, and oh so so captivating. The characters are fleshed out and the world-building developed the story very well.

Stephanie's writing shines bright here, and TBONA is the best I have read thus far! It's been a few days and I still can't stop thinking about it. I cannot recommend this book enough! ❤

Note: I can neither confirm nor deny any of the theories I have posted. I will have my inbox open but I will keep Stephanie's wish to not spoil any contents.

UPDATE (05/20/22): I've closed my asks until June 30.

UPDATE (07/01/22): Asks are now open. With two months until TBONA, I'd have to keep sharing quotes to a minimum.

#ouabh #once upon a broken heart #tbona #the ballad of never after #evangeline fox #jacks #prince of hearts #jacks x evangeline #evajacks #stephanie garber

42 notes · View notes

homesteadchronicles · 3 years

Text

A Cycle of Seals: Writing Excerpt (Princess of Impotence)

After three months of continual debate on whether or not to post this excerpt, my friends convinced me to submit it on-stream tonight. While it imperfectly handles heavy topics I myself am still working through, I hope you see the heart and healing process behind it - and, most importantly, behind Eirys.

You may remember these three from my recent Character Description Challenge! I can never get enough of writing their dynamic, even as their in-canon scenes continue to dwindle through editing. Whomp.

___

Project: A Cycle of Seals Timeline: Pre-Book One Canonical? No Context:

The House of Salvation has long isolated society’s sick. The Godewine twins - Royan and Eirys - visit every dawn and tend to the condemned. While Royan attracts the masses with the supernatural power of his Timekeeper’s Seal, the powerless Eirys attends to one individual: Oeden Sincairn, locked away even from the other infirm.

Content Warnings: Illness, Isolation, Mentions of Ableism

___

The Yoreword warns of a wickedness more contagious than any sickness, one bestowed upon the lowest amongst them. Eirys has never - paragons forgive her blasphemy - believed that. Illness did not demean one’s internal divinity. Not when the skin-deep sainthood of her fellow nobles could nauseate an angel. Even still, sacrilege guides her away from those surrounding her blessed sibling to instead seek solace with the kingdom’s most corrupted citizen.

With the crowd thoroughly enthralled by Royan’s abilities, Eirys slips outside their thinning scope of notice and down the western hall. While the main chamber had been filled to overflowing with the infirm, naught but a begrudging servant files through the passage here. Those who notice her appearance regard her with the civil disinterest paid to one of their own. Or had they purposely dismissed their princess? Nonsense, she thinks (but does not believe).

Would such insolence not make sense? She is no Shepherd. She bears no Seal. She does not sway the hearts of nobles like Isolde, does not command the arms of soldiers like Sigrid, does not awe the minds of scholars like Ciaran. She is but another stumbling block to the damned’s salvation, a scourge to kiss their scars.

Why must power inhabit those who refuse to wield it well? That question had no answer, or at least not one the spirits deign to supply.

Yet, despite her inherent impotence, one resident still awaits her entrance.

Eirys shuffles down the corridor, around the corner, and up to a room quartered off from the rest. With a knock for courtesy, she slips in without awaiting permission.

Inside, the chamber holds little else other than Oeden, perched at the edge of a bed as unkempt as he. He is dressed, thankfully - not that a medic cares much for modesty - with a tunic hanging loosely off his wiry form. The tension that inhabits his shoulders evacuates whilst registering his visitor’s identity.

You’re safe, she thinks, willing the assurance to reach him. Safe, but not saved.

A flicker of mischief lifts his lips, too weak to raise the bags beneath his eyes. “Abandoning your brother, are we?”

Eirys huffs, indignant fists finding her hips. Even Oeden thought only of Royan! “I do hope that’s not a disappointment.”

He does not answer, and so Eirys sets to work. Oeden needs attention - medically, at least - every day before sunrise, lest their superiors deny him access to the sanctuary. If coming here every morning means her friend can escape isolation? Well, it made her wartime training worthwhile. Her bag unpacked, the bedside table stands littered with supplies of every shape and size: needles and knives and salves that would unnerve even hardened warriors.

Oeden refuses to flinch.

“You should have seen them,” Eirys says as she rifles through her satchel for a binding beneath the draughts. “All those patients, pawing at his Seal like it might peel off if they rub it right. They were two fools short of a parade!”

Oeden cannot see it, can see little else beside this room, and instead snorts from imagination alone. “With Royan there, they only need one more.”

She swats him with the wad of bandages in hand but cannot hold back her laughter. How tragic that such wit must stay locked away. “At least someone pays him any mind.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? His only admirers come from ones the rest of the world admonishes.” The laugh that follows lacks all humor.

There is a sickness in Norire. One that spares the poor and spoils the pure. One whose unholy hand reaches across the nation, fingers of infirmity digging into every manse and mansion. Even her own. Eirys knows this, intrinsically. Hates it, irrefutably. But, like every other illness, she cannot cure it. Not anymore than she might will away the wickedness of kings who condone quarantining the chronic, the heresy of priests enslaving the impoverished, the sinfulness of princesses submitting to these societal normalities.

Instead, she sits down. Shuts up. Prays behind sealed lips to an imprisoned god for forgiveness, for change.

Oeden never minds the silence. His proclaimed disdain for company disproved itself with every unspoken show of appreciation. This time, it crumbled beneath a subtle repositioning atop the bed: an invitation for intimacy.

Eirys accepts his summons, scooting closer, the equipment her plus one. A once-over of his body shows no sign of his condition having spread, but she can tell little with the glove that disguises his limb. Her hand hovers above, but does not touch. “May I…?”

Oeden nods. Neither required consent – thus why she elicits it. No one asked Oeden permission to burden him with this power, any more than they had asked Eirys to deprive her of it. He deserves this small dignity.

With measured tenderness, Eirys peels back the fabric encasing his left arm. Each inch of cloth stripped away reveals the crystalline protrusions carving through calloused skin in misshapen patches. Flesh split in bloodied fissures, ore corroding the body into its personal deposit. No worse than before, she thinks. The thought does little to placate her concerns because that does not make it better than before either.

Oeden evades her gaze. Witnessing her displeasure would surely confirm a deep-whispered suspicion: that he was, even to her, grotesque. She knows that he spies her reaction when he thinks her attention lies elsewhere, awaits a well-deserved grimace or an artificial grin. Instead, Eirys freezes her face in cold indifference. It comes naturally, she realizes - her family has done the same on the throne for one hundred years, after all, for far less noble a purpose.

She pulls a rag from the pouch at her hip and dips it into one of the pungent balms scattered about the bed top. The whiff of peppermint briefly assaults her before the musty scent of Salvation overpowers it. “Ready?” she asks. His nodded ascent initiates the delicate process of cleaning the crystal. Eirys traces the edges of fractured skin with her cloth as if she painted a masterpiece - with precision, and with respect to the canvas.

Oeden winces with each misplaced press of fabric. He never complains, but none could deny the pain he endures on the nightly. The momentary sting ebbs away at the gritted teeth and tensing posture until relief resumes its rightful mantle upon him. Eirys has never seen such strength from someone so weary. Weary, she realizes, and lonely.

He needs tending to. In his body, yes, but even more so in his soul.

“It’s not, you know,” Oeden says suddenly. He still refuses to meet her eyes, but he picks up on her confusion nonetheless, for he continues, “a disappointment, I mean. That you’re here.”

Had he dwelt on her greeting this whole time?

Eirys slips her free hand into Oeden’s, clasping it with desperate compassion. You deserve deliverance, but I can only give you decency. “I’d sure hope not,” she teases, “but we both know you’d prefer my brother’s company.”

“Royan would have only worsened this,” Oeden reminds her. The Seal of Progression could do little to cease the spread of crystal. It could only comfort those who conformed to its whims - and Oeden had never been one to obey. “Besides, who knows what I would have seen, had anyone else done this…”

Ah, yes. The visions.

Eirys understands next to nothing of them, despite her supposed spirituality, but she does not doubt their existence any more than she doubts that their god remains trapped in some undiscovered vault. One touch of crystallized skin could send Oeden into an unconscious stupor. Foreseeing an unfortunate future from unprompted contact became an all-too-common occurrence.

“And with me?” Eirys entangles their fingers, drawing his hands up. “What do you see?”

Oeden’s breath hitches as she scales the goosebumps raising across his arm, but he does not deny her. His left hand rises to meet her, ore-crusted finger brushing against a freckled forehead. A breath. A moment. A hope.

“…Nothing.”

Oeden exhales like oxygen had always evaded him. His head slumps against hers. “Thank the Seals you’re safe, Eir.”

You’re safe for me, is what he means. She hopes he knows he’s safe with her, too.

They sit there, undone and unsure, in each other’s presence until time unwinds itself around them and Eirys realizes: the military, the clergy, the royalty - none of them need her. None of them need to. Oeden does. And a flustered, wistful part of herself believes she needs him too.

She always loathed her own powerlessness, but this powerlessness to resist him? She could live with that. She might even love it.

#writing excerpt #original writing #writeblr #my writing #writing #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writer things #writing things #write #writer #writers #eirys godewine #oeden sincairn #a cycle of seals #acos

35 notes · View notes

thewalkingdead-imagines · 4 years

Text

My Take on TLOU 2

Warning: Major spoilers for tlou part 1 and 2 below!

Before I start: None of my criticism is meant as hate against anyone who loved the game. This is just my personal opinion, if you liked it or feel differently than me, that’s completely fine, to each their own! Also, this is solely about the plot, not the gameplay, the scenery, the graphics etc. because those were unarguably breathtaking and incredibly well done. Either way, here we go:

• Starting off with the elephant in the room: I absolutely hated that they killed Joel. I hated this so so much.

1. The fact that they killed him at all Killing off a main Character is rarely the right call and it most definitely wasn't the right one for tlou in my opinion. Joel and Ellie’s father-daughter relationship and its growth was what made the first game so special and by killing Joel, they killed a whole lot of the game’s essence already. Plus, and this is a personal thing, I (and I am 100% sure lots of others) loved Joel as character, which makes killing him off even worse. ...which lets me come to my second point

2. How they killed him First, the fact that they did it so very early on in the game. I spoiled myself on accident and knew he was going to die way before I even started the initial game but I can say that I was entirely shocked that it happened at the start. I thought it might be done towards the middle, which would have at least given us some time with him and a possibility to say “goodbye” in a way but instead you get very few moments with him at the start and then his death. That’s it. That alone is a punch in the face for anyone who loved this character and the first game. Then, they make him save Abby only for her to lead them into an ambush. I was also very confused that they made Joel follow her without questioning it, sure this one is debatable, but after years and years of being a hardened survivor, do you really think he would just trust a random stranger? He grew softer, sure, and he also grew to trust people more, but not enough to just follow a random stranger who said they had a whole ass group without questioning it at least for a moment. He didn’t even seem to be just slightly wary and to be honest, that just seemed unnatural to me. The brutality of his death is another punch in the face. Abby tortured him, for god knows how long. She first shot his kneecap off and then tortured him until he laid paralyzed on the ground, blood overflown and barely conscious. They did that to a character the whole first game lead you to love. Then they make Ellie come in to watch Abby give him the rest with a fucking golf curb while she pleads for his life. Sorry but what the fuck? We’ve seen Joel survive so fucking much, he’s survived being impaled by an iron rod for fuck’s sake and took out whatever people threw at him and he dies like that? Without even giving him the possibility to fight back? There’s so much going on in my head when I think about that moment that I honestly can’t even put all of this into words.

• I get that this all was done to set up the remaining plot and honestly, that was the next problem in my eyes. This whole story revolved around a revenge plot and how much you have to stop this circle of revenge. To me, that’s more of a predicable and overused plot but that might be a personal thing. My problem is even more that they made the whole story about this and that it felt like a severely forced teaching moment / moral of the story type of thing that lasted for 25(?) hours. I’m not against teaching moments per se, that’s not the thing, and I wanna be clear about that but I hate it when its a. forced b. way too obvious and feels unnatural, and to me that was the case in the second part.

• Now about 1/3 through the game, I didn’t want to completely give up on it yet. I thought/hoped there might be a chance for me to even somehow like it in the end. So I wanted to stay open and for a little I could still see that there was a bit of the essence of the first game left. I loved the cut scenes of Joel and Ellie so so much. I can’t emphasize how much I adore them. They did a great job with them, really. The scenes at the museum are pure perfection and they honestly made me despise the fact that they decided to kill him even more. I will never get over Ellie putting the hats on the dinosaurs and Joel, and I will surely not get over his gift to her. This guy went out and searched his ass off to find her a cassette with the first moon-landing, just to be sure that he has the perfect gift for her. This is beyond adorable. I’ve rewatched these scenes so often already and they honestly get me emotional each time. These scenes felt like the first game again, they gave you that cozy, warm feeling when you got to watch their relationship grow. I also loved the guitar shop (or their way towards it) cut scene, it kind of conveyed what I would’ve wished for for the entire game. A good bunch of action and horror when they have to make their way through but it still has the essence of their relationship and their story when they discuss the teenager’s deaths.

• In short, I really really wanted to see more of these cut scenes and kept on hoping for more until they switched everything up and a cut scene for Abby started.

• I already expected them to try and make Abby look better or made the thing she did to Joel kind of “understandable”, especially because I’ve seen that there were people who really started to love her character. So I kind of expected something big to happen. To me, it didn’t. So her father was the surgeon that Joel killed. Sure she hated Joel (fair enough, he killed her parent) but is that enough for me to understand, excuse etc. what she did in Jackson? Fuck no and that has several reasons. → Joel didn’t kill (nor fucking tortured!!) her father because of something small, like a few supplies etc. he killed him because he literally was about to kill his adopted daughter for a vaccine that might have not even worked out. He killed him to protect someone. Also: → Her father moreover visibly seemed to doubt that he would do this procedure if Abby was the immune girl, which is pretty much hypocritical bullshit. → Abby’s father didn’t give a shit about Ellie too, he could have let her wake up and make a conscious decision whether she wanted to do this, he didn’t. He just approved of killing her → He threatened Joel with a surgical knife → He would have stayed alive if he would have let Joel just go with Ellie / refrained from killing her So this honestly didn’t make me feel for her, this only made my rage for her grow. She had to know that Joel killed her father (and prevented the vaccine) because he didn’t want this little girl to die for something that might have not even worked. Then, he saves her ass from a sure death and she still decides to torture him to death? There was not one moment of doubt in Abby, not one and what makes it worse is that she doesn’t show any remorse about what she did at any time during the game

• I really hoped that they would stop after this but they really made you play all 3 days as Abby, the same time as Ellie. They really force you to play as character who has killed and brought so much pain over the characters you grew to love (probably as an attempt to force you to like her after seeing her side). So instead of using these hours to give you time to play with these beloved characters, they give it to her. Sorry but that’s bullshit.

• Besides this, it also absolutely threw off the pace of the plot. You just wanted to know what happens to Ellie now that Abby on top of it all also killed Jesse (!!!) and instead you get thrown back to square one. • I’m not interested in her weird love triangle with Owen and Mel, I don’t care how she got from Salt lake city to Seattle and I don’t care about her work out program. All these plots just frustrated me more tbh.

• Now, I wanna add that I tried to ask myself if I would’ve liked her if she hadn’t killed Joel and honestly, I’m 100% sure I wouldn’t. I just really don’t like her personality. All this time she just seemed bitter and boring, moreover she repeatedly said that she helped those others for herself and to top it off, she also fucked a guy with a pregnant girlfriend (fuck Owen too btw). So again, how do you expect me to like her?

• I did like Lev and Yara. Honestly, if naughtydog wanted to do something so very new, they could’ve just made a whole story about Lev’s struggles within this post apocalyptic community. That would have at least been interesting and wouldn’t have fucked your favorite characters over, just saying.

• Now flash-forward to the scene back at the theater. Abby’s just killed Jesse, she’s got Tommy hurt on the floor and then you’re forced to play as her and hurt Ellie? Fuck that (Also, the way they had Ellie walk around in that scene? C’mon that’s not how she’d walk around a room while she’s searching for her enemy)

• This thing kind of leads to one thing that wraps up a lot of the end well, Ellie was panicked and broke down when she realized that Mel was pregnant, Abby said “good” when Ellie plead for Dina’s life and said that she was pregnant. I’m not saying that there’s a general difference between Ellie killing people and Abby killing people, it’s obviously shit either way but there’s a clear difference in how they handle it. Ellie is clearly distraught while Abby stays cold, and after everything (also everything else I’ve mentioned) they still wanna make you sympathize with Abby and be angry with Ellie for doing all this. A lot of the game is set up to this (at least that’s what i felt like). Just one example: Abby plays fetch with dog, Ellie is forced to kill dog (also, weird how you’re just forced to kill dogs when you play as Ellie and not Abby, huh?)

• While naughtydog tried to make YOU (as well as Ellie, honestly) see all the different points of views they make Abby entirely ignorant to it, without any remorse and still try to make you have sympathy for her. She does not try to be insightful regarding what she’s done to Joel and see Ellie/Joel’s side just once. She actually mentions that Joel deserved much worse and suggests she did everything right in Jackson. This ignorance and complete lack of remorse...I think this is one of by biggest problems with this plot. Also, that very last attempt to make you feel for Abby when she’s lost her bulk and stand at those pillars? Really? Kinda cheap

• Again, I get where they wanted to go with the story. I get that they wanted to show that you lose everything when you just seek for revenge and that the circle needs to be broken, but it was so one-sided in the end. Both, Abby and Ellie lost a lot, but Ellie loses absolutely everyone and Abby still has Lev. Ellie loses even two fingers, which doesn’t even allow her to play guitar, which is another fucking punch in the face. It was more about letting Ellie face the consequences instead of Abby and to me, that’s just the wrong call to make after the entire first game lead you to love her and Joel. So, it felt dissatisfying to let Abby go in the end. I get why they did that but it felt like this whole journey was for absolutely nothing. Especially after they ripped her from a life with Dina and JJ to go back to hunting Abby down. She lost everything and didn’t even get to end it.

• Generally, what this game did...I don’t think that this is something you do with beloved characters. You just don’t do them completely dirty and they did so with Ellie and Joel. People loved this game majorly because of Joel and Ellie’s story and relationship and were excited to see more of it in the next part and they screwed those people, their viewers and players, completely over. You don’t have to be a complete viewer pleaser, don’t get me wrong, but you also don’t need to completely shit all over them. After all, these are the people who buy and support your game, it’s just not fair to them.

• This might be a personal thing but I’ve seen so many creators ruin good stories just because they wanted to do something super creative, edgy and entirely new with it. 99% of the time that goes horribly wrong. Don’t get me wrong, you have to do new things to keep it fresh but at the same time you cannot lose what made a story special in the first place. You have to make sure to keep the essence of the story alive and at the same time do something new with it. Unfortunately, i feel like the creators of this game didn’t even want to keep this essence alive, they just wanted to do something entirely new and they belong to the 99% who managed to ruin it.

• You know what I would have loved as plot for the second game? If they would have let Ellie explore that her life can mean something and matter even without a vaccine. The first game even perfectly set the second one up for this. Resolving Joel and Ellie’s conflict + making Ellie realize that she’s more than just her immunity + a new adventure...that would have perfectly continued the story. It would have kept the essence of the game going and mixed it with something new. Now, they pretty much ignored how Ellie felt about this part (except for two cut scenes and a tiny bit here and there) which was pretty much her main issue since she got bit. The last cut scene with Joel and her outside...it just made we wish so much that they got the chance to properly talk everything out. And by now, I kinda just pretend that everything after this night didn’t happen.

• So honestly, I’m just very disappointed and upset. It felt like they were mostly just trying to prove that they had the balls to pull a plot like this off, to show that they had the balls to kill a beloved main character and have you play with their killer. Sure, that might be ballsy and bold, but to me, that’s not what good story telling is about. Good story telling is not a game of “my dick is bigger than yours”. But maybe that’s just my opinion.

And there’s one more thing: Happy endings aren’t always bad, lazy and unrealistic And depressing endings aren’t automatically creative, deep and good I feel like that’s something a lot of creators don’t realize

#tlou #tlou2 #tlou spoilers #joel miller #ellie williams #the last of us #the last of us 2 #tlou 2 #tlou part 2 #tlou joel

37 notes · View notes

thethousandyearwitch · 3 years

Text

The Show Must Go On! Chap. 7

- A Youtuber AU you didn’t want and didn’t need -

Hisoka Morrow, italian Makeup Youtuber, enjoys his life in the comfort and occasional drama of his profession. But nothing brings more drama into his life than the eldest son of the Zoldyck fashion magazine empire.

Meanwhile, aspiring australian Twitch Streamer Gon Freecs forms a special bond to a Speedrunner commonly going by "Kil".

Chapter 7 “Montero” out now!

AO3 Link

What could be worse than taking care of a teenage boy who is developing a steady video game addiction?

There was a loud bang coming from the room above the kitchen, followed by laughter and cackling. The boys were in Gons room and tried their hardest to set up the sleeping cod. They refused help, naturally, convinced that they are just as capable, confidence heightened by being in each other’s presence, hyping each other up, and the consumption of their own body weight in burgers.

Another bang. A shriek. More laughter. Mito sighed so deeply that she feared a piece of her soul might have left her.

Taking care of TWO teenage boys who are developing a steady video game addiction.

Her phone vibrated with a new message. Gon had sent her a selfie of himself and Killua on the cot, which seemed to be standing securely. The boys were flexing their arm muscles (or lack thereof) with proud looks on their faces, and the only caption was “#success”. Well, at least they are having fun.

Bellissimo<3: Good morning. I am going to pick you up at 1pm, be dressed by then, and pack your bag for tonight’s show. We are going for a brief detour.

Hisoka stretched out on his bed and squinted at the too-bright phone screen. It was 10 in the morning, though the rooms curtains were drawn shut tightly as a defence against harsh sunlight. A lazy smile spread on his lips.

Hisoka: Are we finally running away together to get married in Las Vegas? I thought you’d never ask~~❤️

Bellisssimo<3: I am trying to reward you for not getting arrested last night.

Bellissimo<3: Do not make me regret this.

Hisoka: I should avoid getting arrested more often ❤️

Bellissimo<3: 1pm Hisoka. See you then.

Hisoka let his phone drop back into pillow-mountain. This was certainly an interesting surprise, and an opportunity that the make up artist wasn’t going to waste. Getting One-on-One time with the Zoldyck was something precious and rare to him. Because Illumi was a rarity himself. In a world of increasingly bland and repetitive personalities, especially in his field of work, Illumi presented a challenge of raw potential. Cold and calculated to the masses, an obedient dog to his family, a revolutionary in his work. Hisoka knew that he must be hiding so much more, and the more walls he encountered with the man, the more he wanted to tear them down with his bare hands. Hisoka hated calling whatever this was a ‘Crush’. Sure, he was affectionate towards the other man, and at this point he couldn’t deny the pleasant twist of his heart whenever they touched. But he didn’t yearn for lazy Sundays in bed together, didn’t want the peaceful domesticity that seemed to be inherited in being a ‘couple’.

What do I want?

Hisoka pulled himself out of bed, and made his way to the shower, determined to abandon this pesky train of thought. There was no point in pondering the unlikely. Though… Illumi had been indulging him. And he was going to indulge him again this day. Maybe he wasn’t the only one getting soft, even if neither would ever admit it. The thought brought another satisfied smirk to his lips as he massaged his favourite shampoo into his scalp.

He wondered how Illumis family would react, hypothetically, if they were to end up a couple. The eldest son of the Zoldycks, not just gay, but in a relationship with a makeup artist who is famous for starting drama whenever possible. They certainly would be a more feared and adored couple than if Illumi were to marry some busty heiress who hooks up with her tennis coach when he’s away.

Silva Zoldyck would drop dead right on the spot if Hisoka would ask him if he should call him dad, he was sure.

He stepped out of the steamy shower and mustered his refreshed face in the mirror. Maybe that’s all he wanted. To form something with Illumi that would be even more powerful than the Zoldyck empire, to make everyone else envy/fear/adore them. They had the capacity and the ability to do so, no doubt.

Or maybe he just wanted to have something he wasn’t supposed to have.

Hisoka shrugged to himself, before he went over his usual beauty routine. Today could prove very interesting.

12:45 pm, Hisoka leaned on his kitchen island, absentmindedly scrolled through social media to beat time. Illumi wasn’t going to be late, but he’s never been early either.

He decided to go with a casual look, fitted beige khakis, with an oxford blue button up, sleeves rolled up just above his elbows, debated with himself on how far unbuttoned would be appropriate-yet-slutty (Top 3 Buttons unbuttoned, was the conclusion). Under his eyes, rested on his cheekbones, he had painted his signature star and teardrop, eyebrows plucked to perfection, and after 10 tries he managed to get a satisfying cat eye done. It was perfectly normal to want to look like hell on wheels while meeting with your friend-partner-associate-crush-insertsatisfactoryterm.

The afternoons were always the worst time to check social media, the calm before the posting-storm that comes during the evening and night. Hisoka had already reached posts that were done last night, a few screenshots taken here and there for future reference and roasting purposes.

Almost fed up with endless scrolling, suddenly it appeared. Hisoka had followed a twitch streamer on twitter recently, some kid who was definitely going to screw up in some point of his career (they always do, when the fame gets to their heads), and didn’t want to miss that mess. “Foxbeargaming”, what the fuck is even a foxbear, he had thought.

He had seen the brat before, in his profile picture and clips of his streams. But that wasn’t the problem with the newly posted selfie.

The problem was that he also recognized the second brat in it. Remembered the way Illumi boasted about his talented little brother, the same wild hair and blue eyes as he showed him a picture of the kid. Killua Zoldyck is currently in the middle of nowhere Australia, and his family most likely doesn’t know about it.

Oh, this will be delicious.

Hisokas day had been upgraded from surprisingly interesting to extremely entertaining if everything were to go smoothly. Immediately revealing to Illumi before their date that his little brother is out in the desert trying to tame himself a boyfriend wouldn’t do either of them good. Let it simmer, let it fester, keep Illumi away from his phone the rest of the day.

Lost in his scheming, he just barely noticed that the clock hit 1pm. He grabbed his bag from the floor and stuffed his phone into his back pocket before he headed out the door.

Hisoka wasn’t sure what he expected, yet he was taken aback by the sight in front of him as he exited the apartment complex.

Illumi leaned leisurely against a black sports car, as if that were his only purpose in life. His sleek hair was tied into a neat ponytail, eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. Hisoka let his eyes take in every detail of him. Peridot green jeans, fashionably washed out, paired with a simple grey polo shirt, the collar popped open just enough to reveal more neck than usual.

“Are you waiting on an invitation?” Illumi didn’t sound as agitated as he probably intended, giving Hisoka only more reason to push his luck.

“I was thinking about whether I want to pounce on you now or later.” He approached the other man, who in turn straightened up his posture in defence. But instead of any hostile movements, Hisoka simply took Illumis hand, and bought it to his lips for a caste kiss. “But I’d rather not spoil our date this early.”

Illumi pulled his hand away, though maybe with a second’s hesitation. “Not happening, also not a date. Get in the car before I change my mind.”

The car was equipped with fabric seats, which Hisoka was grateful for in the Italian heat. “Maybe I should film one of those Vlogs today, what do you think of the title ‘Partner takes me away for secret date’?”

“What about ‘Multimillionaire kicked me out of a speeding car’?”

“Touché.” Now Hisoka was sure that his companion had to be in a good mood, despite what he’d claim, he’d never go along with his jokes if he were feeling neutral-to-pissed otherwise. He rolled his shoulders back into the seat comfortably, golden eyes fixated on the way that Illumis elegant pale hands wrapped around the steering wheel. “I didn’t know you can drive, considering you always have someone to do it for you.”

“I prefer it over flying, and I still consider myself a better driver than half of our staff.”

“I’m sure you’re great at handling stick shift as well.”

“Of co-“Illumi pressed his lips together in sudden annoyance, he most definitely had caught onto Hisokas smirk as he waited for an answer. “That is repulsive.” That prompted the makeup artist to break out into self-satisfied snickering.

“No clue what you’re talking about, Tesoro.” This earned him an eye roll, and silence as the car made its way through mostly empty streets. Hisokas eyes fell onto Illumis phone that rested on the console of the car. “Ah, I’m sure mister multimillionaire has Spotify Premium, right? Let me turn on some music.”

“Use your own phone.”

“I ran out of data volume. Are you that afraid I’ll discover your disastrous music taste?” His teasing smirk was met with another, more defeated eyeroll and a sigh.

“Don’t play anything trashy. The passcode is 0707.” After a questioning silence, he added “It’s Killuas birthday.”

Hisoka replied with an appreciative purr, before he started scrolling through the others music library. No personal playlists, not even a profile picture attached to his account. He was almost offended at the man’s lack of care for something as deeply personal as ones Spotify account, something that surely could tell a lot about a person. “Tchaikovsky? I’m not sure if I am impressed or utterly bored. Oh-“ His eyes stopped on a familiar album cover. “Maybe you’re not a lost cause after all, dear.”

A button press later, and the familiar opening sounds to Tame Impalas “Currents” played. The faintest trace of a smile curled on Illumis lips, barely noticeable, but Hisoka wanted to burn it into his mind anyway. Never mind that he took the brief distraction to turn the others phone onto silent mode. No unnecessary distractions.

It took the rest of the album until Illumi pulled the car into the exit towards the nature reserve near Lago di Bracciano, the last notes of “New Person, Same old Mistakes” dying together with the engine as they parked.

Hisoka stretched at the warm sunlight that caressed his skin when he exited the vehicle. Birds sang happily in the trees that lined the path around the large lake, and the only other person in sight was an elderly woman walking a small white dog. As the second car door shut close, he turned around with a pleased smile that showed off his shining teeth. “I never took you for the kind to take afternoon strolls.”

His friend-or-whatever set a relaxed pace onto the path and looked out onto the deep blue water. “I can’t sit around the hotel room the entire day, can I? And Rome is crawling with sweaty tourists and noisy journalists.”

“So you wanted to get some quality time outside?” Hisoka absentmindedly ran his tongue over his own sharp incisors.

“Correct.” Illumi didn’t seem to notice, or at least ignored, the predatory gesture.

“With me.”

He missed a beat before a simple, “It seemed appropriate.”.

This earned him an appreciative purr, before the men walked in silence along the large lake. Italy still wouldn’t reach its heights of temperatures this time of year, but any breeze was still a welcomed change from the rising humidity and sting of the sun. Hisoka wondered how much the others pale skin would change if he’d expose himself for a bit longer to the sun, if he’d immediately burn up in red, or if he’d start to tan, even just the faintest bit. He’d definitely look more alive, less like a puppet on invisible strings.

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence next to each other, took in the different sounds and sights of nature and the others presence, until eventually they reached the border of one of the shore towns. Beautiful stone buildings climbed the side of a smaller hill, only interrupted by greenery sprouting up between them. The main path was lined with flower shops, cafes, and Gelateria, whose smells mixed into a pleasant sweetness in the air. But one store in particular stood out. It wasn’t super flashy, it could have been found in any city and any street, but Hisoka knew this one from memory.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the others hand, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

“Excuse me-“ Before he could free his hand, Hisoka intertwined their fingers and pulled him closer.

“Let me treat you to something as well, I promise you won’t regret it,amore.” As his flaming eyes were met with a wrinkled nose, the sunshades Illumi were as not-telling as his eyes, he added “If you do regret it, I’ll gladly let you drown me right here.”

There was hesitation as the other mans wrist twitched against his hold. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

The absence of a struggle was still taken as accepting whatever had gotten him so excited, and thus Illumi was quickly pulled and seated outside the small café. Hisokas attitude had changed from a lazy yet scheming happiness, to pure, unfiltered excitement. It became almost impossible for him to sit still, he rapidly tapped his fingernails against the small glass table, until a waitress (in her mid-40s, he assumed) stepped out. She handed the men a small, leather bound menu, though both were immediately snatched by Hisoka and held back towards her.

“Non sarà necessario. Ordineremo la Cheesecake alla fragola. Grazie.”

“Certamente.” The woman replied with a smile, before she retreated into the shop.

“Cheesecake?” Illumi asked with a raised eyebrow, he had taken off his sunglasses by now and placed them on the table.

Hisoka tutted, “Not any Cheesecake, dear, it is the best Cheesecake you will ever have. I will have it at my wedding, funeral, and every occasion in between that.”

“I take it you’ve been here before.”

“When I had just moved to Rieti, I’d come here almost every weekend, though I unfortunately stopped when weekends became workdays as well.” He considered carefully how much more he was willing to share about that time of his life with the other, though the decision was taken off him as the waitress approached with two plates, each adorned with a generous slice of cheesecake, topped with strawberry slices and strawberry jam dripping off it.

His jaw clenched in anticipation as he watched Illumi take the first bite of the cake, reminiscent of all the rituals he’d do for him whenever he visited. It felt degrading to admit that he wanted to impress and gain the approval of the Zoldyck, but not degrading enough to stop the attention seeking behaviour.

A bite. Some careful chewing. Averted eyes because Hisoka was staringbut he did not care. He swallowed.

Illumi didn’t look at him as he spoke, seemingly engrossed in studying the décor of the shop. But his eyes betrayed him, Hisoka swore he saw something within the dark orbs glisten and flash to life. He didn’t know people could smile only with their eyes, but Illumi continued to be different in the most intoxicating way. “It’s… really good.”

Hisoka tried hard not to pick up his train of thought from the morning, tried not to think about what he wanted from Illumi or a relationship, and he especially tried not to think about the growing urge to leap across the table at that very moment to kiss him until their lips were sore. Instead, he started to eat his own cake, and failed to supress his sharpened smile.

They ate mostly in silence, safe for Hisokas muffled crazed snickering, and ordered espresso to chase down the thick cake.

“Hey, let’s play a game. What is wrong with that woman over there?” Hisoka pointed at a blonde who rested against a railing near the lake.

Illumi seemed to consider for a second whether he even wanted to play a weird game like that, before he stopped mid espresso-sip. “Ah. Those red heels are obviously spray-painted on.”

“Bingo~! It’s super obvious, right? You can still see the black shine through.”

“I’m more concerned about the uneven stitching on her shirt. Either she did that herself, or she has gotten scammed.”

Somehow that conversation triggered them to analyse the fashion choices of every stranger they encountered on their way back to the car with increasingly devilish tones. Illumi Zoldyck was a surprisingly good gossiper, and Hisoka filed that fact into the growing corner of his brain that he reserved just for him.

In the car, Illumi informed him they would just head to his hotel room to get dressed for the show, and then head there together. Any attempt at a joke about spending hotel-room-time wisely was, expectedly, cut off.

Illumi had never focused on the road this much in his entire life. He tried to be grateful that they had managed to get ready for the show in his hotel room without any major incidents, but now Hisoka was seated next to him again, wearing the suit he made for him. He looked good, annoyingly so. Naturally, Illumi wouldn’t grant him the satisfaction of telling him that though. He had indulged the man plenty enough for that day already and was holding back from chastising himself for it.

Last night had made him soft, Illumi decided. A brief waver of confidence and self-preservation that made him want to spend one-on-one time with Hisoka, in what may have resembled friendship to an outsider.

But his head was clearer now, cleansed from whatever foolishness had overcome him – the image of his mother recovering from a coughing fit and regaining her composure crept itself into his mind. Unrelated, he thought, though cleared his throat regardless.

“Machi says the crowd tonight is dreadful. Do you think she is just saying that to keep me from going~?” Hisoka tapped his long nails against the screen of his phone. Machi was a model they both have worked with in the past, though she was no where close to a breakthrough. A pretty face, objectively spoken, though smaller than most models, and the personality of royalty about to be executed. Do they always text each other?

“She’s there as well today?” He tried not to sound bitter. He didn’t have a reason to be bitter.

“Mhm, she’s modelling for a friend of hers it seems, though all the examples she sent me looked like someone with a priest-kink designed them, so it doesn’t hurt as much that she didn’t hire me as her artist.”

A moment of silence. “I see.” Illumi was not going to indulge Hisoka even more by inquiring about the nature of his relationship to the woman. It did not concern him; it wasn’t relevant to him or his work.

“Illumi?” Hisoka leaned over in his seat, golden eyes piercing into the side of his face.

“Yes, Hisoka?” Just now he noticed that he had been clenching his jaw uncomfortably.

“Are you jealous of Machi?” He didn’t need to look to know that Hisoka was smiling from one ear to the other, voice dripping with joy. He wasn’t going to look at Hisoka.

“You are insane. Why would I be jealous of her? I pity the girl, still having to work as a favour for acquaintances.”

Predatory eyes continued to drill into him, and a dangerous purr escaped the man, “Is that so?”.

“Yes, don’t be ridiculous.” They pulled into the valet line.

“Then you surely won’t mind that she’ll meet us in the entrance hall, wonderful!”

Illumi shouldn’t mind. It should be perfectly fine that instead of spending the evening alone with Hisoka, a good-looking young woman with an unclear relationship to him would meet them. He definitely couldn’t be jealous; it would be irrational and yet-

He threw the keys to the car at the valet and grabbed the number-marker without a word. His face wouldn’t give it away to others, that he was practically fuming, but Hisoka seemed to take pleasure in the subtle way that Illumis facial features tightened. “I heard jealousy can give you wrinkles~” Hisoka whispered cheekily as they approached the venue entrance, rows of reporters and interviewers lined at the sides, even more so than at the opening day before.

“You must have a lot of experience with that.” He hissed in reply and straightened his posture as they passed the crowd, mostly reporters who desperately tried to take pictures of attendees. Pictures, Interviews, all loathsome cries for attention that Illumi has always tried to avoid as much as possible without damaging the families reputation. He looked down the carpeted entrance and spotted the young woman known as Machi Komacine, clothed in a painfully tight black dress adorned with rosaries draped around her waist like belts, her messy pink hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her posture signalled boredom, but her eyes screamed murder.

Illumi was not a man who easily feared anyone, especially not a woman who stands at 5’2 proud; But he also was not necessarily thrilled to approach her. As he tried to hiss something in Hisokas direction again, something about not having much time to chat with their acquaintance due to meeting a client, he noticed: The other man had stayed behind, and was now busy posing for numerous cameras. Their eyes met, and with a mischievous grin, Hisoka held his hand out to beckon Illumi closer. For Pictures. Together.

Take pictures with Hisoka together in a public appearance that will most definitely set the gears of the rumour mill in motion; Or approach Machi alone and run the risk of uncomfortable conversation about our respective relationships to Hisoka?

He looked back at Machi, whose eyes met his instantly with a raised eyebrow. Fucking Hell-

Illumi made his way back to Hisoka, casually disregarded the hand that was held out to him and positioned himself as practiced – left arm leisurely to the side, right arm three quarters across his front. Not too strict, but not too relaxed either. In contrast, Hisoka had his left hand in the pocket of his suit, his right hand rested on Illumis shoulder as if were the most natural thing in the world. Journalists started to yell even more for their attention now, asking pesky questions that he tried to ignore, telling them to stand closer to each other, the likes. He kept the façade of his neutral face through the blinding flashes intact, even as Hisoka snaked his arms from his shoulder around his waist. “Do you wish for a public execution?”

“It looks better for the pictures~”

Illumi brushed a few strands of hairs behind his shoulder and used the motion to glance back to where Machi was waiting, her steady gaze on the two of them. “It’s rude to let her wait.”

“How considerate you are!” Hisoka snickered. “I know you aren’t jealous, caro, but I’d still like to reassure you of something.”

“And what’s that?”

“Machi and I look for, how should I say, very different things in a partner.” He tugged at Illumi waist and pulled him closer. “She’s looking for women and I am not.”

“Oh.” Illumi continued to look at the reporters cooing for their attention, as he tried not to think of the warm hand on his waist that felt searing hot and- Wait.

“OH.” He turned in Hisokas hold to properly look at him, who in turned grinned like the cat that ate the canary, then he looked back to Machi, and suddenly he felt stupid, which he didn’t experience a lot.

“Feeling relieved, even though you definitely weren’t jealous?”

“I think they got enough pictures.”

Illumi heard Hisokas snickering trail behind him as he made his way down the entrance. Machis eyes met his again, hands steady on her hips. Up closer now, he could observe the details of her dress, white seams stitched into crucifixes that crept up the sides, and the number “3” painted on every bead of the rosaries. It was cleanly executed, but Illumi was confident in the superiority of his own work.

“Miss Komacine.” He extended his hand to her, which she shook half-heartedly.

“Illumi. I’d like to get to business talk right away, so I don’t have to look at this clown longer than necessary.”

“Business talk?”

The young woman lit a cigarette for herself and shot a glare to Hisoka. “I assume you didn’t tell him I wanted to speak with him?” This granted her only a shrug and a smile from the man. “Fine, whatever. Illumi, I want to model for your next line, it would proof beneficial for both of us.”

“I don’t deal in women’s fashion. Furthermore, I do not see how I’d gain benefits from having you work for me.” Finally, a topic he felt comfortable to speak about, even it was only to criticize the woman for her awful attempt at business.

“I don’t mind wearing a suit, you should be at least competent enough to make smaller sizes, right?” She stepped closer to push a sharp index finger against his chest. “And about those benefits; Having me model for you would give me more exposure from a mainstream crowd, and thus exposure for my group. You would gain exposure to a wider audience of underground fashion-following, that isn’t influenced by your family’s name, meaning you could manifest a name for yourself. Unless you prefer being ‘a Zoldyck’ forever.”

The nerve. The audacity. Illumi considered just calling her a presumptuous cunt and leaving with his pride intact, but Machi looked like the kind of woman who knew how to slice car tires and break-wires.

A manicured hand curled around his shoulder, and Hisoka pushed himself between Machi and him. “What could be better than this; My two favourite people in this world, getting along, talking friendly business. Unfortunately, dear Machi, there’s some people inside that are dying to meet us tonight, so we’ll catch you later~”

Before he could object, Illumi was pushed through the entrance of the venue. The large runway was occupied by a high-end brand that premiered their women’s gala collection, mood-lighting engulfed the rest of the room, rhythmic beats of low music drowned out most of the talking crowd.

“Be a darling and just let her offer simmer a little. Machi can be very scary when she’s mad, and not in the way I enjoy.” Hisoka purred closer to his ear.

“Did you know she was going to ask?”

“What if I did?”

A waiter offered them drinks on a tray, and Illumi leisurely grabbed a glass of champagne.

“What does that even mean, ‘a Zoldyck’, as if it is something bad.”

“Don’t wreck your pretty head over it, you know how women are.” Hisoka laughed, and Illumi wasn’t sure how serious he meant that, considering that personally he had no idea how women are, and after newest revelations, neither did Hisoka.

But through the course of the night, Illumi couldn’t get it out of his head. He pretended not to notice how people approached Hisoka, addressed him by his name, first or full name, and talked with him about the content he has created, complimented on his most recent videos and looks. And he pretended not to notice how people approached him, addressed him only by his last name, and asked about the family business. “Mr. Zoldyck, are you going to write an article about this line?” “Mr. Zoldyck, about the next issue-“ “Mr. Zoldyck, tell my greetings to your father.”

No word about his own collection he had premiered. No one even uttered his first name.

He was ‘a Zoldyck’. Nothing more, nothing less.

“If looks could kill, we’d be ankle deep in a blood bath by now.” Hisoka snaked an arm around Illumis waist again and rested his hand on the tip of his hip. The designer took a long sip of the bitter champagne, casually slapped away the offending hand, and kept his dark eyes fixed on the crowd. “Still pouting because Machi was being a bully?”

“I am not pouting.”

“And you weren’t jealous either, got it~”

An eye roll, followed by “I have a headache, what’s the time anyway?” Illumi tried to reach for his phone in his pocket, though before he could grab it, Hisoka took hold of his wrist. They locked eyes, and even in the dim lighting of the venue, Illumi saw something wild glisten in those amber eyes. “Let’s leave, together, to my place.”

“Very subtle, Hisoka. I am not going to-”

“Indulge me, Tesoro, I want to show you something.” Determined to blame it on the repulsive atmosphere that had build itself up at the fashion show, Illumi let himself be swept away by Hisoka for the second time that day. The thought of getting away from noisy reporters and cockroaches of the industry who only knew him as the eldest Zoldyck.- former Heir to the empire, was pleasant enough, yet he also didn’t have to be alone and actively think about his reputation, name, and being a ‘lapdog’, technically a win-win situation.

The drive back to the apartment was oddly quiet, despite Hisokas prior excitement. The car tore through the dark night primarily in silence, only accented by the ‘The Velvet Underground’ album they agreed on after scrolling through Hisokas bizarre Spotify library. It definitely wasn’t the kind of music he was used to from the home he was raised in, didn’t fit between the classical music his mother used to play before her headaches made it impossible and the obscene noise music that Killua would play to trigger the same headaches.

“Could you check my messages for me?”

Hisoka hummed in response and grabbed the phone, manicured nails tapping on the screen, before dropping it unceremoniously back into the cup-holders. “Batteries dead.”

“That can’t be, I charged it before I went out this morning, the battery is supposed to hold for a minimum of 72 hours when idle.”

“Your dainty British batteries sometimes give out under Italian heat, invest in better engineering, and charge it at my place for now.”

“…This will better be worth the trouble.”

The streets of Rieti were expectantly empty, and Illumi parked the car right in front of the apartment (Was it a legal parking spot? Unlikely. But parking fines barely matter when seemingly half the world knows your families name.)

The stairs, the door, the entrance, Illumi knew all of these things about Hisokas apartment. “What is there to show me?”

“Patience. Come here~” Hisoka opened the doors to the balcony, white drapes gently tossed in the fresh breeze. The Zoldyck followed- with sceptical hesitation, but followed nonetheless.

He rested his hands on the railing, eyes turned sky-wards, a few strands of hair upset by the wind.

“If you took me here to just look at the stars, I’m not sure which one of us is the bigger fool.”

“Right, if we wanted to look at soon-to-be dead stars, we could have stayed at the show. But we’re not here for them. They are insignificant, always there to look at until one day they vanish and are forgotten. The real star of the show is over there.” He pointed a long nail at the night sky, and Illumi tried to follow where it pointed.

“The moon? Really?”

“Close, but also mundane and boring. Here- “Before Illumi could react, the strange man had placed their heads next to each other and started to correct Illumis position with a pointed yet gentle grip on his chin. “Look straight ahead.”

Just a little bit off to the left of the moon shone a star brighter than anything else, for a moment Illumi felt ridiculous for missing it.

“It’s Venus. Among all these long dead stars, she’s ever present, stands out the most, and is a rare sight to behold.”

“You took me away from the show to gaze at other planets?” Illumi turned towards the other man, suddenly all too aware of how close they were standing once again.

“I took you away from the show because no one there is capable of understanding your true potential. The way everyone there only sees you as an extension of your family is so infuriating, that it makes me want to ruin all their hopeless little dreams right in front their pitiful faces.” With a swift movement Hisoka had pinned the designer against the railing of the balcony. “You could crush all these people under your heel and make them beg for forgiveness. And there’s nothing I’d rather see than that.”

“I don’t need to make anyone beg, if I want something, I get it. It’s always been like that.” A cold thumb traced the line of his sharp chin, followed by a dark chuckle, and all of a sudden Illumi felt fatigued, all air leaving his lungs. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembers his mother recalling symptoms like that. It’s a sickness, nothing more nothing less.

“You get it because you’re a pretty show dog held on a short leash by your family.”

Fucking lapdog. The weight on his chest feels like it could crush his organs any second.

“I’m not asking you to bite the hand that feeds you. But I’d give everything to see what you could do if you were free of restraints.”

Feeling like he needed to hold onto anything, Illumi grabbed onto the back of the other man’s head, fingers buried in wild hair. “And why would you care so much? If you’re just trying to rile me up, there’s ways that don’t make me want to throw you off the balcony and watch your mangled body struggle for life.”

“It’s because you fascinate me, Illumi. You’re my Venus in a sea of dying stars. I want to observe you in all your glory as you outshine everyone else, in your full potential.”

“Who says I won’t crush you as well?” His fingers grasped harder on a few strands of hair. Everything in his body felt wrong, the way his skin was freezing all over, but searing hot wherever he made contact with the other man, the suffocating weight on his chest increased by the second, and in the back of his mind something about sickness echoes again.

They locked eyes, and just then Illumi noticed how close they truly were, Hisokas hot breath falling onto his lips.

And he should have pushed him away.

Should have slapped him, insulted him like the sorry maggot he was.

But he felt weak and sick and so cold, and Hisoka radiated pure heat.

Their lips met, softer than expected of either of them, and Illumi wondered if this is what it feels like to be saved from drowning.

A pleasant warmth seeped into his body, and his lungs felt weightless, like he could breathe for the first time in his life.

Hisoka kissed like each touch might be the last, and Illumi let himself be guided as he wanted, eventually wrapping his arms around the others neck, eager to steal as much of this intoxicating heat as possible.

The man kissed along his jawline, stopping just barely below his ear. “Stay here tonight, cuore mio.”

And Illumi placed a kiss to his temple, as gentle as a man who was never been taught gentleness with people could manage. “Let’s go inside.”

#hxh fanfic #hisoillu #killugon #hxh #hisoka marrow #illumi zoldyck #killua zoldyck #gon freecss #mito freecss #machi komachine #fanfic #fanfiction #I continue to have the worst update schedule known to man <3

7 notes · View notes

that-banana-headed-bovine · 4 years

Text

Knight Rider 2000

WARNING

This post contains spoilers for Knight Rider 2000, the 1991 film which attempts to expand on the canonical universe of Knight Rider (1982-1986). Key word, attempts. I know that this film came out almost 30 years ago at this point, but I also know that this fandom grows a little bit every day, and there will ALWAYS be people who haven’t seen every episode (myself included), let alone every movie! I happened to catch it on Charge! for Hoff's birthday (yes I'm hella late posting this LOL) with my good friend @trust-doesnt-oxidize, and boy let me tell you, it was… Something.

From here on out, I’m not holding back from sharing my impression of the film based on specific details from it, so if you want a spoiler-free viewing, go watch it and come back!! Or… don’t, it’s kind of awful. I can only think of one thing in canon that it may spoil, and even that appears in early Season 2 and is fairly minor, so if you are curious about it, I HIGHLY recommend watching it BEFORE reading this. The scenes with the most impact are touching because they come as a surprise, so even if you know the general plot of the film, I would recommend watching it first.

Also this is really rambley because I have a lot of emotions about this series and, by extension, this movie. I really don’t blame you if you click away here, but if you DO read it all the way through, I would love to hear anything you would like to add, agree or disagree!

OKAY! Knight Rider 2000 is a movie that exists! And I hate it!

The film sets up an interesting argument between two groups of people whose names I don’t remember because they were boring (except for Devon, I know his name at this point). In this interpretation of the “future,” gun control has been implemented to,,, some extent, I can’t entirely tell if there have been some policies implemented across the country or if it is all localized in this one city that even the Wikipedia page for this movie doesn’t bother to mention. And no, this city is NOT in California for once! Usually I would be happy to see a change of setting, but considering that everything in this film felt so foreign to the Knight Rider that we know, it would have been nice to at least have a familiar setting. Anyway, gun control stuff. The debate between whether these gun control policies are ethical or not is very interesting. Innocent people are dying because the wrong people have guns and the police are rendered useless when they themselves don’t have access to weapons. This argument happens to support my perspective on the issue, so I appreciated how it took a look at that side WITHOUT it sounding like we are crazy murderer people, but I digress. It makes sense that the ban happened in the first place, because much like how the main conflict in Pixar’s latest film Incredibles 2 revolves around society’s over-reliance on superheroes, I could see Knight Rider’s society becoming dependent on technology to save them. It can be easy to seem like the most advanced tech in that society is present only in KITT and KIFT, and to SOME extent that is true. However, Shawn does say that it is relatively common in this society for people to have memory chips in their brain. That counts for something. And the police DO have a defense mechanism according to the Wikipedia page for this movie, it’s just nonlethal.

So as you can see, I am very interested in the conflict this world sets up. I sure hope they expand on these conflicting ideologies throughout the film, giving us a clearer idea of why the bans were set in place AND giving us insight into what exactly has caused some revolt against it. That subject is seemingly timeless, and with how decently the introduction tackled it, I have some confidence that this film could pull it off in a tasteful way. Wouldn’t that be amazing? It’s some of the most serious subject matter Knight Rider has ever tackled. It’s so interesting!

Yeah they pretty much abandon that plot in place of a very, very bad copy of the original show’s “Hearts of Stone” (season 1, episode 14). Illegal guns exist and are bad, but we don’t really know why. I may know a little better if I had been listening closer, but I was trying to not get so bored that I missed Kitt’s parts!

At some point during this sequence, we are introduced to Shawn, a happy police officer who is happy to have a family on a happy birthday. And then she gets shot! Due to head force trauma rendering her unconscious, she’s sent to the hospital. She goes in for a risky operation that miraculously saves her life against all odds.

Then, Michael wakes up with Garthe Knight’s face and hears a great story about how one man CAN make a difference!… I mean what?

Jokes aside, it’s kind of amazing how much this very Michael-esque sequence comes across very differently. It’s almost the perfect example of why I don’t like this movie. The surgery is weirdly realistic for a Knight Rider entity. There’s blood and screens and surgeons and a sterile white room for operations. Michael woke up in a Medieval castle with one doctor and two random people he’d never met at his side. Shawn’s situation clearly makes more sense, but is it half as fun and whimsical? No, no it’s not. This whole film comes across as depressing to me, and it’s only worsened by what’s to come. Apparently, she had KITT’s CPU/Microprocessor/something sciencey implanted into her brain. That’s especially strange since all that I saw was a yellow liquid being injected directly into her skull! That’s a lovely image, and definitely gave me the idea that there was a full computer chip going in there??? (It may have actually been explained more clearly, and I just looked away because eek weirdly bloody operation scene) This caused her personality to do a full 180. So, Shawn is going to be fun, snarky, and full of personality like KITT is because they share memories now! Right? Right???

I think they tried to do that, but it came across flat. So flat. She speaks in a purposefully monotone, robotic voice and delivers downright mean comments that leave Michael and KITT scratching their heads. She seems to lack basic empathy until her own memories start flooding back, and at that point, the emotions she show seem so foreign to the character we see that it’s not remotely believable. You want me to believe that this robotic woman with -10 personality points started nearly crying after one string of memories, albeit a very traumatic one, entered her mind? This would have been believable if she was entirely changed afterwards, coming across as far more human, but that was only the case sometimes. It also would have been believable if the film had the same energy that the original Knight Rider show does, where suspending one’s disbelief is necessary to make it past the opening credits. However, this movie tries to be so grounded that the kind of dramatic beats that would work in the original seem forced here.

Shawn is not the only character who I take issue with, though. Let’s start with the most potentially problematic change from the usual canon in the entire film: KITT’s personality. I have very mixed feelings on how he is portrayed. If you’ve seen as much as a spattering of quotes from this movie, you probably could sense that KITT was… off. When KITT first comes on screen, he slams Michael with a wave of insults, and none of them come off as their normal joking around. However, I don’t necessarily have a problem with that because he has the proper motivation to be very, very upset. He is sitting on a desk as a heap of loosely connected parts that have just enough power to make the signature red scanner whir and make an oddly terrifying red light eyeball thing (Hal???) move. The first thing he hears is Devon nonchalantly saying something along the lines of, “I’m afraid he was recycled” to explain why KITT has been deactivated for OVER A DECADE and is not currently in anything that moves (my Charge! stream thing lagged at this point but @trust-doesnt-oxidize has since told me that Devon DID appear upset about KITT's being sold, but KITT likely wouldn't have heard that and what Devon said seemed to be moreso directed at HOW the chip was sold and not the fact that it was sold in the first place). KITT is justifiably mad, and if they had kept KITT’s actions in character while his emotions said otherwise, I would have no problem with it at all.

However, once KITT’s CPU is somehow implanted into Michael’s Chevrolet, KITT does not act in character. Shawn drives, not Michael, so it stands to reason that he would not necessarily listen to her. She stole his CPU, his life for over a decade. KITT does tend to listen to human companions, regardless of whether he is programmed to or not, but I can see where this would be an exception. However, Michael soon intercedes and essentially tells him to cut it out. Based on everything that the original Knight Rider told us, KITT no longer has a choice of whether to listen or not. Michael is ultimately the one who calls the shots because of KITT’s very programming. And yet, in this scene, KITT doesn’t listen to Michael and apparently gets so angry that he downright stops functioning. Because that happens all the time in the original series!

And if you’re wondering where I got the conclusion that KITT frustrated his circuits to the point where they could no longer work, he said that. KITT. Admitted to having feelings. In fact, he did not just admit to being angry in the moment. He told Michael that, while it may seem like he is an emotionless robot, he does have a “feelings chip.” A FEELINGS CHIP-

I am for recognizing KITT’s obvious emotions as much as the next guy. I think they are often overlooked when discussing his character. While I don’t think that real artificial intelligence will ever reach the level of human consciousness, the entire energy of Knight Rider comes from playing with this concept by portraying an AI character who clearly emotes interacting with a human who doesn’t seem to know that. But the thing that makes this show feel so sincere is that neither character plays too heavily into that trope. While not always knowing how much KITT feels and by extension hurting those feelings alarmingly often, Michael recognizes it enough to work in concert with KITT, apologize for his more major flubs, and consider KITT a friend. And KITT subverts the trope by never recognizing that he has feelings to begin with. He will say that he cannot feel sadness but, in the next breath, say that something upset him. He will say he cannot hold a grudge only to immediately rattle off a string of insults directed at the person he clearly has a grudge on. The show is magic in how these two characters display a subtle chemistry that always has room to grow because both characters are slowly coming to see each other for who they truly are and supporting one another along the way. From what I can tell, the original show never fully concludes that arc, and it may even start regressing after Season 1. However, we can feasibly see how Michael could slowly come to understand that KITT really does feel things just as much as he does. And we can imagine the relief KITT would feel knowing that Michael was never bothered by that possibility.

So, you can see where I have a big problem with KITT spelling it out so plainly. The audience gets full confirmation about what has been displayed to us through nuanced hints throughout the series, which sounds a lot more satisfying than it really ends up being in this film. But worse than an underwhelming conclusion to a thrilling story, Michael knows it plain as day. There is very little buildup to KITT admitting this. He barely even sounds moved. Instead, in this movie, the “feelings chip” is a fact of life that does not need to be covered up in the slightest. Michael himself doesn’t really… react. He just kind of nods along, as if he’s saying, “Huh, makes sense, alright.” After everything these two have been through, if there really was such a simple explanation for why KITT is the way he is… why arguments went south, why the mere mention of a Chevrolet was enough to get a seemingly jealous response, why inconsequential things like music taste and gambling were subjects of debate, why KITT had always acted so exaggeratedly dismissive when topics of emotional significance struck a chord, why every little sarcastic banter had a hint of happiness until it didn’t… don’t you think Michael would do something? Whether that something would be a gentle, “I always knew that, pal”; a shocked, “Why didn’tchya tell me sooner?!”; or even a sarcastic, disbelieving, “Yeah, right” is up to interpretation. But there would be something.

And yet, even that concept is flawed. We learn a lot from KARR’s inclusion in the original series, and what I take away from it boils down to a simple sentiment. FLAG never meant for their AIs to be human. I do realize that directly contradicts what Devon says within this film, but I see that as another way for the film to steer the plot in this direction, not as a tie in to the original. When Wilton says that one man CAN make a difference, he means that. He isn’t considering that KITT is just as much a person as Michael. He’s not seeing that, at the end of the day, teamwork is what makes the show work, even if Michael is the glue that holds it together. So, I think that to say that there is a “feelings chip” is to disregard the entire point of the original, that in this world life finds a way of inserting itself and that KITT’s (and KARR’s for that matter) humanity is an anomaly, not the rule. At the end of the day, KITT’s humanity can’t be explained away with science. And really, I don’t think it should be explained away at all. The show has had an amazing trend of showing us how KITT feels, in all its unorthodox glory, alongside private moments that had me sobbing like a baby. The movie should just be like a longer, more complex episode of Knight Rider… Although I cannot pinpoint exactly how it should be done in the context of this film, I know there are ways that Michael could have been shown that KITT feels rather than being told.

One last complaint, albeit a more minor one, is the idea that he has to listen to what Shawn says over Michael's authority. I have spent a decent amount of time thinking about this one point, which has caused a lot of the delay in posting this. There's multiple reasons why this flies right in the face of what is canon in the original series. Perhaps the most obvious of these problems is the fact that, in the original pilot episode, it's made very clear that KITT can't assume control of the Knight 2000 without Michael's express permission unless Michael is unconcious. Devon makes it quite clear in this episode that KITT is programmed specifically to listen to Michael, not just anyone who happens to be piloting the vehicle at the time. In case there was any doubt about this, KITT ejects two people who are attempting to steal him later in the episode (well, ok, later in the two-parter, I don't know if it was the same episode or not). The show isn't SUPER strict about this in future episodes, but it does at least acknowledge Michael's authority in a few pivotal moments throughout Season 1 (I can't comment on episodes that I haven't seen yet, but I suspect that this pattern continues). Of all the rules set up throughout the series, it actually seems to be the most loyal to this one. One moment that stands out to me is in Trust Doesn't Rust when KITT attempts to stop Michael from causing a head-on collision with KARR, but Michael then overrides him and the climax unfolds. If one of the most iconic moments in the series is caused by this one bit of programming, to throw it out in the film is to disrespect the basis of the original series.

Speaking of KARR, he provides yet another reason niglecting this detail is such a big problem. From what we can tell, KARR isn't programmed to one specific driver (at least, not anymore[?]), and so he can override anyone in the pilot's seat. This is something they seem to highlight in TDR as well, although not so plainly as the previous point. KARR ends up ditching Tony to gain speed and get an upper hand in the chase with Michael and KITT (although a scene they deleted would have made this a mUCH MORE SENSIBLE ACTION THAT R E A L L Y ISN'T A BETRAYAL but y'know what this post isn't about that) whereas KITT has to listen to Michael even to his own detriment. If this one feature is indeed one of the major things that separates KITT from KARR, the idea that Shawn can override all of that cheapens the original conflict between KITT and KARR.

...Well okay, let's be real, KARR was never that compelling as an antagonist to begin with because he's a LOYAL SWEETIEPIE-- I'll stop.

And finally, we have the biggest, most bizarre reason that this is a problem:

If Shawn can override Michael's authority, that means KITT can override Michael's authority.

Why? This would be the first time (outside of episodes where some sort of reprogramming or mind control was involved) in the series that KITT had not only listened to another human instead of Michael, but also listened to that person OVER Michael. The only difference I can see between Shawn and quite literally anyone else in the show's history is that Shawn has KITT's chip implant thing. If that's the reason her opinion has more credence than Michael's, then wouldn't that mean KITT's own opinion has that authority? If that is the case, literally every example I've gone through in the last couple of paragraphs is not just challenged but rather negated entirely.

The most frustrating thing about this scene is that it simply didn't have to happen. Michael could have gone along with KITT's plan, showing him (and us) that he does trust his former partner even after all these years. Shawn could have convinced Michael to go along with it using her... feelings chip. Blegh. Or we could have had a stubborn Michael force this scene to be delayed, likely improving the pacing overall. Maybe we could have even seen a frustrated and emotionally exhausted Shawn wait until Michael is not in the car and then plead KITT to give her the truth, no matter what Michael says. We have seen KITT control his actions without Michael's input plenty of times, and we could have seen some more of his humanity show through if he could relate to Shawn's struggles... after all, he too has missing memories because she has his chip. They're both going through a bit of an identity crisis. I'm sure that he could find some workaround in his programming to help her if Michael wasn't there insisting that he does not take this course of action.

But even after all of that fussing over what has been done wrong with KITT, I can’t deny that he is the heart and soul of this film. There was only one scene in this film that brought me near tears. I got more of an emotional impact from this one clip than I have from a lot of movies that are undeniably much better. Michael’s old-fashioned Chevrolet does not hold up in the year 2000, and it is clear that the usual car chase sequence won’t work as police vehicles quickly creep up on them. I was personally very curious what they would do here. I figured that KITT would find some way to outsmart the drivers of the police cars, maybe by ending up on an elevated mountain road that trips up the other drivers and causes them to waste time turning around and hopping on that same path. Or, maybe, KITT would access a road that’s too narrow for the relatively bulky police cars. However, it quickly becomes clear that this city is made up of wide roads on the ground. As KITT veers off the road and tells Michael to trust him, the I found myself having to trust him. This isn’t the way Knight Rider chases usually go, and with all these odds stacked against him, the only thing we can do is hold our breath. The way this scene is staged to send us into this just as blind as Michael is, frankly, genius. Water slowly creeps into the frame as a feeling of dread builds at the thought of what KITT might do.

Surely, we are led to think, he will knock into some boxes and turn right back around. Right? We’re reminded of the fact that this is not the Knight 2000, that there is no chance of this car floating. That if KITT does what he really seems to be doing, there’s no chance… but he wouldn’t, would he? This is the only action sequence in the film that had me at the edge of my seat, staring wide eyed at the screen. And then, the turn that you want so badly to come doesn’t, and you have to wonder what’s about to happen. What was KITT thinking? Won’t Michael and Shawn drown? And, most prominently in my mind, won’t KITT drown?

For a moment, this scene plays us into believing that, because magic FLAG science that is pretty par for the course, everything is fine. KITT explains that they have an airtight cab and over 20 minutes of oxygen. Everyone lets out a collective breath of relief. We see it in Michael and Shawn, and I know I felt myself relax.

And then there’s a flicker in the screen, and that pit in the bottom of my stomach came right back. Michael is confused, and KITT explains what we should have realized was inevitable. This is KITT sacrificing himself. He even goes as far as to let Shawn know that she can use any of his computer chips that she may need. This comes off as strange at first, but it goes to show that KITT is, at his core, the same kind soul we always knew. He acts angry because he feels betrayed, but given the choice, he will chose another person’s life over his own, always. Even the microprocessor that he is most frustrated over, the thing that seems to drive a wedge between him and Shawn, is just how he is expressing his hurt. Now, thinking it is the end, he offers it up freely, and Shawn doesn’t seem to know how to respond. KITT is calm as he says his final goodbyes. And this is the first place in the film that we get to hear the amazingly nuanced voice acting that William Daniels is so great at. KITT sounds collected and at peace with what is to come, but there are also subtle hints that he is at least a bit nervous, a bit sad. “I know. I guess this is goodbye.” He doesn’t want to leave his friends, but he knows that he has to for them to be safe. Even if the pacing of the film seems to actively try to undermine this moment, it stands out to me as an amazing scene, even if the reaction from Michael is underwhelming at best and the reaction from Shawn is… as much as can be expected from Shawn, but that’s not saying much. As far as KITT knows in that moment, these are his last words: “Michael, take care of yourself.” Down to the last moment, Michael is everything to him.

IjustwannamakeitclearquicklythatIthinktheirrelationshipisentirelyplatonicokthankyou

And I felt sad, big time sad. The movie up until that point was unbelievably boring to me, and this wasn’t a turning point where the movie suddenly became great. It was a moment so darn good that I almost don’t think the movie deserved for it to have as big of an impact as it did. But that shows just how powerful this universe is, how wonderfully honest these characters are. Even after being butchered practically beyond recognition, one scene in-character can still bring you to tears because you have connected with them so deeply throughout the TV series.

AND THEN DEVON DIED IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS :D

I don’t like Devon.

Devon was actually more tolerable in this movie than normal, and I can see where people who don’t hate him could be sad that he died I just,,, he has hurt or talked down to KITT and KARR so many times that I actually could not sympathize. What’s even more frustrating about that is that Devon’s death is the one that Michael got all sad over when KITT sacrificed his life for him and Devon got kidnapped randomly but okay go off movie you can’t ruin that scene for me. I knew going in that Devon died, but I was expecting them to spend a lot more time setting it up and making it as dramatic as possible. Nope, he just got a shot to the old air tanks I guess? My view of it is nothing more than that it’s a thing that happened.

OH AND DEVON DID PULL ONE HEINOUS ACT. He said that KIFT was better than KITT in every way other than that KITT has humanity. SINCE WHEN HAS DEVON GIVEN ONE SINGULAR HOOT ABOUT THE AI’S BEING ALIVE??? TELL KARR THAT??? HECK, TELL DEACTIVATED KITT THAT YOU WERE JUST FINE SELLING OFF AT AUCTION THAT?!?! Also also, KIFT DOES NOT C O M P A R E TO KITT. We are coming back to KIFT in a moment, don’t you worry. For now, I just. Low blow, Devon, low blow.

Michael was fine too, he played a weirdly small part and that felt off but everything he said seemed pretty in character. The most out of character parts were when he said nothing at all. OH AND WHERE HE WAS REPLACING BONNIE but that’s besides the point, no Bonnie OR April… no Bonnie OR April… I’m fine…

…

It feels like this movie wants you to forget that Michael exists because Shawn is here she’s more interesting, right? Right???

She’s really not.

So back to KIFT. My favorite part of KIFT is that pronouncing KIFT in your head sounds funny. It’s like “gift” but if the gift were actually an underwhelming villain of sorts that is overtaken in a garage, parked, by Michael either removing his microprocessor entirely or moving it to a Chevrolet.

I was surprised how not bad KIFT looked. I had seen stills from the movie that looked really uninteresting compared to the regular designs, and while I still agree to some extent, it was a lot more epic than I would have thought. Something about how the paint shines on it is captivating. I was genuinely happy when KITT was moved to the snazzy red vehicle, although a big part of that could have been how disgusting mint green looks with red. Seriously, including the red scanner on that bizarre seafoamy-bluey car (and yes, I do think it is a very pretty car by itself) was like when people say movies were “inspired” but in the opposite direction. And the scanner looked weirdly small? Was it just me?

Am I the only one who feels w e i r d just looking at this??

I think this is the most normal thing to be categorized as being in uncanny valley but there we go, I did it. It’s not right.

Anyway, as neat as KIFT looks, it is no comparison to the classic Knight 2000 or even Season 3 KARR. Red can be striking, but not when the classic scanner is also red. No contrast!

KIFT is absurdly easy to forget, and I don’t think that the car’s design has anything to do with it. KITT spends most of the movie piloting that car, and while it is not what we are used to, it doesn’t come across as super lame to me, either…or at least, not because of the design. The biggest problem with KIFT is, I think, simply his voice. His voice feels so out of place in the movie, and it’s so strange to me considering that Daniels’ voice is integrated just fine. The recording sounds too crisp, too clean. KITT’s voice always has a great deal of character, a very Earthy-sounding voice for an AI character. I actually think that this incongruity is purposeful, and it’s a very clever concept. We are supposed to recognize that KIFT isn’t human like KITT is. KIFT sounds out of place in the real world among real people; he’s too neat around the edges. It’s especially obvious when KITT and KIFT talk to each other. This is also mirrored by how KITT occupies a well-loved Chevrolet that has little imperfections that make it feel real whereas KIFT is in this red… whatever it is that feels like it comes out of a sci-fi film. This effect would have really worked if we had enough time with KIFT to understand his personality–or, more aptly, his lack of personality. What makes this not work is the fact that we spend practically no time with KIFT. We don’t get to hear what he feels he is programmed to do, we don’t get to hear him deliver the sort of lifeless lines that Shawn did that made her so unlikable, and we don’t even get to hear his voice more than 4-5 times. Every time comes as a shock, taking us out of the moment of the film. We could have gotten used to his crisp sound if he had spoken more, and we may have seen the actual plot significance of it. Instead, it pulls you right out of the movie.

Oh yeah, and the only line(s?) that KIFT delivers to KITT are full-on taunting… that’s not very lifeless of you KIFT.

Alright, just one last thing to really hammer home a point from earlier and conclude this whole thing. You know what I was saying about this movie lacking the whimsical nature of the TV show? Well, the final chase puts the icing on this oddly sullen crab cake.

Yes, crab cake.

Because the pinchy crab that is Shawn makes it quite painful to get this particular cake and icing doesn’t even belong on it anyway.

KITT is racing down the street in this bright red car that I just explained is thematically wrong for him to be driving tbh but whatever, he’s racing in it and comes up to a barricade of randomly stacked up cars.

Oh Yeah, we all know what is coming.

The music swells. Michael looks at the upcoming barricade with furrowed eyebrows and quietly asks KITT what the heck they’re going to do now.

OH YEAH, we definitely know what is coming.

And at last, for the first time in the film…

KITT veers off to the right and they drive on water. “It’s really sink or swim with you, isn’t it?” Michael asks, pretending that’s funny as if I am not still emotionally raw from that scene that happened an hour ago.

Apparently, KIFT had that one obscure feature from “Return to Cadiz,” the Season 2 episode where April forces KITT to follow KARR into the ocean on the hopes that waterproof wheels might work maybe, directly ignoring his many attempts to get out of it. Yay. I love references to That Episode. That Episode which baited me with an opening that looked like KARR could have been discovered underwater only to show me that not only was there no KARR, but KITT was going to be bullied into repeating what his brother did when he died. Wholesome. Lovely. Fantastic. And how did KITT know for sure that would work? KITT clearly still has some technical hiccups in his own CPU from Michael tampering with it, that was an awful lot of confidence to place in a maybe.

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY…

THIS MOVIE DID NOT HAVE A TURBO BOOST

A TURBO BOOST

I cannot believe that a movie based around Knight Rider did not have a turbo boost (or for that matter, the THEMESONG???). Like I am honestly still surprised by it. Almost every episode of the original show had at least one turbo boost, and there is a reason. The idea of a talking car jumping in midair, sometimes with Michael “WOO!”-ing like a girl, is so fantastically fun that nobody even tries to question how impossible it is. I think we all know how impossible it is, and that doesn’t matter, it is yet another thing that embodies the heart of this show.

And… not even one.

…

So yeah, that just happened. I think this is technically a small novel. Wow.

I know that I'm still missing a lot... I have a lot of thoughts about this movie, and if you for some reason want more please ask! I would also love to hear your thoughts on this! Do you agree with my analysis? Do you disagree entirely? Did you notice something that I failed to mention entirely? Pleasepleaseplease send ideas, I would love to hear them! Also know that, no matter how much I was disappointed by the movie itself, I am fully open to hearing your ideas about how to improve or expand upon it. I truly believe that this film introduced some great concepts, and I would absolutely adore seeing them reworked in a way that's more true to the original. Thank you for reading! :D

21 notes · View notes

seyaryminamoto · 4 years

Note

I recently saw a heavy criticism of The Beach saying "it's the single least realistic portrayal of teenagers on television: spoiled, rich kids don't actively shun Zuko for having a disfiguring scar on his face, no one tries to start shit with Azula over the volleyball game, teenagers referring to themselves as teenagers, a teen boy tells people not to make a mess, a bunch of 14-16 year-olds sit in a circle and psychoanalyze each other, everything else about the campfire scene." Your thoughts?

:’) that someone looks at the Beach and dismisses it for being “unrealistic” by whatever their cultural standards are is probably enough of a sign of the irrelevance of said person’s opinion. I mean, obviously they’re free to think what they will, but...

Fire Nation society is not American society. I’m going blind here, maybe this person isn’t American at all, but somehow I mostly see such kinds of narrow-minded criticism from first-worlders who are seldom exposed to lifestyles outside their particular, contemporary bubble of experiences.

Now then, let’s get into the actual debate: Fire Nation society values violence quite a lot. Fire Nation society is full of people who saw Zuko’s literal Agni Kai burning scene, and didn’t look away: the only character who does is Iroh, a very obvious hint by the writers that Iroh has discarded the cruel moral values the rest of the Fire Nation upholds.

With this in mind, a boy with a scarred face might earn all sorts of “ews” from our societies, damn right. From Fire Nation society, though? If even watching how the burn is inflicted didn’t bother most of them, why would the result be a problem? If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if people with burn scars are even seen more attractive because it implies they were caught in violent scuffles with fire and still survived? Of course, the argument might go that Zuko’s burn is meant to be a mark of shame... but it’s a mark of shame for PRINCE Zuko. For that mysterious boy with the emo haircut in Ember Island, whose real identity is a mystery? It is shown, instead, to result in this reaction:

Now then, we could say that this is meant to be a jab by the creators and writers at Zuko’s hordes of fangirls, because frankly, Book 3 has several instances of groups of girls swooning over Zuko and it might be what they were going for. In this case, though, they’re swooning over him WITHOUT knowing who he is, as opposed to the fangirls in Nightmares and Daydreams. So, while it absolutely can be inspired on the many Zuko fangirls the staff knew about, this actually ends up serving to characterize a society, a culture: they don’t think his scar makes him unattractive. It’s blatantly stated that their reaction is the opposite. So, instead of thinking “oh god that’s so unrealistic”, how about we actually stop trying to measure everything by our standards and consider that this could be an element of WORLDBUILDING...? :’)

(Also, I’m pretty sure there’s a fair share of privileged young women in our current society who think Kylo Ren was hot as hell with a huge scar across his face... are those people not real, by any chance? :’D If anything, they’re living proof that girls swooning over a scarred boy in ATLA are absolutely feasible, no matter if not everyone shares their opinion)

Continues under the cut becasue this got long....

Now then, Azula is shown to take the Kuai ball game too far. She outright causes the ball, in the final kick, to burst into flames and burns the net. Going by Chan and Ruon Jian, these kids are privileged idiots, why lie... but are these privileged idiots stupid enough to see a girl flying three feet into the air, kicking a firebent ball and then giving a foreboding speech, and say “OKAY WE’RE GONNA PICK A FIGHT WITH YOU FOR BEING SO COMPETITIVE!”???? I mean... honestly. Why would anyone do this? Azula turned an inoffensive Kuai ball game into a battlefield singlehandedly: THIS, as well, is meant to be a display of characterization. That people don’t take the game so seriously, that they wouldn’t pick a fight with her because she’s dangerous or because they just don’t care as much as she does... it’s characterizing Fire Nation people every bit as much as it characterizes Azula.

Azula and Zuko are both shown reacting in ridiculous ways to casual things in this episode: Azula takes the game too far, potentially stages the burning down of a house in retaliation for being rejected by a boy, Zuko is hysterical and jealous and snaps at Mai over stupid things... it’s, again, a matter of showing how poorly adjusted these characters are. They’re not normal kids. They DON’T behave like normal kids. Normal, privileged kids in the Fire Nation, are kids like Chan and Ruon Jian. The episode literally gives you the chance to see Fire Nation society for what it is, in a way no other episode does... and because it’s not like our societies, it’s somehow wrong?

... Also, teenagers referring to themselves as teenagers is somehow unrealistic? I mean... is it nowadays? I don’t think any teenagers had a problem with saying they were teens in my youth :’DDD literally remember MCR released a song called Teenagers and a lot of us loved it to pieces. What exactly is so outrageous about it? Might be that this worked better in the mid-00′s, but I hardly think this makes no sense? Aang refers to himself as a kid earlier in the show, is that unrealistic too and worth rebuking a whole episode over? Are all teenagers supposed to be pretending to be grown-ups, like so many 16-year-olds on Tumblr who always talk like they’ve figured out the world and try to impose rules on fully-grown adults upon whom they have absolutely no power? :’DDDDD Yeah, I think this particular point is a stupid thing to make a fuss over. Honestly, it is.

Chan tells people not to make a mess = unrealistic. Ha. Did this person ignore his reactions at the chaos Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee caused in his house? “YOU BROKE MY NANA’S VASE!!!”, anyone? Like... I’m sorry, but this IS characterization, yet again! This shows Chan is a spoiled brat who wants to stay in his family’s good graces. The party isn’t at all as crazy and wild as you’d expect from, again, an American teenage party... and why? Because, for one thing, Chan is clearly afraid of the consequences of too much chaos in the beach house: this implies fear of authority, of his parents, perhaps even his grandparents.

For another, again, FIRE NATION SOCIETY: what does this clever critic know, by any chance, of Nazi Germany’s Hitler Youth? I’ve watched a few documentaries about it, and basically if you were a boy and you weren’t in Hitler Youth, you were no one. You were worthless. And what happened in Hitler Youth? Conditioning to the extreme. These kids were taught all the alt-right ideology that Tumblr despises, and they were made to believe it was an undeniable reality. Were there cases of kids who didn’t like it, kids who didn’t approve of it? Surely. But the general idea of Hitler Youth was to educate every kid to behave in the way Hitler considered appropriate, to the point where “the notion "Germany must live" even if they (members of the HJ) had to die was "hammered" into them.”

This is, of course, an extreme example and I’m sure Fire Nation education wasn’t that extreme because we saw it for ourselves, it’s not. But a slightly milder version of it? That’s absolutely feasible and consistent with what we see in The Headband. Therefore, kids getting high and drunk at a party? Maybe that kind of thing simply DOESN’T happen in a Fire Nation party? :’) Maybe they’re taught that those kinds of things are off-limits to anyone under a certain age (or outright forbidden, might be the case with drugs), and as they live in a tyrannical society that priorizes the Fire Lord and his decrees above all else, where his word is treated as that of a god, even mischievous teenagers refuse to act out? :’D oh, what an implausible concept, this just can’t possibly make any sense! Hitler Youth is unrealistic too!

Lastly, that a bunch of kids would sit in a circle psychoanalyzing each other seems implausible to this person is actually laughable for me. Not only have I constantly found myself, from my early teenage years to current days, serving as some sort of unofficial therapist for many of my friends, who share their woes and ask me for advice (whether they’ll heed it or not), most importantly, I once had an experience with a friend, back in high school, much like what happens with these kids in The Beach, after I’d spent years doing a lot of post-depression introspection. I shared a lot of stuff I didn’t often talk about, and beats me WHY I felt completely comfortable sharing it with my friend that day, but I did. She understood me, listened, offered her opinion, and we talked about her problems too. This happened when I was 15-16. If this person has never experienced such situation... why, that’s not anyone’s business. But it’s certainly not their business to determine this just DOESN’T happen, to anyone, ever. I can safely say it does, to people who do have problems and who sometimes just need a friendly shoulder to rely on. Maybe this critic’s life is just so perfect they’ve never had to share their woes with anyone else :’) I’m afraid that doesn’t invalidate those of us who are different, and it doesn’t invalidate the possibility that those four could talk, as they did, without breaking characterization, in the scene of the fireplace at the beach.

ANYWAYS...

Saying that a show about a group of kids who save the world and then effectively become leaders of such world, facing very little opposition in the process, is unrealistic because “teenagers aren’t like that becuase I wasn’t like that as a teenager” may be one of the most ridiculous and shortsighted things I’ve seen in this fandom, AND I’VE SEEN A LOT OF RIDICULOUS AND SHORTSIGHTED THINGS. A person’s experiences are NOT universal, regardless of how widespread their culture may be. More importantly, fiction does NOT have to abide by rules established by our current society’s state and cultural values. ATLA, as it is, is a completely different world from our own, regardless of its inspiration in many Asian cultures.

I, personally, find it a lot more unrealistic that Fire Lord Zuko can become Fire Lord without much in the way of visible protesting or boycotting when he was a banished prince who didn’t even win in his Agni Kai against Azula since it’s Katara who ends up defeating her and, as far as the rules go, Azula technically won even if not in the most dignified of ways. I find it even more unrealistic that LOK tells us Zuko was Fire Lord successfully for 70+ years and the Fire Nation has been fully reformed into a non-warmongering country despite the 100+ years of indoctrination started by Sozin’s rule. That this gets swept under a rug, not only in the neatly wrapped finale that leaves a thousand unanswered questions, but in the sequel show that merely confirms Zuko succeeded and shows NOTHING of how he managed to reform such a fucked up society...? That is a thousand times more important to me than “privileged kids aren’t acting like privileged kids OMG!”. Honestly, you want privileged kids abusing all their privileges in our society? Go watch Gossip Girl, I genuinely recommend it. You want something that proposes a completely different possibility and a glance at what a society guided by a tyrannical dictator looks like? Feel free to watch The Beach again with a completely different focus and MAYBE you’ll understand what the writers were going for.

If this person happens to see my answer, I hope they learn that worldbuilding, for a storyteller, entails CREATING a world that isn’t necessarily like the one we’re familiar with. There are multiple layers to such a world, and society and culture are some of them. Not all cultures and societies work the same way, which is part of why sometimes you’ll find behaviors from people who belong to wholly different cultures and wind up perplexed because whatever they’re doing is completely unfamiliar for you. Are there any universal behaviors in humans? Maybe! But in a work of FICTION, even the most universal of behaviors can be changed, deleted, altered however the writer sees fit! :’D it’s not a novel concept, and as far as logical fallacies are concerned, this show features a whole slew of those that have nothing to do with this peculiar sense of “realism”, fallacies that absolutely can and should be called out. Namely, things that contradict the internal logic of the show, rather than things that are incompatible with OUR world. Portraying a world that’s very different from ours, on virtually every level you can think of? That’s called creativity, not lack of realism. Please learn the difference.

#anon #... excuse me #but I got really unnerved by this one #just wtf #if this is supposed to be some sort of important critic #rather than a random someone on Tumblr #please don't ever watch anything they do ever again #realism ffs #BELIEVABILITY and realism are not the same damn thing #and solid worldbuilding requires the former not the latter #god I'll just #go chill #why #just why

39 notes · View notes

purplesurveys · 4 years

Text

803

Do you have a fan/air conditioning on right now? I have a fan turned up at the highest level right beside me. It’s been so humid all day but the air outside is getting colder and it’s obviously going to rain soon, so at least it’s not as hot as it’s been. When was the last time you sang along with a song? Which one was it? Earlier today while watching Descendants of the Sun – I FINALLY FINISHED IT AAAAHHH. Thank fuck it was a happy ending, I was giddy enough with the final scenes that I sang along to the background music, heh. I remember an anon recommending Who Are You: School 2015 to me, so I might watch that next :) Are you currently wearing any hair accessories? Which ones? Yes. I have a simple black hair tie that I’m using for a ponytail now. Have you ever wished you had a different name? Which name would you choose? I definitely wished this as a kid, but I’ve warmed up to my name now especially after hearing more people tell me that they like it. Back when I disliked my name I insisted on being called my second name, which is Isabelle. Do you often press the wrong keys on the keyboard? Only when I’m typing in a hurry. Otherwise I’ve got a good hold of the keyboard.

Have you ever customised an item of clothing? What did you do to it? Other than the time we had a customized dress made for my prom, no. I don’t do DIY, so I wouldn’t be able to pull that off. When was the last time you got a splinter stuck in you? D: Probably in high school. Do you prefer drawing or painting? Any particular reason why? I like painting, but only with those paint-by-number kits that already come with a guide and an outline. I find those kits therapeutic. I have absolutely no hand control when it comes to pencils and I’ve never been able to follow drawing guides, even the simplest and most basic ones, so I’ve never enjoyed drawing. Are you saving up for anything right now? What? Not at the moment. I’m just savoring the time I have left at home before I have to get my ass up and start looking for a job. Are you any good at playing pinball? I guess, but I’m no expert. Close to a decade ago there’d be long stretches of time where we’d have no internet at home – because Philippines – and I’d have no choice but to play hours of either solitaire or pinball on my old laptop. Eventually I got skilled enough on both. Do you own any figurines? Of what? I have action figures, if they mean the same thing. I have a couple figures of AJ Lee that have stayed inside their packaging the entire time I’ve had them. If you have any siblings, how much rivalry is between you all? Zero. All three of us have different skills and interests, so it’s pointless to pin us against each other. When did you last have itchy eyes? Last night my left eye was starting to act up, so out of annoyance I rubbed it really hard. If forced to go camping, would you rather sleep in a tent or a caravan? If I was forced and I didn’t want to go through it at all, I’d take the caravan. But if it’s a camping trip that I had planned for in advance and was something I was looking forward to, I prefer the full experience and would go with the tent. Is it dark outside right now? Yes, it’s nearly nine in the evening. How often do you get jealous of other people? What is it usually about? Not very often. As someone who’s a little materialistic, I get envious more than jealous. Do you prefer framed photos or just sticking photos straight onto walls? Framing them. I don’t think sticking photos is the smartest thing to do with a painted wall. What's your favourite type of cake? Cheeeeeeeeeesecake. Have you ever woken up from a dream and believed it to have been real? Only for a few moments after waking up, but it’s easy for me to go back to real life and realize what’s a dream and what isn’t. When was the last time you brushed your teeth? This morning. How tired are you right now? I’m a little drowsy and it sucks that I can’t drink coffee until Tuesday because of my antibiotics prescription, because I don’t feel like sleeping yet. I’ll take a shower after this survey and I hope that’ll wake me up for a bit. When was the last time you had an argument with someone? What was it about? Not strictly an argument but more of a civil debate - Gab and I were discussing whether it’s okay to be furious with celebrities to the point of harassing them if they’re found to be silent in matters such as Black Lives Matter, and whether normal people hold the responsibility to educate these celebrities whenever they act like they’re unaware. If there's a bug in your room, can you sleep or do you need to get it out? Get it out. How long have you gone without sleep? Today? It’s been 13 hours. Can you drive yet? How good are you at it? Yes, I’ve been driving since I started college. I’d say I’ve gotten very skilled in the last few years. I’m not always the safest (I tend to weave in and out of lanes especially once I get bored in traffic, OR if everyone around me seems to be a dumbass with crazy slow reaction times) but I’ve never put anyone I’ve ever driven in harm; so as crazy as I get sometimes, my friends still always choose to ride with me and that’s the biggest compliment ever lol. Do you prefer travelling alone or with people? WITH PEOPLE. Traveling is one of the things I can never imagine doing alone. Did you listen to the radio today? Technically. My favorite station does livestreams on Facebook, and I caught several of them throughout today. What was the last baby animal you saw? I saw a pup roaming around the street this afternoon. Generally speaking, is it warmer or colder in your house than outside? A little warmer at the moment. When was the last time you threw up? The last time I felt like throwing up was last Wednesday, though nothing came up. The last time I actually threw up was sometime in like April or May last year. Do you give people high fives or hugs more often? Hugs. I barely go for high fives. Have you ever tie-dyed something? We had to do it with a shirt in a Grade 7 class, but that was the one time I ever did it. It’s not really something that interests me. Name something you thought was cool when you were younger but don't now: Lisa Frank. How long does it usually take you to get to sleep? Depends on the temperature and/or how tired I am. I have to tire myself out; I can’t just close my eyes whenever I want and expect to doze off. When did you last get a papercut? It’s been a WHILE, thank goodness. I can’t even tell you when. High school, probably? Which do you prefer: Blackboards or whiteboards? Just for nostalgia’s sake, blackboards. I haven’t seen one or written on one since high school since we have whiteboards or just straight-up projectors in university. What sort of things do you have bookmarked in your internet browser? Surveys to take, links for various classes in college that I should really be un-bookmarking now to save on space because I don’t need them anymore, movies I want to watch, recipes I want to try...it’s really mostly for-future-reference stuff. Are / were you spoilt? Would others agree or disagree with you? I’m spoiled in the context of our family in that I often got what I asked for, and if I was told no, I could typically pull out a pout to get what I wanted lol. But I was never spoiled rotten in that I’d lie on the floor and kicked around if things didn’t go my way and I never disrespected my parents or yelled at them, or threw a fit if the phone they bought wasn’t in the color I liked, etc. I just had one trick up my sleeve, but I never abused it. Still, compared to my siblings, I’m probably the most ~spoiled. What are you wearing right now? I’m wearing a tank top and shorts, but I really should be showering after posting this. What was the last book you read? I reread some chapters from Crazy is my Superpower last week.

#survey #surveys

4 notes · View notes

seven-oomen · 4 years

Text

First, I hope you’re enjoying your game. One of my friends posted about how she’d just gotten her copy of it, and her husband’s response was basically “so, I’ll just bring you food occasionally and see you in a few days?" Also, I hope you’re feeling better. And man you are KILLING ME with these previews. Oh god, Peter, what are you planning now? How bad is this gonna hurt and for how long? (Don’t answer that, I’m afraid to know. XD )

I think all those Hogwarts Houses are excellent choices. I always think it’s fun to see how people sort various characters, because I rarely have any that I feel are firmly one House (maybe it’s because I’m a proud HuffleClaw, myself, doomed to waffle between Houses every time I take a quiz or read an analysis on the subject.) Side not - can you imagine the furor that would have occurred about a Slytherin and a Gryffindor hooking up in Fourth Year (I think?), and then pulling an innocent little Hufflepuff transfer under their spell? Would any of them have played Quidditch? (Peter I feel definitely played, though I can’t decide what position. Undecided on the other two.)

Poor Peter, having to behave himself. Although debatably as long as he kept the fangs put away it wouldn’t necessarily be a risk, though I can see him being worried anyway. That’s why he needs to find someone to spin his fur into yarn he can then make them scarves/gloves/sweaters/etc with. And why he’s so into the clothes sharing. Anything to get his scent on them as thoroughly as possible.

And I am so here for PTA Dad Peter. Helping out at school functions so he can keep an eye on the younger kids. Building new, supportive relationships with his older kids, helping them with college applications and essays, making up lists of stuff they’ll need for dorm rooms, finding apartments if any are going to the same or nearby schools and can share, making sure they all have pictures and mementos to help combat homesickness. And now I’m thinking about the memory quilt again. Goddammit I don’t want to make myself cry. Again. "Imagine Peter hearing their heartbeats for the first time." Oh nevermind, I see you’ll do it for me. Ugh, my feels. Peter shifting to his wolf form and curling protectively around them all the time, head pressed up to their abdomen so that he can listen and scent at maximum effectiveness. Them just gently stroking through his fur until one or both fall asleep. (Also, how quickly do the other wolves in the family pick up on the changes in scent? How do they react? How do the older kids react to the idea of more siblings in general?)

And you know that whichever one wasn’t the one pregnant at the time would be super protective at the time, then turn around and insist they were fine and that the others were worrying unnecessarily when they were the one pregnant. (Also, glad your brother was okay!) I also like that it apparently took them nearly 20 years to learn about planning for this sort of thing. I know you’ve mentioned Peter and Chris being the ones that do the stupid thing next chapter (or something to that effect), but really I feel the biggest moment of "what the hell, guys?” is Noah getting knocked up just two months after Chris. It’s like, you guys had a huge, in your face, live example of why protection is important, and yet… I’m also just going to assume that they have at least a king size bed to accommodate that many people, even if many of them are tiny people, and none of them mind piling. That’s still a lot of bodies cramming into one bed. (That much room would also come in very handy for…other reasons, which is why I feel certain Peter would insist upon it.)

Also, omg, I was not expecting to be attacked by those pictures like that. Tag your porn, dude XD . But really, can you imagine the poor, unsuspecting college friends their kids bring home for visits getting a triple barrel of that with no warning? Like they’ve just seen the goofy, weird pics that they have on their phone/on their walls. They were not prepared for the sheer DILF power of that household live and in person. But then, is anyone, really?

Loving all the names. I actually know a guy named John who has a son named Jackson, so that one was particularly amusing to me. I also noticed that none of the kids have been named after anyone in Noah’s family, at least so far. And don’t worry, I wasn’t expecting to have those spoiled yet, though I’m happy to know you liked some of my suggestions :D . Now if I could just remember which all ones I went with… Didn’t really think to put it in anywhere, but for some reason I’ve always liked Alexander as a middle name for Peter, though I remain undecided on the other two.

And yes, loving the idea of more family cosplay. Oh god, they would never get ANYWHERE at a con because they’d be getting stopped every 3 feet for pictures. For Star Trek, I feel like they’d do groupings from assorted series and versions. Chris, Peter, and Noah are totally OS Spock, Kirk, and Bones (Peter with strategically torn shirt, of course). I think Melissa would be their Uhura, and Natalie would be Yeoman Rand (she wants to see if she can fake the hairstyle), because I dare anyone to tell them they can’t pull off dresses that short. Since he has sword training from his hunter background, Melissa makes Julio be their Sulu. Boyd, Derek, and Jordan would be Picard, Riker, and Data (Derek would totally figure out how to do that weird way Riker sits down, too.) After much debate, I feel Stiles would be Kirk from the recent films (NuTrek, or whatever they call it), Jackson would be Spock, and Malia would be Bones. I think Lydia would make an excellent Uhura for them, as well. Scott would be Scotty because he can remember to answer to it, and it gives him an excuse to do a TERRIBLE fake accent. I’m leaning towards Isaac for their Chekov, but beyond that can’t think what to do with everybody else, I’m not familiar enough with the different tv shows.

Marvel we’ve talked about some. DC I have a few random ideas. I always thought it would be funny to see Peter, Derek, Jackson, and Liam do the assorted Robins. While I feel Peter is DEFINITELY more of a Jason personality wise, I think he’d be far more comfortable in Dick’s costume that Derek would be, and if Derek was Jason the heights would line up better. Jackson would be Tim, and Liam would be Damian (because who else would play DC’s tiny and angry than TW’s tiny and angry?) Also, don’t overlook the fun and variety of villains DC offers. The last group costume I did was a cross between Bill & Ted and assorted Bat-villains. We called it Bruce & Dick’s Excellent Adventure, and even photoshopped a sign to carry to help people get it. Among our line-up was Cleo-Catra, Ivybeth the First, The Poison Queen, Harley Antoinette, Joker Napoleon, Freud Nygma, and Bane-thoven. (I really need to do something with the various pieces of my costume someday.) I know there are several girls in the Bat-fam now, too, depending on who all wants to be a part of it, or if they want to skew more Justice League/Teen Titans/Young Justice.

Oh man, Disney. So many options. I feel like Lydia and Allison as Ariel and Prince Eric is a given. I also like the idea of Kira and Malia as Belle and the Beast, partially because of Malia’s issues about having to hide her nature, and also because I think she could absolutely rock that suit. Ben could join them as Chip. (Stiles would actually make an excellent Belle, but I feel that might just get weird.) I can see Danny helping Erica rig up a Sleeping Beauty dress with strands of LEDs that keep shifting from pink to blue to green so the dress keeps appearing to change color (it’s a massive hit.) I don’t know why, but I really want Stiles and Jackson as Elsa and Anna for some reason. Scott can join them as either Kristoff or Olaf, depending on the mood he’s in. Can’t quite decide for the other pack kids. Since the theme is nominally just fairy tales, I think the dads could just opt for a classier, fancier version of their Red Riding Hood looks. Maybe go for a steampunk edge or something (I would have included links here, but Google was not my friend today and I couldn’t find quite what I wanted.) Rich velvets and wools in vivid scarlet and forest-y greens, black and deep brown leather and suede, lots of polished buttons and buckles, loose cotton shirts unlaced at the throat. Mmm, yes. And Peter could have one of those super fancy Victorian type nightgowns with the long sleeves and high necks made out of super soft and fine materials. Instead of getting some kind of mask to wear, he’d just do his partial/beta/whatever you want to call it shift and let them add extra fur on with makeup to blend it in. Everyone just thinks it’s amazing effects work. He does opt for some cute wolf paw slippers since cons tend to get snotty about people going around barefoot. (Applying and removing the fur is also how they learn his ears are particularly…sensitive…to a delicate touch in that form.)

Lord of the Rings. Yes. Like, I can’t figure out who or any real details right now but. Just. Yes.

I feel like some years they enter the costume contest and some they don’t, just depending on their moods. (They totally take the Jurassic Park group to a con and people adore it. It makes for great skits.)

Random bonus thought for the day concerns dancing. I was thinking about the whole drag queen thing, and whether Jungle was around in the 90s, and it sort of segued into what types of dancers they are. I feel like Peter is a very good dancer. Not quite competition level, maybe, but very skilled, nonetheless. Like Malia, he’s just very comfortable in himself, in all forms, which helps with spatial and bodily awareness, in addition to his natural grace and balance. I also feel he’s the most likely to have taken, like, ballroom lessons or similar as a kid, maybe at a parent or grandparent’s insistence. With Noah I keep thinking about the various videos I’ve seen of Dylan dancing both outside of TW and as Stiles, and I feel his dad would have a very similar style of awkward disaster from the chest up, undulations worthy of a harem girl from the waist down (those Stilinski boys tend to leave a lot of confused boners in their wake.) In Noah’s case, settling into his frame after that last growth spurt and learning self-defense/martial arts helped smooth most of the awkward out, but it resurfaces every so often. Chris I think would be the least likely to dance, just because I feel his background would make him very self-conscious about it, whether he wants to feel that way or not. He’ll dance if it’s just the three of them or just family, or for a slow dance, but that’s normally it. However, if he’s drunk enough, or if Noah or Peter have dragged him into a dark corner to makeout for a while and gotten him all distracted and relaxed, he can be pursued out onto the floor to show off some actually pretty sweet moves once he lets go.

Anyway, gonna try and wrap this up, because I just realized it’s way later than I realized, and I should try and get some sleep at some point. Enjoy your game, I hope it’s epic!

When this little paragraph made me realize I had a gaping plot hole in this chapter and I got to go back to fix it. My god my friend, you are a lifesaver!

I also like that it apparently took them nearly 20 years to learn about planning for this sort of thing. I know you’ve mentioned Peter and Chris being the ones that do the stupid thing next chapter (or something to that effect), but really I feel the biggest moment of "what the hell, guys?” is Noah getting knocked up just two months after Chris. It’s like, you guys had a huge, in your face, live example of why protection is important, and yet…

Because oh yeah I wanted to make it canon that wolves can detect a heartbeat of the embryo at 4-5 weeks. Which is about a week after the heart starts beating. And oh yeah, Chris is two months along by the time Noah gets pregnant... shit. I wrote something else in that flashback.

And now I got to fix that, so cheers!

I also finished writing my chapter today! Yay! All glorious 13K of it. And I’ll be editing and posting tomorrow (or technically later today as it is past midnight.) Oh, I’m so excited, I’m so excited to see what you think!

As for the game, my god it is awesome!!! I played a few hours today but my heart raced so much I had to pause after two hours because I was getting dizzy because of my heart. But it’s a great game so far, very accessible and it just draws me in completely. It’s so good.

Definitely what I needed after my day at work.

hehehe I’m happy to see my previews and writing and getting emotions, it sounds so bad, but that makes me smile because it’s getting the desired response and that’s awesome.

“Cue Lego Movie music”

can you imagine the furor that would have occurred about a Slytherin and a Gryffindor hooking up in Fourth Year (I think?), and then pulling an innocent little Hufflepuff transfer under their spell? Would any of them have played Quidditch? (Peter I feel definitely played, though I can’t decide what position. Undecided on the other two.)

I think Peter would’ve been a chaser or beater, somehow those seem to fit him well. Noah played but he was a keeper. (which would be funny if Peter was a chaser since they would get to battle lover’s disputes on the quidditch pitch) Chris I feel wouldn’t play quidditch, he’s too busy trying to keep track of his studies and really just likes to watch the sport but not participate. I think he’d be more into care of magical creatures and defends against the dark arts than any kind of sport. Though he does join and excel at the dueling club.

And the scandal of Peter and Noah dating from fourth year on would be massive, people can barely wrap their heads around it. But they’re happy and they’re just doing their own thing. And they don’t pay attention to anyone else but what they think and what Chris thinks of them.

Peter shifting to his wolf form and curling protectively around them all the time, head pressed up to their abdomen so that he can listen and scent at maximum effectiveness. Them just gently stroking through his fur until one or both fall asleep. (Also, how quickly do the other wolves in the family pick up on the changes in scent? How do they react? How do the older kids react to the idea of more siblings in general?)

<3 <3 it’s honestly an adorable image. The twins are very active when dad’s curled up around them, knowing just where to kick so Peter’s wakes up by a foot to the face. Though he doesn’t mind and just nudges back gently, letting out a low grumbling noise or whine that he knows the babies can hear in utero. As for how quickly, it depends on whether or not they smelled it before. Jackson, Ben, or Scott wouldn’t pick up on it. They weren’t wolves around pregnancies before. Malia and Derek catch on quickly though. They start noticing the scent change at around 5-6 weeks and hear the little heartbeats of the new family members.

Malia is moderately excited, she’s a little worried about her dad and how he will handle pregnancy at his age. (Although he’s like 35 when he gets pregnant, that counts as a geriatric pregnancy, dad... I’m worried.)

Stiles just flips between the two of extreme worry where he read up on pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy complications and birth complications and omg what if that happens. But he’s also so so excited because omg he’s finally gonna be an older brother!!

(He knows he’s Ben’s older brother, and he adores the tyke, but it’s different when you have a pregnancy close instead of a five-year-old sibling from one day to another.)

Jackson is pouty and a bit grumpy. He feels like he’s losing baby status in the family more and more and he doesn’t know how to deal. (Ben was a bit difficult to get used to for him but Chris handled it well by setting time aside for his baby Jackson. It helped. But now he’s a teen and there’s going to be two more babies and he’s- he doesn’t know how to feel. When Chris breaks the news he wants to have another baby he’s even more torn but he does come around, deciding that he will always be the baby of the family, even when he’s not.

It’s a good compromise. And the three parents set some time for each of their kids so everyone gets attention.

Allison handles it the best out of the teens, she’s very excited for all of them and immediately to volunteers helping with decorating the new nursery. She paints a few awesome looking murals of Winnie the Pooh or Bambi or some other cutesy Disney animals (Or maybe even a space/star wars or a fairy tale ala Fables theme?) and just goes all out. She also convinces Malia to quilt a blanket for the new baby and helps her knit a few cute hats. She’s just extremely excited and happy.

Ben is very happy too, he’s finally not the youngest anymore and he’s happy to be an older brother. He also finds it fascinating to learn how pregnancy works and how those babies got in there in the first place. They let him tell them how it works and explain some basic details, sperm, egg, you need both to have a baby and the baby grows in pops and papa’s belly. But they leave out any details that Ben doesn’t figure out or doesn’t ask about to keep it more age-appropriate for him.

Though Ben’s smart and he figures out a lot on his own. Noah and Peter are honestly impressed by Ben’s deductive skills. They knew Jackson and Stiles had them, but they hadn’t expected Ben to show them too. He’s a quiet observer.

They were not prepared for the sheer DILF power of that household live and in person. But then, is anyone, really?

Honestly, I don’t think anyone is. Nobody can resist the sheer DILF power.

Since the theme is nominally just fairy tales, I think the dads could just opt for a classier, fancier version of their Red Riding Hood looks. Maybe go for a steampunk edge or something (I would have included links here, but Google was not my friend today and I couldn’t find quite what I wanted.) Rich velvets and wools in vivid scarlet and forest-y greens, black and deep brown leather and suede, lots of polished buttons and buckles, loose cotton shirts unlaced at the throat. Mmm, yes. And Peter could have one of those super fancy Victorian type nightgowns with the long sleeves and high necks made out of super soft and fine materials. Instead of getting some kind of mask to wear, he’d just do his partial/beta/whatever you want to call it shift and let them add extra fur on with makeup to blend it in. Everyone just thinks it’s amazing effects work. He does opt for some cute wolf paw slippers since cons tend to get snotty about people going around barefoot. (Applying and removing the fur is also how they learn his ears are particularly…sensitive…to a delicate touch in that form.)

I- this whole thing? yes. Headcanon accepted because it is that good. I can literally just see them going in steampunk hunter, red riding hood and the wolf. thank you for putting that image in my mind XD

I feel like Peter is a very good dancer. Not quite competition level, maybe, but very skilled, nonetheless. Like Malia, he’s just very comfortable in himself, in all forms, which helps with spatial and bodily awareness, in addition to his natural grace and balance. I also feel he’s the most likely to have taken, like, ballroom lessons or similar as a kid, maybe at a parent or grandparent’s insistence. With Noah I keep thinking about the various videos I’ve seen of Dylan dancing both outside of TW and as Stiles, and I feel his dad would have a very similar style of awkward disaster from the chest up, undulations worthy of a harem girl from the waist down (those Stilinski boys tend to leave a lot of confused boners in their wake.) In Noah’s case, settling into his frame after that last growth spurt and learning self-defense/martial arts helped smooth most of the awkward out, but it resurfaces every so often. Chris I think would be the least likely to dance, just because I feel his background would make him very self-conscious about it, whether he wants to feel that way or not. He’ll dance if it’s just the three of them or just family, or for a slow dance, but that’s normally it. However, if he’s drunk enough, or if Noah or Peter have dragged him into a dark corner to makeout for a while and gotten him all distracted and relaxed, he can be pursued out onto the floor to show off some actually pretty sweet moves once he lets go.

Malia definitely inherited Peter’s dancing skills, I like to think Jackson did as well. Those three are the best dancers in the family. They just move with natural ease.

Allison is a decent dancer, her gymnastics training really helps but she’s not as fluent as her brother, sister, or dad.

I feel like Noah and Stiles have awkward flailing down to a T but every once in awhile there’s a hip movement worthy of a fucking professional dancer and it’s very confusing. But yeah, totally agree with that assessment of them.

Chris isn’t much of a dancer and neither is Ben. Both of them are very self-conscious. Chris gets better when he’s drunk because he let’s go of insecurity but even then it’s not great. He just doesn’t dance, it’s not his thing. Although he was a very good grinding and hip rotation move. He’s also pretty good at jump style once he lets himself go and just turns his mind off. but the rhythmic jumping just feels natural to him. He also likes to slow dance since he can just bury his face in Noah’s shoulder or nuzzle Peter’s cheek and just forget about everything else.

Also, I like to think they all love to sing. Chris’s voice is best suited for country I feel like. Noah’s more for singer-songwriter. And Peter just loves singing pop songs and he knows how to hit some high notes.

And now I am going to bed because It’s almost three am XD And I need some sleeps. Thankfully I have the day off this sunday.

#ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #submission

1 note · View note

fly-pow-bye · 5 years

Text

DuckTales 2017 - “Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Bob Snow & Francisco Angones

Storyboard by: Stephanie Gonzaga, Vaughn Tada, Brandon Warren

Directed by: Matthew Humphreys

Don't eat the cake.

The episode begins with Scrooge noticing that something is terribly wrong. He checks through his manor, opening a few doors to see. Webby, Lena, and Violet are dealing with a giant beast, Mrs. Beakley and Dewey are messing with a tempest in a teapot, and, in what is specifically deemed "very wrong" by Scrooge, Della actually bonding with a child that isn't the blue one. Okay, he's actually reacting to how they're both dramatically shouting about being the Legends of LegendQuest, but that doesn't seem too out of character for Della. Maybe for Huey.

After checking the whole mansion he goes back to his room, and he notices his seat is occupied by a familiar face.

Goldie: Morning, Scroogie.

Scrooge wonders why she would be here, and Louie shows up to tell him he invited her in. This episode continues the Louie Inc plotline that we last saw in "The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!". That plotline left off with Louie having a choice for his company: use Scrooge's hard work, or will it be the choice that Louie would actually pick. That choice ended up being "team up with the untrustworthy frenemy of Scrooge". Louie sees himself as a professional, he can handle this!

Not even after the opening credits roll, we see that Louie couldn't handle it, as he gets locked into a chest. Louie starts crying, saying that Louie Inc was his dream, and he thought he can be as clever as her, even calling her his hero. Goldie sees through this "crocodile waterworks" pretty much immediately, but takes kindly to Louie's training in the art of cons. That, and she needed a kid for her next con: getting into a "septleventh birth anniversary" for rich families. Who’s the birthday boy?

It turns out to be this reboot's version of Doofus Drake's big birthday party. Oh boy. Admittedly, the annoying living fat joke being retooled into an awkward and spoiled rich kid with creepy tendencies isn't exactly a terrible punishment for our eyes. When I imagined the Louie and Goldie adventure back when that was teased, I never expected anything like this, that's for sure.

Going away from that, anyone can guess at least one of those things Scrooge McDuck closed the door on was going to be the B plot, and it's not about that beast or the tempest in a teapot. We learn that during her adventuring days, after Donald and Scrooge would go right to sleep, Della would play a video game called Legends of LegendQuest. Huey decides to join in.

I do like the subtle joke that the "very wrong" epic speech they were doing was during the game's really long loading screen, which takes until this scene to load 100%. I would hate to say I liked it because it was the only subtle joke in this B plot, but I have to say it.

The rest of this B plot takes place inside the game world. This isn't a case of a magical video game that sucks them in, they just happen to have avatars that look exactly like them with some subtle differences. Della is this strong warrior woman with a strong resemblance to Zero from Mega Man X, with what looks like a scouter from the early days of Dragon Ball Z. I am sure this show is beyond referencing that ancient "over 9000" meme.

Her son decided to go with the joy of being an ordinary farmer who farms under a giant force field, protecting his garden from the bugs that manage to get past it. The joke is that Huey is boring, but Della is fun! Huey kind of reminds me of that other red accessory wearing kid from the other show in this episode, and not the good version of her.

We see Doofus's party, filled with more Beagle Boys than one might expect. Sorry to say, they do not appear that much. He has all the party quirks that would fit someone of his obscenely rich and richly obscene personality. Instead of bobbing for apples, he has bobbing for splinters. His birthday cake promises that it's not full of hair. Even Louie starts to talk to himself about the obvious joke that it will lead to, until he and Goldie get distracted by the party bags filled with gold.

Louie tries to take one of those party bags, only for Doofus's parents, or "servants" as Doofus calls them, to slap his hand. These bags are meant for departing guests, and are filled with priceless heirlooms from his late Guhmeemama Frances.

Doofus's parents: Guhmeemama.

Oh yeah, whenever her name is said in this episode and Day of the Only Child, they have to whisper to themselves her name. It gets a good payoff here in many more ways than one.

Louie tries to run off with two of the bags again, this time pretending to leave the party, only for Goldie to stop him this time. Apparently, she does not want Louie to be a bad party guest! Oh, and she wants all the bags. She also will not tell Louie her plan to do so, because he would not learn anything. Oh, and she doesn't know what her plan is. A lot of her dialogue is like that.

But enough about her way of talking, the "servants" announce that the "universe's perfect widdle (sic) angel" is making his grand entrance. A closed clam shows up, surrounded by angels. It's a scene very similar to a certain painting, and I really don't like where this is going.

Thankfully, they don't go with him barely covering himself up with a long blonde wig. Somehow, him just popping up right behind Louie is the second worst thing that could have happened with that. As he speaks about how seeing all of his guests with their loving parents reminds him of the only parental figure he knows, he sniffs that some of these families are filthy liars that only went to his party to get his gift bags!

One of those people turns out to be Percival P. Peppington, a guy that sort of looks like Willy Wonka and has at least enough money to hire Johnny, formerly of the Ottoman Empire, to pose as his kid. I looked Percival up, he's not a character from the comics, and he never appears again after this episode. Exposed, Percival ends up getting sentenced by Doofus to go into a trapdoor into his honey bin.

Percival: Don't you mean "Money Bin"?

Doofus: No. (hits button)

We never see this honey bin, but judging by the sound of bees and Randy's face when he looks down into the trapdoor, one would be wishing Doofus could just wish them into the cornfield instead. Thankfully, Doofus has mercy for the not-so-child actor, as he merely gets ejected via spring.

Seeing this, Louie whispers to Goldie that he can smell lies. He and Goldie will then talk about the plan to expose the two obvious phonies to Doofus, leaving them as the only people worthy enough to grab those money bags. They say this all out loud, because there's no way Doofus would hear them despite Louie's fear about him smelling lies!

It may be possible that Louie is heavily overestimating Doofus's abilities to smelling crooks, considering who those two phonies are and at least one of their plans. There's Glomgold, with a son named Sharkbomb that always seems to stay on his right arm, and Mark Beaks, who now has a son named Boyd. Clearly, one is way more unbelievable than the other. I mean, Mark Beaks having a kid? Maybe I'm underestimating how many fangirls he has. As he shows off his family selfies, all of them with his kid with the same exact face, he says this:

Mark Beaks: Yeah, I love this, uh, what is this, uh, uh, son!

This line outright blurts out that this son is completely fake, but anyone should expect that. Doofus does not smell this lie, as he just mentions that looking at his family selfies reminds him of his family memories.

This leads to Doofus sobbing and kissing his father's stomach, which happened to have a tattoo of his Guhmeemama...

Doofus's parents: Guhmeemama.

...riding on a Doofus centaur. Maybe it is best not to ask.

Glomgold also shows off his own family photos, which are surprisingly more convincing than the tech guru's, and Louie has to think fast. Thankfully, a quick trip to a nearby photo booth and Louie's not-too-convincing smiles clears that up. How it seems like Louie isn't even trying and still manages to win just seems to weaken him to me, but don't tell that to Goldie, who now wants to go on the offensive. Who is the first mark? It's not Beaks, as much as they seemed to be setting up for that joke.

All of the guests get into the pool, not by choice, and Louie tells Glomgold he wants to talk to Sharkbomb alone. Glomgold decides to try his best at ventriloquism while he's underwater to expected effects. He tells Sharkbomb about how Goldie has the hots for his dad. It's cool to see that plot thread from "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!" get referenced, and that reference also interests Glomgold, who suddenly comes out from the water to ask if it's true.

He tries to cover it up by having his puppet son say "as if", only for Glomgold to take his own puppet son's words as an insult. Considering "Duke Baloney", this whole fight may have a bit more depth than one could see here. I don’t think it is intentional, but that is something.

Eventually, that fight ends with him beheading his own son right in front of Doofus' eyes. Needless to say, Glomgold's attempt to put Sharkbomb's head back on with his spit does not please the manchild of the day. Doofus decides to send Glomgold to the honey bin.

Glomgold: Don't let go, Sharkbomb!

Sharkbomb: Don't tell me what to dooo! (lets go)

Gotta say, Glomgold and Sharkbomb ends up being one of the highlights of the episode. Kind of wish we got to see more of them.

Instead, we get to see Mark Beaks and Boyd, the latter of which suspiciously doesn't want to put his head below water! Also, he seems to have the strength of a million and seventy men. I guess he really shouldn't complain. But I have a feeling he can't go out for a walk without rusting in the rain. I guessed this as soon as I saw him, anyway; it would be fitting for the tech guru.

Speaking of tech, they do cut back and forth between this party plot and the video game plot, and, unlike the last episode, it doesn't do any creative transitions between them. One minute, we're watching Louie plot his schemes. In the next minute, that plot pauses so we can see a close-up of Huey talking about how the fate of the land is in Della's hands...that land being the garden. The joke is that Huey is boring!

Unlike Huey's insistence on staying in his force field bubble and playing FarmVille, Della wants him to explore the world, go to a checkpoint, and use all of that XP he's getting from those bugs to become super-powerful. This is all a metaphor for Huey not wanting to leave his comfort zone even with his mother goading him to do so. How subtle do they make this metaphor?

Huey: Hey Mom? I think I should step out of my comfort zone.

By outright saying it. As an aside, being one of the adventurous nephews, is Huey really the person that needs this lesson?

Back to the more exciting plot, Boyd sure plays some mean pinball, and Doofus is taking a liking to him. Louie tries to find some dirt on Boyd, looking through Mark Beaks' Waddle profile and looking at all of the pictures with his kid. Ignoring how Boyd has the same face in every picture, the biggest tell that this kid may be a fake is that there's no baby pictures!

Louie: Where are the baby pictures? Beaks would never pass up that sweet clickbait!

Goldie: Click-what, now?

Louie's not wrong, and it's good to see one scam Goldie would never take a part in. However, they need something more obvious. Eventually, Louie gets one, as he gets connected to the Beaks Optimistic Youth Droid's Wi-Fi network.

Even though Goldie isn't tech-savvy, even she can recognize an acronym when she sees it. Not willing to outright tell Doofus about his new best friend being a robot, Louie decides to just ask the B.O.Y.D. what he did two days ago.

To make a long story short, it doesn't work out, as the B.O.Y.D. starts shooting lasers out of his eyes. Wow, I guess I can't avoid reviewing shows with laser-eye-using children.

Eventually, his fake eyes melt, and he ends up falling into the pool. Mark Beaks laments that he's going to need a big bag of rice right before he'll need something to wash off honey, bees, and whatever else is in the honey bin Doofus sent him to. Goldie is impressed, and sends some praise to her not-really nephew about how they should team up on a more permanent basis.

Doofus is really upset that his newest best friend had their eyes melted, apparently at least the second year in a row this has happened. Much like Calvin and Hobbes' "noodle incident" and whatever led to his father getting a tattoo of a centaur Doofus, one's imagination can fill in the blanks far better than even the mighty DuckTales writers could on how that could happen. Only a minute after that aforementioned praise...

Goldie: Llewellyn Duck, I am so disappointed! Ruining poor Doofus' party, trying to take all the extra bags by yourself! Who raised you?

(a minute later)

Goldie: Sorry, Sharpie, I only work for myself! I want you gone, mister!

Oh, Goldie! For reasons only Doofus seems to know, he decides to arrange that last plan with the help of the BOYD. He's able to do this thanks to him grabbing the phone that just happened to slip out of Beak's hands when he sent him to the Honey Bin earlier. Doofus presses the “Kill” button on the stolen phone, and the B.O.Y.D. rises up from the pool water, mostly unharmed. So much for needing the rice.

Doofus essentially does his “psycho rich kid” shtick again, saying that his party wouldn't be complete without him beating a pinata, and he wants to hunt the most dangerous pinata: man. As he controls the BOYD, we're left to wonder if Goldie will just take the money and run, leaving Louie to get beaten by a robotic kid.

Oh, of course Goldie decides to save Louie in the end, putting herself between the rapidly spinning bat and the "Sharpie". Doofus ends up saying this was all a test to see if Goldie could be a loving parent or not. This doesn't completely add up to the cover story, but maybe that was what Doofus actually wanted, as we'll soon see.

Meanwhile, in the video game, Huey finally manages to get out of the "comfort zone" by stepping out of it. This turns the force field off, causing an alien to zap it and kidnap his mom. He initially thinks that he should have just stayed in his comfort zone, but he then realizes he needs to save his Mom. He runs towards the checkpoint, and his level begins to rise. Or, as Della says...

Della: That power level... (scouter explodes)

Oh, dear.

Della: ...it's over 9000!

Well, I guess they were not above it after all! Do not get me wrong: I don't hate this, and at least the line still fits. Huey becomes a Super Saiyan God The Duke and destroys the alien monster with his raw fisticuffs. That's pretty much it for this B plot; it ends with a scene where Della has to wrestle the keyboard away from him because he was getting too "not comfortable". Eh.

In the A plot, we get to see the aftermath of Louie and Goldie's plot: Doofus gives Louie all of the gift bags, and Goldie's good parenthood gets rewarded by becoming the new Goldiemama.

Doofus's parents: Goldiemama.

Don’t worry, that’s not the only payoff, and the other one is so satisfying, one needs to watch the episode because I will not spoil it.

It should be obvious even from this episode that being that Goldiemama is not a pleasant reward to say the least, even without the glass dome Doofus is keeping her in. Louie, knowing this, fights with himself with whether or not he should just take the money and run. Goldie did just betray him a few minutes ago. Maybe it would be a deserved punishment to let that betrayer suffer by being in the Doofus household.

Oh, of course Louie decides against taking the money and running, and goes to the rescue of his Louie Inc partner. This was a turn of events about as expected as Goldie not willing to let Doofus break the living pinata. I mean, it's not like they're just going to shoot someone into the moon...okay, that was a bad example.

Actually, come to think of it, Louie Inc doesn't really come up in this plot. Considering a future episode, he would consider stealing a business opportunity, but he has to find some way to make it technically not stealing.

As standard for my DuckTales reviews, I am not going to entirely spoil the ending of this episode. While it shouldn't be much of a spoiler to know that Louie will not be rich at the end of this episode and Goldie will be rescued, there is a very pleasant scene to see for people who just want to see Doofus' parents get something good for a change, and to see Doofus finally get something he deserved.

I'll also show this: this episode ends with this oddly touching shot of Goldie slipping in one of the on-the-spot pictures of Louie, right next to a picture of dear ol' Scroogie. Awww.

How does it stack up?

At first, I didn't really like this episode, but repeated viewings did lead me to see some of the good of this episode. However, I couldn't shake off that I didn't really like the B plot. It's not the worst, but it's not great, either. The best part is that it's not the mama's boy this time.

Despite the good moments with Glomgold, and I did like the ending of the A plot, this episode didn't do as much for me as most episodes of this show. I'm not going to send it to the Honey Bin, though.

Next, a nightmare!

← What Ever Happened To Donald Duck?! 🦆 A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill! →

#fpb dt 2017 #ducktales #ducktales 2017 #disney #fpb reviews

8 notes · View notes

callboxkat · 6 years

Note

Hey there! Would love to hear some director's commentary on Infinitesimal. If I had to pick something specific about it, maybe the beginning (because I'm still reeling from how amazing those first two chapters are). Or maybe talk about your favorite part of the story to write?

Yeah, of course! I’dlove to! Sorry this took so long, I put way too much effort into it.

(This containsspoilers for the first two chapters of Infinitesimal)

So, one of theinteresting things about Infinitesimal is that when I started writing it, I hadno intentions of actually posting it for other people to read. I’d been readingFinding Home, a series by @arc852, and I got kind of inspired to write my owng/t story. I kept it similar in that it’s about a tiny person (although inFinding Home, she uses borrowers, and I use littles) who gets abducted andtreated terribly before managing to escape and being found by different, muchnicer humans—the other sides.

I decided very earlyon that I wanted the little to be Patton, although I did briefly toy with theidea of using Roman or Logan. Even so, the original version of this story wasquite different than what it is now. Virgil’s role in the story was decidedpretty late in the game, as well as that of Emile (I debated up until the day Iposted his first appearance whether to use him or Remy, in fact).

Because I didn’toriginally plan to post this story, and also just because I never seem to writeanything in order, I wrote the second chapter of this story before I wrote thefirst. The first thing I wrote, actually, was when Patton drags himself out ofthe ocean and takes shelter in the conch shell. Once the idea got fleshed outto the point where I decided to turn it into a full, postable story, I askedmyself, okay, so how did we get here?

So, I thought aboutthe appearance of littles themselves, how they are basically the size of adoll, and how an unsuspecting human might mistake them for one at first glance.And then I thought, what if a human decided that a little, that Patton, was a doll? What if a child decided thathe was their new favorite toy? The idea seemed rather terrifying to me—being completelydependent on a child, having to tryto reason with one on matters concerning your very survival, all while knowingthat if they decided not to listen to you, there was nothing you could do aboutit.

As for the actualtreatment that the child who eventually became Marissa subjected Patton to, alot of the ideas for that came from the inconsistency between the needs that adoll and a living being have. That inconsistency being, of course, that dollsdon’t have any needs. Even puttingthat aside, there’s a reason why children aren’t usually trusted to take careof a pet completely by themselves. So, Marissa consistently forgets to feedPatton, to give him water, to let him exercise or have any basic comforts. Sheholds him very tightly because she is of course aware enough that unlike other ‘dolls’,he might try to escape, but she is still not quite realizing that unlike adoll, she should be more concerned about accidentally hurting him. She doesn’tever ask for his name because, to her, he doesn’t even really exist outside ofher games. She gets annoyed when he does ask for things, when he cries, or whenhe tries to run away because it ruins the illusion that her games are real. Thepart where Patton has to convince her to leave his tail alone and not cut itoff was an idea that came to me and really solidified my decision to uselittles in place of the more popular borrowers in my story.

Obviously, a lot ofchildren wouldn’t be nearly as horrible to a little as Marissa is in my story,even if the ignorance about their needs could be fairly consistent. Patton hasthe rotten luck of being found by the wrong child: I tried to imply thatMarissa is rather spoiled, selfish, and coddled by parents who see her as aperfect angel, kind of like Dudley in HarryPotter.

So, obviously,throughout Patton’s time with Marissa, he is rather desperate to escape. By thepoint that Patton actually manages to do it, he has all but given up on gettingaway, but the ingrained instinct was still there—so when he gets startled intoalertness by the water splashing on him, and the grip on him loosens at thesame time, it isn’t so much a conscious decision to wiggle free as a pureimpulse. Had he really been thinking about it, there’s no way that Patton wouldhave chosen to escape at that moment. He and Marissa weren’t far offshore,obviously, but to someone who is five inches tall and already sick, thatdistance is unimaginable.

On a (sort of) lighternote, my understanding of the dynamics of the ocean water, and the idea to havePatton dig into the sand and grab onto a broken shell to keep from being pulledback out come from a trip I took to the coast while I was studying abroad inEcuador. When the waves retreat, the pull is strong. You aren’t going to get gently washed up to shore the wayyou might be by a smaller, gentler body of water. A large portion of the beach Ivisited was covered in these burrowing gastropods who had to dig back into thesand every time the water dragged at them and tried to pull them out to sea. Italso had a lot of broken shells on the sand, and very few whole ones, eventhough my friends and I went to a less popular area of the coast. And eventhough the water was cold, the sand was so hot in the sunny areas that our feetwere turning red. So, many of those elements made it into opening of my story.

I’m going to leave itat that for now, since this commentary has gotten nearly as long as an actualchapter. Thank you for your interest!

42 notes · View notes

serenagaywaterford · 5 years

Note

Do you think Luke would be more comfortable if June's baby were Nick's or Waterford's? Strange question, I know

Woah. That’s a great question. I wonder this myself. Cos they’re two really different issues.

In one instance, it’s a constant reminder that his wife was raped. Over and over and forced to bear this child, who is a product of rape. I think that would be a very painful thing to deal with especially since his wife isn’t around, and she’s still in that world, suffering the same things day after day and he’s helpless. (He wouldn’t know that her new posting doesn’t do the Ceremony. He has no clue what’s happening there.) And it would also be difficult if he hasn’t bonded with the baby. Like, all of a sudden this baby is dumped in your lap, you know it’s not yours, you know it came from your wife’s rape, and she’s not here either.

That’s a heavy burden. Some people can get over that, some can’t. You hear stories of children of rape who’s parent(s) are resentful or distant towards them, maybe because it’s so painful to face. Sometimes it’s the mother, sometimes it’s the male (or female I guess) guardian. I dunno. I personally don’t have any experience with it, nor know anybody that does.

Then there’s the other angle where it’s Nick’s baby. Firstly, Luke really doesn’t have any knowledge about Nick and June’s relationship. Does Emily? Does anybody other than Nick, June, Rita, Fred, and Serena? (All of whom are still in Gilead.) I don’t know exactly when June would have sat around gossiping with Emily about her baby daddy. But, for the sake of debate, let’s just assume somehow that information could make it to Luke. (I don’t want to spoil a potential way that info could be passed on to Luke… Cos it’ll be coming up in 2 weeks anyway.)

I wonder if knowing Nichole isn’t a product of rape would make it worse. If Luke learned that June had a real connection with another man, essentially cheating on him, “voluntarily”. Despite the fact he cheated on his wife I feel like he would be somewhat jealous or resentful that Nichole was born out of–I hesitate to say love cos I don’t believe June truly loves Nick, sorry–affection and freedom. (Again, “freedom” is a bit of a stretch because if Gilead didn’t exist, if she wasn’t a slave, June likely would not have even given Nick a second glance let alone access to her body in any way whatsoever.)

Again, we’ve seen this go both ways with ~fathers of children that are born of cheating. I think most stories we get about this are “Father finds out kid isn’t his when kid is 15 years old” and by then the father has raised the kid and bonded completely by then. My ex-boyfriend had 2 older brothers and all of them had different dads to him and each other, but my ex’s dad loved and raised them all like his own. Again, though that wasn’t an instance of cheating...

There’s a similar angle here that every time Luke looks at Nichole he’ll be reminded about his wife cheating on him, so often too that she got pregnant. That could be very painful, maybe not as bad as the rape scenario. But this one may feel like a betrayal cos humans are emotional and have flaws, and even if logically it’s okay, emotionally it often isn’t. He could probably reason through it but changing his feelings would take time? Ego... is a nasty thing and hard to overcome sometimes.

Luke’s only human, and let’s be real, he’s sort of … not great? He’s not a pillar of strength or awareness or selflessness. He’s just not. (Book!Luke is even worse.) Does he have the capacity to bond and care for Nichole like his own? Of course he does, in theory. I suspect he will, because it’s TV and this show is dangerously soap opera-leaning right now and is loving it’s own absurd and bizarre “feel good” cliches. And let’s not forget that foster, adopted, and surrogate parents have just as much capacity to love a child that isn’t theirs as biological parents. (I mean, that’s sort of the point they’re making with Serena’s kidnapping/bonding. Blood is not necessarily part of the equation of loving a child at all.) My wife for instance has 2 adopted siblings and she’s convinced her parents actually love them more than her, lol. So, it’s all over the place. Love can form in so many ways and very, very strongly no matter biology.

The only stumbling block is whether Luke sees Nichole as a product of rape or a product of cheating (or either at all), and which one is worse to him. Maybe he just sees a wife and daughter that are still missing everytime he looks at Nichole. Where’s Hannah, you know? Here’s this other kid he’s supposed to take on when his daughter is still there. I will guess he’ll get over any distance he has to Nichole however. Whether or not I think that’s very realistic in this show is a whole other story. (And I'm gonna hazard a guess that something that happens in a coming episode will probably complicate his feelings even more and confirm them in other ways.)

I honestly don’t know what a man in his position would likely feel. I suspect it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, even for the best of people. But I guess we’ll see...

#Anonymous #the fact she's named nichole may be an issue if he finds out why lol

3 notes · View notes

parkminijiminie · 6 years

Note

You do realise at how Jm was looking at some of the better physique interviewers and talking abt Mendes happily when Jk was right there!?!?! I really think Jk deserves someone better. not someone who sees him as a "loyal subordinate" or likes him for his "mind". Jm has been so upsetting drg these interviews. Stay strong, JK! This trip will be a hard one for you.

I debated with myself whether or not I should answer this ask and to what extent as I’ve seen it going around and a lot of good bloggers have already shared their thoughts on it. But I decided that one more doesn’t hurt and repeated questions like this actually give an opportunity for the matter to be discussed from all sides. So even though I doubt you will read this, Anon, I still wanted to address it more for myself and my followers than for you. So here we go

I’ll start with a question that is bugging me quite a lot and that I find problematic:

Why is Jimin never enough for some people, in general and regarding Jungkook?

When Jimin smiles a lot, you say he’s “flirting all the time” or in extreme cases that he is “a slut”. When he doesn’t smile, then “he hates America” or “hates white people”. When he shows his affection to Jungkook, posting pictures of him with special hashtags, talking about him or hugging him, you say “he is the only one who initiates things”, that JK “only tolerates him”, how “Jimin should move on”. When he is more passive and lets Jungkook be the instigator or give attention to someone else, people go “Jungkook is not special to him”, “Jimin does this to everyone”, “He is only playing with him”. Part of this fandom is never satisfied with Jimin. Either he’s giving too much or too less. Even if he just sits still and breathes people still find things to be upset about and blame him for. He just can never win.

How can anyone even have doubts about how special Kookie is to Jimin, how adored, loved and spoiled with attention, care and affection he is by him, I will never understand. There is never an interview or a vlive nowadays where JM is not praising him; he is always the first to compliment and hype him, to push him when Kook needs it, to support him. Jungkook himself said Jimin is his biggest stimulant on and off stage. He himself specifically chose “There for you” to describe their relationship: a song about always supporting someone and them always having your back. Are we talking about the same Jimin who didn’t leave Jungkook’s side when he almost fainted? The same person who goes most frequently to JK’s room and spends the most money on him (Jungkook’s words)? The exact same man who was ready to sleep on the floor for Kookie, who gambled his own money so that Kook doesn’t stay hungry? Do we have the same Park Jimin in mind or did some of you get confused?

Don’t even get me started on how much compliments Jimin has said about Kookie, how much he has hugged him or touched him (on his neck, his waist, his ass, his thighs, his face etc). So much so that there are whole compilations just of him playing with Jungkook’s butt on stage at the end of DNA. JUST on stage. He is so touchy and loving with him that more often than not it looks like he can’t keep his hands to himself. I don’t know about you but it looks to me Jimin quite likes what he sees in Jungkook.

The two particular examples you give all have an explanation behind them:

“The loyal subordinate”: a teasing comment made in the same day when coincidentally Jimin couldn’t keep his eyes off JK’s face (he scanned his features with his eyes, stopping at his lips).

If you look for a deeper explanation other than that JM was simply joking, then here’s one for you: For YEARS Jimin was said to be chasing Jungkook around while Kook supposedly “hated him”. Of course, we know that was never the case, they were close even before debut but people even to this day like to repeat the same old story. Jimin, being the social media king he is, is of course aware of this. Do you imagine how hard it must be to give affection to someone (who you know loves you as well) and see a thousand comments about how he hates you? Do you realize how painful it could’ve been for him to see this all over the Internet even when he knows that it’s not true?

So from time to time he likes to remind us how special he is to the Bunny, how appreciated he is and how none of the bullsh*t is true by saying things like “Jungkookie always comes to my room”, “Jungkookie only gave a present to me”, “Jungkookie bought the tickets (for the Tokyo trip)”, “He is my loyal subordinate”. He does it to show people that JK does in fact care a lot for him and that no, their affection is not one-sided. Maybe he does it because he is aware how Jungkook struggles (or struggled) with expressing feelings with words or simply because he is happy with their close relationship and wants to boast about it. But I assure you, in no way is he treating Kook like a servant. Yeah, maybe he likes being spoiled by him but I think as much as he likes receiving, Jungkook likes giving. Example:

JM: Jungkook will pay (for his parents’ celebration)

JK /confidently/: I CAN do it !!!

So, I don’t think there’s any taking advantage of anyone in this relationship. Jimin babies Jungkookie a lot and in the same time he gives him a lot of privileges. So much so that JK feels they’re the same mental age and often speaks to him informally and casually. (a big thing in SK as you all know)

“The mind” comment: First to clear things up - Jimin didn’t say “he likes Jungkook for his mind” only. He was asked to name a physical feature of Kook but he chose his mind instead.

To me this is such a precious moment actually. Jimin’s said numerous times how attractive and sexy Jungkook is and has admired his physique. A comment about his lips or smile would be nothing new to me and wouldn’t get me so excited. Instead of just giving a generic answer about a part of his body (which we know he appreciates, given the above examples of how much and often he touches said body), Jimin complimented Jungkook’s brain, his way of thinking, (something JK himself said he loves about his own self). Kookie, just like Jimin, is someone who is sexualised and objectified A LOT in the fandom, even in his most vulnerable times, for example when he almost fainted. He is not really known or usually praised for his mind, rather for his body and athleticism. He is often degraded to just his looks or a shipping tool. Which makes Jimin’s comment a lot more meaningful and impactful. There’s a saying that goes well with his answer: “If you want to give a good compliment, call a person who is often regarded as beautiful smart and a person who is always praised as smart beautiful”. Or another one, that I really like and find especially fitting: “I’m in love with your universe”.

There’s no doubt in me whatsoever that Jimin loves Jungkook’s universe. Not just his body, or his handsome face but also his talent, his goofiness, his whole self.

Finally about JM and men in America. He complimented an admittedly gorgeous singer, he found an interviewer attractive, he smiled and giggled and was amazingly charming. All behavior that is not foreign to him. Sure, you may say he is more open and expressive but assume he truly is attracted to men. He’s a celebrity and his every action is scrutinized. Idols dating always brings scandal but being a gay/bi one is a sure way to risk your career if you get exposed. If he truly is not straight, that is a big part of himself that he must protect. He might “hide” behind fan service and skin ship but he can’t really be open about his attractions considering his status and that Korea is still homophobic. Which is why his ideal type is always a girl and why Jungkook is often referred as “his brother”. The U.S.A might not be paradise but it’s a lot more accepting and open which gives him the chance to act more like he maybe wishes he could in other countries but can’t. Hence why he may seem “wilder”, “more flirty” and etc. But why are people acting like this is the first time he found someone good looking or as if he’s offering himself to sleep with these men, is beyond me. He is just being his charming and attractive self, it’s who he is but maybe in America we see him a little bit less guarded.

What he’s done so far is not a crime or something to be concerned about even if he is romantically involved with Jungkook. In fact anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship will tell you that you don’t just stop finding people beautiful. You still have eyes, you can still admire someone and think they are hot, you can even have innocent crushes. You’d just never do anything about those things because you’re happy with what you have. You’re only admiring. I’ve had a serious boyfriend for years and I gush about Jimin to him, sometimes I even say to him “wow, what a sexy man” or “what a pretty girl” and he to me. It doesn’t faze us that the other can appreciate beauty in another person from a distance. Beauty is beauty and that’s that. Of course these are personal examples and I can’t speak for Jimin and Jungkook but I think many people who are seriously committed will agree with me on this.

As a conclusion what I’m trying to say is that Jimin has shown plenty of times his admiration, affection and attraction to Jungkook. In fact I’ve written a whole post about this HERE. So there is no need to exaggerate and over dramatize. And also, please stop treating PJM like he is only looking for someone to sleep with. He might be but we don’t have a way to know. From what I see he’s just being his gorgeous self and people are bound to find him attractive and fall for him. I mean, he exudes sex appeal (and many more things) naturally so that’s a given.

To all the Jikook shippers out there reading this (very long, sorry) answer I’ll say to consider this: Jimin may smile and giggle and raise his perfect eyebrows at anyone but there’s only one Jeon Jungkook who can turn him into a shy, flustered, blushing mess with just a simple sentence and the change of his voice’s tone.

Exhibit A: “Jimin-ssi”, “Jimin-ssi”, “Jimin-ssi”

Exhibit B: “Where do you think you’re going?”

Exhibit C: “Jiminie-hyung was acting”

Exhibit D: “Who’s the cake for.. I want to eat it, it looks delicious”

Exhibit E: “I can tease Jiminie hyung to no end”

Exhibit F: “Do you hear my heart beating?”

I can give you an example for every letter in the alphabet, both in English and in my native language. Peace

#jikook #kookmin #jimin

532 notes · View notes

forkanna · 5 years

Link

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTES: Sorry to the Gelphie shippers for these Dozma chapters. I haven't forgotten you! You'll see!

And of course, sorry for taking so long between updates. Boring IRL things distracting me - one of which being Camp NaNoWriMo last month. The upside is, you're about to get not one, but two new fanfics from me soon! so hopefully that makes up for me dragging my feet on getting this one posted.

Of course, within the hour, it was time to hold court. Glinda had hastily explained the developments to Elphaba, who remained with Dorothy to help monitor the recent immigrant. Then she bolted up to Ozma's chambers to investigate the current situation.

"No, tighter, Jellia," Ozma was urging her as the servant tried to cinch her dress closed. Never in a demanding, condescending tone; that just wasn't how Ozma treated other people, regardless of station. But she did sound more anxious than usual. "Sorry, I know, it's as tight as it goes, but… I need to look my very best! So we can't do anything halfway today!"

"Your Highness?"

"What? Oh… hello, Glinda." She looked a little cowed when she saw the disapproving frown on Glinda's face, and glanced down at her pristine white heeled boots. "Jellia, that's fine; thank you."

"Quite welcome, Majesty," Jellia said with a bow of her green head before she retreated, having enough sense to be able to tell Glinda wanted to talk to her alone.

"Are you alright?"

Laughing weakly, she turned to her full-length mirror and observed the effect. "I'll have to be, won't I? The court awaits."

"Ozzie…" When she didn't answer again, she bit her lip as she thought for a moment. Then she asked, "Do you like wearing these get-ups? You could probably pass a law. 'No queen shall wear anything but old trousers and pointed caps during royal ceremonies' or something."

That did earn a little more of an earnest chuckle. "Honestly?"

"Sure. I like honesty."

"So do I." Swishing the skirts around, she smiled vaguely. "I thought I might feel more comfortable in those old clothes. And I did, in a way… but not as much as I thought. They don't fit me anymore."

"Well, we know why that is," Glinda joked as she gave a light tap on Ozma's behind that made her squeak in surprise. They both giggled. "Not that I'm saying it's that big, of course."

"Of course. Just… no, I didn't mean only that the actual size is wrong. They don't suit me anymore. I think I might like to wear… suits tailored to my new shape sometimes, because they are more comfortable than these highly regal gowns. But that doesn't mean I don't like wearing these."

Glinda tilted her head a little again. "Can you clear that up a little for me? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I'm not following your chain of thoughts quiiiite yet."

Ozma paused, truly pondering her words. She turned so that Glinda could really take a look at her. What a breathtaking beauty she had become! Quite youthful, but serene, her perfect auburn ringlets framing her cheeks and slender neck and supporting the silver circlet as if it had been made to rest there. Sunkissed skin, no longer as tan as when they had first met her but still not as pale as that of a spoiled princess, gleamed from above the neckline that began the concealment of the rest of her form in puffs of white fabric and sparkling green ribbons. Truly a regal presence, and one that was a joy to behold, unlike the frightened respect that the Wizard had demanded via use of his puppets. This was definitely an improvement.

"I love feeling this pretty. It's something that was deep inside of me that I didn't even know was there until you helped reveal it. But sometimes, I still feel like… I don't deserve it, or I'm not really a girl because I grew up as a boy. Which I know isn't true! This really is who I am, I believe that with my heart and soul. But the doubts come back and I can never seem to make them completely go away. So that's… that's what I meant."

Smiling gently, Glinda reached up to cup either side of Ozma's sweet face. "Oh, little angel Ozzie… it must be tough, having to always 'be the princess' in front of the whole Emerald City when it's such a new thing for you."

"Yeah. That part doesn't help; the… public part."

"But you're doing a great job. And you know all you have to do is ask Jellia to make you a few suits for casual afternoons, working in the garden with Jack, or just days when you aren't feeling quite up to the frills and frippery. She'd be happy to! You're the one in charge, so do what you want. We'll all support you."

Ozma nodded. "Thank you, Glinda. I don't know what I'd do without the coven around."

"Council," she corrected, and they both snickered. "Also, if you ever want to take a little vacation, we could probably arrange for that. Get away from the responsibilities of queendom for a week or so."

"I'd like that. As long as you and Elphie and Nessa came along."

"And Dorothy?"

Sighing, she turned back to the mirror, regarding it with a frown this time. "Do you think… she'll hate me for this? I thought easing her into the idea by turning up as Tip was a better plan, but now I feel… stupid."

"Only one way to find out." She didn't want to comment on whether or not the plan was stupid; privately, she thought it was, but she also fully appreciated why Ozma tried it in the first place. Being honest with Elphaba about her own feelings had been one of the most difficult choices she'd ever made, and she had been terrified of rejection. It was probably much the same for her forlorn Ruler.

"That's true. Do I look alright?"

With bald honesty, she whispered, "You look perfect." Then she leaned in to kiss both her cheeks and boop her on the nose with her index finger, earning a slight giggle. "And cute! Now go out there and face the music; your people await."

~ o ~

So Ozma did just that. Glinda quickly took her place with Elphaba in the bench on the righthand side of Ozma's seat of power; Nessarose was on the other side, and there was room for further seats on each side, though the chairs were not present. The idea had been to allow for space for a larger Council, should the need ever arise, but so far it had not. When visiting the Emerald City, Fiyero would sometimes take a seat next to Nessa, as an honorary Councilman.

Glinda kept her eyes focused on Dorothy as Ozma entered, glancing back to make sure she could monitor how the princess was doing now and then. The girl had snagged herself a spot very near the front of the crowd, wanting her first glimpse of this regal being to be a good one.

"Hail to the Queen Ozma!" Jellia announced.

The crowd, appropriately, responded with "Hail!" and then burst into cheers and clapping. In the first few days of her reign, Jellia and the Council had tried to discourage them from causing so much commotion, but right away Ozma had told them to let the people celebrate if they wanted to. As Ozma sat, Glinda saw that Dorothy was clapping along with everyone else. Her brow was creased a little in very mild confusion, but she was otherwise as pleased as everyone else.

"Thank you all," Ozma said. Even though she was nervous, it barely showed; despite being a very young and inexperienced ruler, the ability to act "professional" in front of her subjects was something that came naturally to her. "Today, we will be hearing reports from outlying cities of the Land of Oz. If you have a grievance or report from within the Emerald City outer walls, or the cities nearest the walls in Gillikin, Munchkinland, Vinkus, or the Quadling Country, please refrain and hold your remarks for another date, wherein we will be welcoming them from your areas."

As she spoke, Dorothy's face began to come over with pure shock. To be fair, she did not make a scene, but it was readily apparent to her old friends that she had figured out Ozma and Tip were the same person without needing any explanation. Clever as she was, that came as no surprise.

"Well, there goes the neighbourhood," Elphaba muttered into her ear.

"Shh, Elphie." Still, she had a hard time disagreeing. A quick glance at Ozma showed that she wasn't paying Dorothy any attention. Purposefully. That was very like her to do, making sure that her focus remained on the matters at hand and to worry about personal issues later.

One by one, the reports were received. A band of thieves was trying to interrupt emerald mining in the Glikkus. Some city in the south of the Vinkus was in dire need of fresh water, for their well had run dry. The Quadlings wanted fairer trades for their wares. Most of these matters were settled in short order, though there was occasionally some debate needed to resolve the problem to the satisfaction of all parties involved. At the end of the day, however, the people remained as thrilled with their new ruler as before.

However, just when they were wrapping things up and the crowd started to stir and get ready to leave, Ozma called out, "One final matter for the day." After some brief murmurs, she added, "Dorothy Gale of Kansas."

A hush fell over everyone else. Slowly, Dorothy first pointed at herself, and then awkwardly pushed to her feet.

"Welcome to Oz. Myself and the Council wish to make it known to all here that you are forevermore Princess Dorothy of Oz, and should be afforded all the rights and respect that this title offers." There was only the briefest of hesitations before she went on, "And you may take a position of authority over any of the countries in Oz if you so choose, or decline such, and reside wherever you wish. For the services you have rendered us, we remain in your debt."

Glinda's heart sank. She was offering Dorothy a way out. Now that she knew Tip was Ozma and there was a possibility things might be awkward between them, she wanted Dorothy to know that she would not be required to continue living in the palace if she wasn't comfortable with the idea. It was a magnanimous gesture, but also could sound like she was sending her away.

But while the crowd was applauding the brief speech, all Dorothy could do was look stunned. When the clapping died down, and she noticed everyone was looking at her, she managed an ungainly little curtsy, then announced, "Th-thank you… Your Majesty." It seemed to be all she could come up with.

"Thank you," Ozma countered. Then she hastily said, "This concludes today's audience," and turned to step down briskly from the seat and leave the audience hall.

Immediately, the rest of the council followed her, but Glinda thought her efforts were best applied elsewhere. She whispered to Elphaba, "Tell Ozzie I thought she was very brave," then slipped down into the rest of the crowd to seek out Dorothy.

She had to chase her down. By the time she got to the audience seating, Dorothy was already out in the hall, so she had to push through the throng until she caught up with the dazed girl, leaning against the wall a little further down.

"Hey," she said in an imitation of her usual cheery voice. "Doing alright?"

"What? Oh… oh, yes, Miss Glinda, of course," she laughed — and it was a bit manic. "Why shouldn't I be? I'm… I'm a princess now! A-and so is…"

When no finish came to the sentence, Glinda provided one. "So is Tip."

"I guess so."

"Are you… really alright? Honest-to-Oz?"

"Sure! I mean, why shouldn't I be? Girl like me from nowhere, gettin' to meet a real live princess, a-and then become one? It's like a dream come true! I'm… I'm just over the rainbow about it!" But when Glinda only frowned, Dorothy turned away. "A-and she looked very nice up there, in that… dress, and the pretty crown…"

"Dorothy-"

"You know, maybe I will go and visit Scarecrow after all. See how he's doin'. A-and then I can come back and… and figure out what to do with myself. Can't just sit around bein' a big nuisance all the time! Aunt Em always said…"

But she didn't finish that thought; bringing up her aunt only took away her false joy. Glinda placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Dorothy… come on, you don't have to act brave if you don't feel brave. I'm your friend."

"I… I know. And you tried to tell me somethin' yesterday, but…" Her shoulders shrugged, taut and full of tension. "I wasn't listenin' properly. Thing is, I ain't wired like you and Miss Elphaba, so… I don't know. I need to clear my head, but after that, maybe… I can find a way to…"

She drew her in for a tight hug, and Dorothy only put up a fight for the first few seconds before she melted into it, shivering. Not crying, but clearly struggling to suppress some reaction. Whether that be sadness or anger, or something else, Glinda couldn't quite say. But she held on for some time. Eventually, the shivering petered out, and she took a deep, bracing breath.

"I'm alright now," she said with a false brightness, drawing back to beam up at Glinda. "Thanks."

"You are not. But… I'm glad you're better. Do you want to go and have lunch? We could take it somewhere… somewhere else."

Dorothy could definitely tell that Glinda was carefully not saying "somewhere without Ozma." It was written all over her face. After a moment, she nodded. "If you're sure it's alright? I mean, Miss Elphaba-"

"-Will survive one meal without me," she laughed, taking Dorothy's hand and patting it gently as she led her off to find another hall in which to dine. There were plenty in the Palace.

~ o ~

Dorothy did set off for Kiamo Ko the next morning. As she had told them, even without "other things" being a factor, she still wanted to reunite with her old friend, and to see whether or not Boq was adjusting to life now that he was no longer carrying around so much rage and murder in his heart. After all, he had been nothing but good to Dorothy, so there was no pretending he was wicked through and through. Maybe the new lease on life would be enough to set right what had been darkened within him.

Ozma was distraught by this news, of course, but Glinda tried to reassure her that it was a temporary absence. If Dorothy came back and decided she was moving away, they could fret over it then, but for now there was no use worrying.

So they turned their focus to other matters. Tending the queendom, as was always pressing. Elphaba was still perfecting some new spells to make all their lives easier, and Nessa trying to change certain outdated laws in the hopes that governance would run more smoothly. Glinda busied herself consoling Ozma and meeting with members of Emerald City nobility when Ozma wasn't feeling up to it. Though they missed the girl who formerly wore the Golden Shoes, there was no shortage of distractions.

Finally, on the third night after she had gone, Glinda walked in to find Ozma was again wearing the Tip costume. Rolling her eyes, she came and sat next to her on the bench in front of her vanity.

"That's not going to fix anything."

A moment or two passed as Ozma stared forlornly at her reflection. Then she said, "Mombi was able to curse me once. What if… we found that spell in her books and did it again?"

"Then we would be robbing Oz of its rightful heir."

"I could still be a prince as easily as I could be a princess."

"Is that who you believe you truly are?"

"NO!" she burst out, slumping down so that her head thunked against the lip of the vanity. "But I… I can't stand the thought of… of being this way, only to have…"

Sliding an arm around her, she whispered, "Listen. I know this is hard; I know you want to do something about it. Really, we've all found ourselves in a situation where… what we want is so hard to get our hands on, and it's tempting to change something about yourself that's really important to get it. Like… me with Fiyero."

"Fiyero? What about him?"

"Both Elphie and I were in love with him once. Or we thought we were," she added in a mutter. "But he obviously cared more for Elphie than for me, after the initial charm of my good looks wore off." More as a force of habit, she fluffed her golden girls with one hand.

"I see," Ozma snorted.

"So I tried being a little more altruistical. A little more… giving, and kind, and thoughtful of others. Not because it's the right thing to do, which is more how I do things now, but because… I thought it would make him like me better. And it didn't; he's admitted to us now that he was a lot more interested in Elphaba for being… well, genuine, I guess."

For a moment, Ozma simply nodded. Then she pulled at her long, perfectly-coiffed hair and growled, "I feel so stupid, though! Dorothy is… is perfectly entitled not to feel the same way now that she knows I'm a woman. I keep telling myself that! What's wrong with me?!"

"Whoa, whoa! Alright, you're way too tensed up. Come over here now. No, no, come here."

Glinda led a very pouty Ozma away from the bench to two chairs arranged around a small table. The usual purpose for these chairs was for her to take tea with one of the Councilwomen, if and when they needed them — though usually, the small dining room was used. She pushed Ozma into one and then sat across from her.

"Here." At first, when she pulled one of the princess's old "boy shoes" off, Ozma rolled her eyes, but the minute she began to knead into her stocking foot with her thumbs, the annoyance and uncertainty vanished. "There now. Relax."

"Ahh…" A few seconds passed as Ozma did her best to resent melting at the pleasant sensation. "Alright, I get it, Glinda. You're right. I'm… worrying about this… too much. You don't have to…" A little sigh. "Keep going…"

"Was that 'You don't have to keep going', or 'You don't have to,' and then you changed your mind and asked me to keep going?"

Chuckling just a little, Ozma favoured her with a grateful smile. "Was supposed to be the first one. But thank you. I don't know why you keep doing things like this for me yourself when I'm sure we could get the royal masseuse. If we have one of those."

"Not yet, but we should!" They both laughed. "But I don't mind. Honestly… it might sound a little odd, but I like having you around to take care of. Maybe it's my motherly instincts having nowhere to go, especially since I like taking care of Elphaba but she's even more self-sufficient than the two of us put together."

More laughter, and this time Ozma reclined a little, letting Glinda finish the job and move on to the other foot. "So I'm your surrogate child? That seems a little funny when we're technically the same age. I just haven't known I was a princess so I have to relearn everything as I go along."

"Ah, but you lost those early years, so I'm older now," she teased, wiggling her toes through the stocking fabric. For that, Ozma picked up a napkin lying on the table and attempted to throw it at her, and it fluttered to the floor uselessly. "Wow, you really have fully transitioned into being a spoiled royal girl."

"That wasn't a serious throw. You and I both know I could pick up this teaspoon and chuck it hard enough to split your nose." That made Glinda laugh so hard she snorted like a pig, and Ozma really lost it then, pulling both legs back so she could double up and wrap her arms around her sides, tittering until breathless. "OH! Oh, Glinda, that's t-too much!"

Wiping her eyes as she laughed along with her, Glinda Upland regarded the sweet princess in her old, worn-out clothing, briefly broken from her dark mood. She did deserve to be happy. If Dorothy would make her happy, and she would make Dorothy happy, it was really quite pathetic for any other factors to get in the way. So she realised that she had two immediate goals. First, to determine whether or not Dorothy's feelings for the illusion that was Tip had been infatuation, or the elusive "true love" that some spent their entire lives searching for. And second… to figure out how to get them fixed up together.

~ o ~

"Hello, everyone!" Dorothy cried out as she skipped in through the dining hall doors, eyes full of unshed tears. It had only been a week, give or take a day, but she still acted as if she had been gone for another dozen years.

And the Formerly-Wicked Witches reacted as if she had, as well. They all forsook their dinners to stand and envelop her in a crushing embrace, petting over her hair and laughing gaily as they welcomed her home. Dorothy squirmed and giggled freely, cheeks bunched with the force of her happiness. Even Jellia couldn't suppress a smile, despite her typically detached and professional demeanor.

Once the initial joy wore off, they turned as one to Ozma, who had at least stood to approach them but was hanging back, uncertain.

"Get in here," Glinda urged her through her toothy smile.

"N-no, I'd… better not," she said with a slight flush to her cheeks.

"It's alright!" Dorothy insisted, then covered her mouth with a shy fist once she had heard herself speak. Clearly, she hadn't meant to do so that suddenly. "I m-mean… I've missed you, too, Tip!"

"Ozma," Nessa corrected in a whisper.

"Ozma! R-right! Princess Ozma, y-your Majesty!" She did a curtsy, and her elbow connected with Elphaba's ribs. "Oh, s-sorry, I'm… awful clumsy sometimes!"

Before anyone else could try, Ozma was there to help steady her. Their hands remained in each other's as she gazed across into her eyes, smiling gently. "I'm… so happy to see you again."

"Oh? Happy?" Dorothy seemed to fixate on that. If Glinda were to hazard a guess, it was because there were two very different potencies of "happy" that the Ruler could be.

"Very happy. But, um… I believe I'm weary just now. I'll retire to my chambers and let you all catch up." Reluctantly, she slid her hands out from beneath Dorothy's and took a step backward. "Perhaps I'll see you tomorrow?" Dorothy nodded. Without any further comment, Ozma curtsied and left the dining hall at a quick pace.

And then they were left to look at each other. After a moment, Elphaba said, "So Glinda explained things to us. Which you can't be surprised about, but I'm sorry if you feel your trust is betrayed."

"Not really," Dorothy said with a little shy smile. "But gosh… I didn't think she'd look so… I dunno. Hurt, I guess? She looked hurt, and I didn't mean for her to be."

"You didn't hurt her," Nessa said in a reasonable tone, patting her on the shoulder. "And of course you didn't mean to. But… I think she had an unrealistic expectation that you didn't meet. Knowing it was unrealistic didn't make it go away."

Though she looked as if she already knew the answer, she squirmed and asked, "What 'spectation is that?"

"That Tip turning out to be Ozma wouldn't matter," Elphaba sighed. "What a silly thing to assume."

"Not silly," Glinda hissed at her roomie, who rolled her eyes toward the chandelier above them. "But yes, that's what she was hoping. You would see she was a princess in disguise, say 'oh my goodness!' and then move on from that. And when you didn't, even though your reaction was quite understandable…"

"I made her sad." All three of them nodded, and Dorothy walked over to the table and plopped down. "Well… I've been thinking on that a lot."

"And?"

"And… I ain't the kind to think a whole lot. But it seems to me that… that I should start over. Get to be friends with Ozma, like I did with you three."

Elphaba's smirk was nearly criminal. "You're going to throw water on her?"

"Hush up," she giggled, and they all shared a relieved look. It was torturous seeing Dorothy as anything less than happy. At least her drawn appearance was slowly beginning to even out; she'd been packed off with plenty of bread and cheese and cakes when she left, and had probably been richly served in the Vinkus, as well. Not quite the plump girl she had been when they all first met, but certainly healthier.

After a moment, they returned to their seats and called for some bread and jam for Dorothy, and they listened to her tales of her travels. As it turned out, they did run into a few interesting characters along the way, including a cat made of glass and a boy as bright as a button, but more or less her journey was blessedly free of complications. Fiyero had been a wonderful host. Alas, Boq was a little odd and distant, but at least he had been pleasant and spent no time complaining about former matters. After a couple of days, she felt she had reminisced long enough and started making her way back.

Which led them to ask her about Ozma. At first, she tried to ask them about the goings on within the Emerald City to distract them from the topic, but that didn't work for more than a pair of minutes.

"Alright, alright. Like I said, I want to start over. Because… I think I let Tip bein' a boy go to my head, and got wrong ideas. Maybe led him on? Well… not on purpose, but I think I did, anyway. If I'd known he was a she, I mighta been able to just… be friends! Like two normal people! Don't know why I acted so silly around him, I've never acted like that around boys before…"

Nessa smiled a knowing smile. "You grew up, Dorothy. I mean, you're still fairly wide-eyed, but you're an adult woman now. Really, I'm surprised you never chased any boys before now."

That earned her a disapproving gasp from the Kansas girl. "Oh, I couldn't! Chase a boy? Me? No, no, that's not how a lady behaves! Aunt Em told me…" She came over melancholy again, but pushed through it more effectively this time. "Well, that it ain't proper for a girl to chase after a boy; the boy is s'posed to do the courtin', and the lady waits for him, and…" Her voice faded with uncertainty.

"That may be how they do it in Kansas," Glinda conceded with her arms folded over her chest, "but sure as heck not how we do things in Oz. You like somebody, you tell them; simple as that."

Of course, she wanted to say more. She wanted to point out to Dorothy that she and Ozma had already kissed, whether the poor girl and her strangely restrictive views about romance wanted to remember the event or not. But it was painfully clear to her that Dorothy needed to take a step away from that aspect of their relationship for some reason or another. It seemed to mostly be because of Ozma being a woman now, but she wondered if it wasn't also because of how young and inexperienced she was. After all, from their many conversations, all she ever heard about from Dorothy was about the farm, the farm, and in rare moments of great variety, the farm. The girl was the furthest thing from Ozmopolitan one could be.

"This is stupid," Elphaba finally sighed. "Just talk to her. You have to start there, or you won't get anywhere."

"Exactly," Dorothy sighed.

"No, I meant right now."

"Huh? Oh… n-no, I don't wanna bother her! She said she had to lie a spell…" At their staring, she dipped her head a little. "D-do you think if I came to breakfast, a-and tried to act like everything's peaches 'n' cream, that… th-that it'd be alright?"

Feeling bad that they were pushing her so much, Glinda rested a hand on her shoulder. "Of course. And if you're not feeling up to it in the morning, that's alright, too! We just wanted you to know that Ozzie's going to be happy to see you if you do pop in, and not upset. Alright?"

Elphaba looked like she had a lot more to say on the topic. However, she merely let Dorothy nod, and Jellia hastened to make sure her things were taken up to her rooms in the palace. But hoping that would be the end of it was something Glinda wasn't nearly foolish enough to try.

~ o ~

"You really think we're doing the right thing?"

Glinda's head lolled over to glance at the nude form in the bedsheets to one side of herself. Not that Elphaba was much for putting her body on display; something she understood too well herself. Still, that insatiable part of her heart wanted to see as much as possible every waking moment.

"Of course, Elphie. Ozma's no older than us, and has had to do a lot of growing up as a woman in only a few months. And Dorothy's… Dorothy."

Nodding, she turned her green eyes toward the light streaming in through the green-tinted windows. They had both been meaning to commission someone to fashion them clear panes, so that the natural colouring of the rooms could be enjoyed — at least in the private rooms within the Royal Palace. They could stand on tradition in the public audience chambers like the throne room.

"This whole thing is stupid." Her hand fell to find Glinda's and wrap around it. "They're only resisting nature's pull because Dorothy's worried about pointless gender issues, and Ozma's worried about Dorothy."

"I know."

"Then we ought to do something about it."

"Like what?" she giggled, rolling over to curl her body around that of her lover. Silky skin against her own made her stomach flutter, but it was a flutter she had grown used to. Not in a way that removed its thrill, but she no longer panicked and tried to run from the room.

And she saw Elphaba flinch. That was happening fairly often, ever since she got back from Kansas. She knew the reasons by now because they tried to be open and honest with each other about everything, but it still hurt to know Elphaba had her comfort levels with that variety of touching shaken by something that should never have occurred. Little by little, she was going to erase that discomfort. Even if it took the rest of their lives.

"Like… shove them into a closet and tell them they can't come back out until they kiss." Her further giggling made Elphaba crack a smile, and she rolled her eyes as she admitted, "Alright, alright. I know it's supposed to be none of our business."

"I think forcing two people to kiss isn't exactly the best way to cause 'love' to brew, Elphie."

"You're right, of course."

"But… I understand." Her lips pushed into Elphaba's neck, earning a sigh that caressed through her own golden waves of hair, down across her bare shoulder. That was better; she was relaxing, welcoming the reassuring touches. "Ozma's never been this worried about anything in all the time since she first took the throne. Once she was sure she wasn't going to be thrown out of the palace, I mean. Probably because…"

"Because?"

"Well, you saw how Tip looked at her."

"I saw how they looked at each other," Elphaba murmured, and Glinda snickered. "Like you used to look at Fiyero, and Fiyero used to look at me."

"You weren't supposed to look at Fiyero looking at you while I looked at him," she teased.

A dark chuckle floated out of her. The kind that set her skin ablaze, her heart to racing. "Where's that rule written down?"

"The Grimmerie. It's somewhere in the back, you haven't made it that far in yet."

"Oh I haven't made it! The only one of us who's read the entirety of the book!" They both laughed, and Elphaba rolled to embrace Glinda back, smiling through her mirth. "Ohhh… you're such a nuisance."

Glinda's cheeks glowed. "You only call me a nuisance when you mean to say 'I love you'."

"You say it enough for both of us." Still, gruff as she was, Elphaba wasn't too good to follow through once in awhile. So she kissed Glinda very gently, softly, and whispered, "I love you, Glinny."

"Gosh…"

"You don't have to act like it's a surprise every time."

"What if it is? Every time you say it, I'm shocked that I get to hear it from your lips. That it's meant for me."

A green hand drifted up and perched on her glowing cheek, thumb tracing its way gently up and down along the skin as she gazed across at her, raven hair spilling out over the pillow in the most artful of ways and making Glinda want to reach past and slide her fingers through it. But for now, she was content to perch hers on Elphaba's ribcage.

"You shouldn't be. Winsome girls with golden curls are the ones who always find love. It's me who's lucky; I'm-"

"Just as beautiful," she cut her off, knowing what would come next. The self-deprecation, the eye so critical that it would tear her own appearance to shreds at any given opportunity. "Moreso for being unique; cute blondes are a dime a dozen in Gillikin."

"If I could have a dozen of you for a dime… my purse would be empty."

Lines like that always worked on Glinda. She had figured they would wear off once they settled into a relationship such as the one they were now enjoying, but every last time, Elphaba could make her feel sixteen again. Tittering and burying her face in Elphaba's shoulder, she heard her chuckle and felt strong arms wrapping around her back, holding her close. Caressing every inch they could reach. Lips pressed into the crown of her head before they whispered again.

"You make my heart leap, Glinda. Every day we're together."

She pulled back to lean up and take her lips, unable to hold back for another second. There was no reason to, and she couldn't have if there were. Elphaba's response was not as enthusiastic, but that wasn't her way; she was patient, she was earnest. But that in no way meant she wasn't passionate; it was just a different passion than her own. And that was what made them work.

A few minutes later, when Glinda raised her thigh a little higher to slide between another pair, Elphaba shivered and drew back. The thighs were the worst of the zones; she always flinched from that. But now, the reactions were equally alarmed and excited. It was progress.

"Again, so soon? You normally don't try for twice in a night."

"Can't get enough of your…" Glinda's cheeks flushed. Neither of them were very good at talking about this topic in detail, even after months of trying. "Your rose and your pearl."

That got Elphaba to push her hand into Glinda's face, cackling and rolling away as if she were completely through with her. But when Glinda reached past her hip and resumed their play, she certainly didn't fight her off a second time.

To Be Continued…

#The Coven of Oz #forkanna writes #wicked fanfiction #wizard of oz #jess the writer

1 note · View note