#for anybody who shares character thoughts - not just about venture

[wyrdfornom]

Hi just wanted to say. Venture has become a major comfort character for me very quickly, and so seeing the more structured writing people make and share about them brings me some much needed happiness. ...But. i wanted to also offer that getting to read how people feel about and imagine venture actually makes me smile just as much, and often more.

Those shorter posts, where a person is wondering into a favorite character because they felt the urge to in that moment, are little treasures to me. They're  experimentations with love, intimacy, and conflict. And they're *literal* pieces of your capacity to dream - which y'all are then sharing for anybody to find, pause and spend time with!

Developing your writing craft is a valuable way to grow and impact others. But the raw things, the thoughts and observations that don't get developed into structured works, those things activate me too.

So if you share your writing online and maybe feel like only structured writing is what anyone wants to read from you, (or if you don't post much but have more thoughts that you would like to share,) please know that i appreciate the smaller moments of imagination just as much as the bigger ones. <3 !

[mordoriscalling]

Assurance and Authority (1/25)

Post-BOTFA Persuasion Au: Bilbo returns to the Shire after the Quest, having rejected Thorin’s proposal of marriage. For years after, he struggles with regret. When he and Thorin meet again, he knows better than to hope.

Also available on AO3.

Bag End was the finest Hobbit smial to have ever been built, not only in Hobbiton but in the whole Shire. It was a large, comfortable home, with spacious corridors, many rooms, and luxuries such as windows and plumbing. The smial was greatly admired by all hobbits, though it also became a point of envy to many, as well as a source of pride for the one who constructed it, Bungo Baggins.

Bungo, the heir to the esteemed and rather rich Baggins family, gifted Bag End to his wife, Belladonna Took, the “remarkable daughter” of Gretonius Took, the Thain of the Shire. Belladonna was an exceptionally wild and curious spirit, known to have befriended a wandering wizard and even ventured outside the Shire in search of adventure. Her nature sat in stark opposition to her husband’s, who everyone regarded as perfectly respectable and home-dwelling, but overall unremarkable.

Indeed, Bungo and Belladonna seemed a mismatched pair. The idea of them marrying was thought to be brought about by little difference in station – and perhaps an attempt to temper Belladonna’s character with the influence Bungo’s – rather than genuine affection between the two. In truth, however, just as opposites attract, so Bungo and Belladonna were drawn to each other due to their contrasting natures. Yet, unlike complete opposites, Bungo and Belladonna turned out to have some core qualities in common: both were of bright and quick mind and enjoyed mental stimulation. These shared traits not only made their connection secure but also yielded the delight that they found in each other’s company. Soon into their courtship, the two discovered that they liked nothing better than to hold long and lively discussions during which they debated each other’s opinions and looked for ways to outwit one another, or to play a game of riddles together.

And so, against all odds, their marriage blossomed into a very happy union. After getting married, the couple lived in Tuckborough, a property owned by Belladonna’s father, but soon found the place too crowded and lacking in the privacy they desired as newlyweds. The issue became especially bothersome for Belladonna; fed up with being surrounded by nosy family members, she threatened to pack all her things and lead the life of a wanderer.

“Having a tent or even a bedroll for a home seems more appealing than living here,” she grumbled. “At least I’d be able to do whatever I want! I wouldn’t have to explain myself to anybody, how splendid would that be!”

“Then I shall build you a smial, my Bella,” Bungo told her in response. “I shall build you a smial where you’ll be the mistress and where they’ll be such comforts that you won’t want to sleep in a tent or a bedroll ever again.”

Belladonna laughed and kissed him sweetly. “I doubt the latter, my Bungo,” she said then, “But I’d dearly love to see you try.”

It seemed that Bungo took his wife’s remark as a challenge. Taking his wife’s sizeable dowry, he made very good use of it and brought Bag End into being. Belladonna received his gift with the deepest joy and did almost forget about tents and bedrolls. Admittedly, her not wanting adventures so much was in large part not due to Bag End itself but the fact that, a year after moving into their own smial, their love bore another fruit: they were blessed with a child. Belladonna, after a rather complicated pregnancy and labour, bore a healthy son, who she and her husband named Bilbo.

Bilbo was the talk of the Hobbiton and beyond since the very day he was born. Everyone wondered which parent Bilbo would take after. Would he be more of a Took or a Baggins? Would he share his mother’s love of the unexpected or his father’s dislike of it?

As a fauntling, Bilbo clearly showed to lean more toward his mother’s side, much to the disapproval of many in Hobbiton, including his own father. Bungo tried his best not to outright show it to his son, but he did argue with his wife about how she encouraged their son’s Tookish behaviour. Indeed, the issue of raising Bilbo was the most serious marriage strife they faced.

“You tell him all about adventures and elves,” Bungo said to Belladonna, one of those times he confronted her, “And then he comes back home after dawn all dirty. And that wooden sword you’ve given him! Not to mention you introduced him to Gandalf. He’ll end up hurting himself one day because of all this nonsense!”

“It’s not nonsense!” As she said this, her gaze was ablaze with deep, unshaken conviction. “It makes him happy! Can’t you see it brings him joy? How could I deny him stories of adventures when he asks for them?”

Bungo sighed heavily. “I do understand that, but be reasonable. He talks about looking for faeries all the time! Can’t you see that everyone thinks him odd? Other fauntlings won’t play with him!”

“My siblings’ little ones do!”

“And how often are they in Hobbiton? A few times a year? It’s not enough, Bella! He plays alone most of the time. He has no friends around here, and I... I just worry! A fauntling should have other fauntlings to play with!”

The last remark reopened a wound of theirs that had never fully healed. In the decade of their son’s life, there had been three times so far when they were justified in thinking that Belladonna was in the family way once more, only to have these hopes crushed. After such immense heartbreaks, they found themselves at the point of giving up trying for more children. Instead, they were left with the unbearable ache of failure to provide Bilbo with a sibling (which some of the unkind hobbits claimed to be proof of their incompatibility).

Bungo could see that his words caused his wife great pain, so he gathered her into his arms and murmured apologies and reassurances to her in a comforting tone. “I neglected to mention that our Bilbo already has a playmate in you, didn’t I?” he said. “The finest playmate any little one could ask for, indeed. The finest mother, too.”

Belladonna stayed in her husband’s embrace, letting his closeness and words soothe her, and spoke once she stepped away from his arms. “I do know your worry, Bungo. I wonder what will happen soon when he grows up and would rather have his peers for company than me, but we must have faith in him. I’m certain that he’ll have people who will love him just as much as we do.”

“I pray that you’re right,” he replied. “But I fear that love of adventure won’t endear him to many.”

“Then it will endear him to the right ones! He should never change himself just to be accepted.”

“About that, at least, I’m not worried. He seems as spirited and stubborn as you, I don’t think he’ll ever change just to bend to the wishes of others.”

“Stubborn as me?!” Belladonna exclaimed. “He gets the stubbornness from you! There’s no creature under the sun more stubbornly set in their ways than a Baggins!”

The origin of Bilbo’s stubbornness was, at least, only ever a point of good-natured bickering between his parents.

As Bilbo grew, his behaviour did change – he no longer sought out his mother, just as she had predicted. However, contrary to her assumptions, Bilbo preferred to spend time on his own rather than among his peers. He would stay inside more and more and took a lively interest in books. When he entered the age of seventeen, his father taught him reading, writing and calculations, which he all grasped in no time, and afterwards, Bilbo could only be found sitting with his books, genealogy trees and maps, or enjoying tea in the armchair by the fire together with his father. It overall seemed that his unruly Tookish spirit quietened considerably, much to the relief of his father and the dismay of his mother. It did seem Bilbo’s fate that when he did something that gained him one parent’s approval, he simultaneously displeased the other. Now, it was Belladonna who was not happy, for Bungo expressed approval at the change in Bilbo’s behaviour, but she suspected that Bilbo didn’t choose books as his most frequent companions of his own volition. Rather, she feared that it stemmed from Bilbo’s general unpopularity among his peers (although some of the children of his aunts and uncles on both sides of the family did like him). However Belladonna tried to encourage her son to go outside, he either refused or left only for a short while, set on doing solely what he wished with the stubbornness his parents loved him for.

When Bilbo began approaching adulthood, it became clear that he had taken more after his father in the end. He matured into a well-mannered lad, if a touch aloof, but his reserve did not taint his emerging spotless reputation. He was still as respectable as any hobbit should be, and was an heir not only to the esteemed Baggins name but to Bag End as well. Indeed, his standing and wealth made him a most eligible bachelor, as there was many a lass who wished to call herself Mrs. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. Bilbo himself, however, showed no interest in marital affairs; once he reached the age of thirty-three and could officially enter a courtship, he rejected all matchmaking attempts. Such dismissal was met with a lot dismay, and more than one matron swore to find Bilbo a wife. Unfortunately for them, they soon had to abandon their efforts, for a tragedy struck – Bungo Baggins passed away only in the third year of his son’s maturity. It was a very early age for a hobbit to lose a parent and Bilbo went into deep mourning together with his mother.

Bilbo and Belladonna could not come to terms with Bungo’s early death for a long time. Overcoming their grief was not made easy by the fact life went on despite their loss. Bilbo had to adjust to the new role as the head of the Baggins family and the Master of Bag End, which was a challenge for him, as his father had not yet managed to teach him many ways of his business. Belladonna, though she tried to support her son as much as she could, was so stricken with sorrow that she struggled with merely carrying on from day to day.

In the end, Belladonna never managed to heal from the grief. Year by year, her once strong spirit faded, and so did her health. She fought her progressing weakness for years, wanting to be with her son for longer and wishing to see him settle into a happy life. Bilbo always assured her that he was perfectly content but she never believed him.

"But Bilbo,” she would say, "You surely can’t be happy with having only your old mother for company! There must be someone else you like to spend time with!”

"I’ve always liked your company the most,” he would reply. One time, he then argued, "Why does there have to be someone to like anyway? Why can’t I just like myself and let it be enough for me?”

"If you like yourself, that is very good, but... you might think so only because you don’t feel like the need for companionship right now. When I’m not here anymore, are you sure you will be happy on your own?” Bilbo did not reply right away, so she said to him, "Bilbo, I promise that life is lived so much better with a friend. By that I mean a good friend, someone with whom you can talk about much more than daily affairs and the weather. Someone who you can open your heart to, someone you can grow with. It’s worth having someone like this.”

"You say that but I see you suffer because you lost papa. You suffer and you still say that.”

"Because I know what I’m saying, my dearest flower. It was worth it because he gifted me with so many good things. He gave me joy, and this smial, and you! Oh, Bilbo, I wish you to know the same happiness. I wish you to have someone who makes you smile brighter than the Sun.”

"What if there isn’t someone like that for me?”

"There is, I know it. I’ve always known it.”

Bilbo did not seem convinced but he once again reassured her that he was happy. She did not end up ever believing him. After all, his current situation could hardly be a source of joy: when he managed to reconcile with the passing of his father, it became evident that his mother would not live for long.

And so it happened that Bilbo became an orphan and the sole Master of Bag End at the age of forty-four. Grieving his mother took him a few more difficult years and once he went out of mourning at last, Bilbo was close to the age of fifty. At this point, the matchmaking matrons had written him off as a lost cause and his continued disinterest in matrimony gained him the status of a confirmed bachelor.

Belladonna did not think that her son could be happy with such a life but Bilbo did seem quite content. He lived in good relations with everybody, though he upheld few close connections, and was overall a highly respectable hobbit. It was decided that he was a Baggins to boot in the end: a hobbit who never did or said anything unexpected. The only surprise that anyone anticipated coming from him was who he would name as his heir, which would have to happen eventually.

That is why the whole Shire was flabbergasted when one day, Master Baggins showed to be more of a Took by storming out of his smial, running off and vanishing. He hadn’t written any letter to explain his sudden disappearance before or send any after leaving. Everyone could only scratch their heads and wonder what on earth had happened. There remained no explanation as to why, where, and with whom Master Baggins had left, while his absence extended from a fortnight to a month, then to many months. Eventually, as the one-year mark of his vanishing approached, it was agreed by most that Master Baggins should be presumed dead.

What emerged even before that was the question of what to do with Bag End. Master Baggins had no heir, so it was unclear who was to inherit the smial. Since all hobbits were knowledgeable about genealogy and because one could always prove relatedness to someone at some point in the past if they tried hard enough, everybody believed that they were entitled to Bag End to some extent. With so many hobbits staking their claim, the issue of Bag End’s ownership gave rise to so many bitter disputes that an extreme measure had to be taken to settle them: there was to be an auction so that all claimants could have something of Bag End to themselves.

When the eagerly-awaited day of the auction finally came, it naturally caused quite a stir. A large crowd gathered before the front door of Bag End, the shouts of the bidders could be heard in half of Hobbiton, and those who already won were carrying out their prizes happily. Then, there was another reason for a commotion: a hobbit claiming to be the deceased Bilbo Baggins appeared right then. No one could say for sure if it was Bilbo Baggins, however: the hobbit, dressed in some odd and foreign clothing, looked very different from what one would expect any hobbit to look like. Yet, when the auctioneer asked for a document that would confirm his identity, he did produce one - a contract between one Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshied.

“Who’s this person you pledged your service to?” the auctioneer asked. “Thorin Oakenshield?”

“He... ” Bilbo found himself unable to say more, for hearing the name of Thorin Oakenshield had him overwhelmed by a heartache so painful that it took away his ability to speak. When he finally regained his voice, he said little but revealed a lot, if only to himself.

“He was my friend.”

With that, Master Baggins entered Bag End. The grand smial was empty like never before, just like the heart of its owner.

[someonestolemyshoes]

Off the Record

Hello!! I am super excited to finally post my entry for @levihan-drabbles competition :D The prompt was super interesting and I had a tonne of fun writing this one! 

The prompt I received was: Hange posts a picture of Levi somewhere and it becomes a meme.

(For those curious, this is the meme I used for inspiration) 

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

Hange met Moblit in a small cafe a little way down the road from the newsroom. She was in good spirits—her morning had been productive; she'd made steady headway with research for her next interview, finished the final edits for a few smaller tabloid pieces she'd been meaning to brush up, attended three short, perfunctory meetings on tedious company policy, and laid the groundwork for another exciting interview opportunity.  

She felt good. And now she had the pleasurable prospect of a hearty lunch, a passable cup of coffee, and perhaps best of all, Moblit's company. His company, and his camera.

Hange threw herself into the seat opposite Moblit the moment she spotted him, hunched over his laptop in a corner of the cafe. He lifted his coffee cup just in time for Hange to clatter against the table, the thin metal frame rattling precariously. She offered him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," she said, and then, "got anything exciting?"

"I don't know about exciting. Interesting, maybe, but no breaking news."

Hange flagged down a passing waitress with one hand, and waved Moblit off with the other. "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," she said, then paused to order a drink and her favourite sandwich. "Tell me anyway."

"I got a tip-off from a waiter at Sina's."

Hange's eyes sparkled behind her glasses. She sat forward in her chair, folding her arms on the table top as she leaned closer. "Who?"

"Take a guess."

Hange grinned at him. Moblit was not one to play coy; he did his job and did it well, and reported his findings efficiently. To leave her to question it meant one of two things; he had photographed someone very high profile indeed, or it was somebody Hange was, for better or for worse, well acquainted with.

Or perhaps, if she were lucky, it was both.

"Let me see him, then."

**

Hange had taken far too much time in the cafe with Moblit. He had given her a rundown of all the details he'd gathered during his field work that morning, and shown her through his extensive photo gallery. It was impressive, the kind of archive Moblit could cultivate with only a 45 minute breakfast window.

Hange had been delighted. Moblit was right; it wasn't breaking news, nothing particularly thrilling, but there was a corner of the Internet, Hange knew, that would delight in a trashy little article just like this. Something quick and simple to bulk up the social media feed for the afternoon.

Plus, there was a series of pictures Moblit had snapped, a cluster he'd thought to be of no real merit, that Hange simply could not pass up.

She could lay down no facts with a story like this one. There was no hard-hitting investigative journalism to be had, but she could at least offer some speculation based on her knowledge of the subjects involved, and spin a tale juicy enough to get people talking.

It took little time at all to put the article together. Hange scribbled up an outline for the contents—the location; Sina's in downtown Hizuru, a luxurious restaurant serving five star meals at every hour of the day. High in quality, sickeningly steep in price. The time of day; 9am. To the best of Hange's knowledge, this was rather out of character for the subject. He was an early riser, but according to their interview last March pending the premiere of his newest movie, he wasn't the type to eat much at all before lunch time.

And then, the company. Eren Yeager was a relatively well-known actor, barely an adult at nineteen. He starred in his first role a decade earlier, and had seen commercial success in multiple movies and TV shows ever since. He had been something of a prodigy in his younger years, bold and precocious, possessing a natural talent many actors years his senior couldn't even hope for. As Hange understood it, he had recently hit a rather troublesome phase. An interesting line of inquiry, but despite his talent and his fame, Eren's presence was simply a cameo, compared to the subject of the article Hange was drawing up.

Levi Ackerman.

Levi is a fan favourite and a media delight. He's attractive no doubt, and his performance in any and every role is almost always met with critical acclaim. Outside of his career, however, he's an elusive thing, silent in any matters pertaining to his private life. He avoids any public event like the plague, and rarely shows his face at premieres or award ceremonies if he can possibly avoid it. He gives interviews only when required by some contractual obligation or other, or else when the journalist in question is so painfully persistent that it is simply easier to give in than to keep fighting.

Little of his personal life is known, but it is impossible for someone in Levi's position to avoid interacting with anybody at all, and even the great Levi Ackerman is not above scrutiny.

There are rumours. Several of them, accounts from fellow cast members, from staff, from directors, and even Erwin, his manager, has alluded more than once to Levi's sour disposition. He is prone, Hange has heard, to fits of anger, and is easily disgruntled by minor inconveniences. His dislike of anything unclean or untidy is the stuff of legends—Hange has seen this first hand, at their very first interview. He had entered the room, scowled at the chair before sitting in it, and given Hange a thorough once over before announcing, with no hint of humour, "your glasses are filthy."

Hange had found him both fascinating and quite delightful, in his own strange way. When he acts, Levi sounds eloquent; he is a master of emotive performance, wringing the last drops of anger, despair, or grief out of each and every word, or else injecting the perfect giddy jitter, or a tremor of humour when the scene called for it. As soon as the cameras stop rolling, though, Levi's tone becomes flat, and without a script, his words are clumsy and crass. He communicates poorly, quick to throw insults and crude remarks. Hange has interviewed him a number of times—she counts herself very lucky that Levi will consent to her requests without too much fuss, these days—and each time she finds herself spending half of their time together translating his answers into something a) family friendly, and b) understandable to the everyday reader.

There is nothing for Hange to translate this time. Moblit managed to speak to the waiter after Levi and Eren had vacated in hopes of gleaning any small tidbit of knowledge regarding their conversation, but the venture had been hopeless. The pair had grown silent upon the approach of any staff member, and spoke in tones too hushed for anyone nearby to hear. They learned nothing they couldn't extrapolate for themselves from Moblit's pictures; Eren looked sheepish, avoiding Levi's gaze in favour of staring into his drink, while Levi—

Levi looked furious.

Every picture featured his signature frown, which, in and of itself wasn't enough to assume Levi to be in any mood besides neutral, but some of the photos show a hint of bared teeth or pursed lips, with his brows pulled lower than normal, the space between them deeply creased. Hange found herself curious as both a journalist and as an acquaintance. They may not be friends, but Hange liked to think she knew Levi a little better than most people, at least. She could find nothing in their past interactions to suggest any relationship with Eren beyond the strictly professional. They had over a decade between them, and though they had worked together on more than one set, neither party had ever said anything to insinuate so much as a friendly attitude between them.

There was no resolution to her queries to be easily found. And luckily for Hange, this particular piece didn't require any. It was a gossip article, something spicy, jam-packed with buzzwords, what-if's and more questions than answers, designed to make people wonder. Levi's name in the title would be enough to draw people in; Eren's name was an added bonus. But the star of the show was Moblit's photography. Hange arranged the images she had chosen in a grid. In context, the pictures were intriguing, depicting a particularly ferocious part of Levi and Eren's exchange. Out of context, they looked a little ridiculous. Both would bring readers onto their home page.

Satisfied with her work, Hange queued the finished article for review, and turned her attention back to her schedule.

**

The article launched mid-afternoon. Hange watched, somewhat satisfied, as it was received much as she had expected it to be. The activity on their Twitter account skyrocketed, the tweet in question garnering more likes, retweets and replies in the hour after it's post than any other they’d dropped in the last month.

Hange had allowed it to slip from her mind after the first hour or so. She received praise from her bosses, and a text from Moblit, jokingly demanding she pay him even more handsomely for his work than she already had, and her cousin had called her in the evening on a quest for insider gossip she could share with her friends, but that had been the end of it. Hange thought of it no more until early the following morning, when she had stopped by the quiet little cafe beneath her flat for breakfast and her favourite coffee.

She had been polishing off her pancakes when the bell above the door chimed. She had paid little attention to the newcomer, until a shadow passed over her table, and a familiar voice said, "Oi, shitty glasses."

Hange looked up to see Levi Ackerman himself standing over her, his face twisted in a scowl.

There are perks of being reasonably acquainted with Levi. Hange always gets to conduct his interviews, and Levi only ever turns her down if her request is unreasonable. Like that time she demanded he meet her at this very coffee shop for "just a quick piece, about the cameo you did for the new season of Titans", only to show him she'd bought a new pair of glasses—"look, all clean!"—and, when pressed, admitted there was no interview at all. He had been far more hesitant to indulge her in smaller affairs after that, but Hange was still lucky enough to be his only regular interviewer after big releases.

More interviews means more commission for Hange, and more high profile work with other celebrities. Yes, being acquainted with Levi has its bonuses.

But it also has its downsides. Namely, that Levi will not hesitate to turn up at her regular coffee shop to berate her after she has posted some complete and utter wank at his expense.

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?"

Hange sat back in her chair and sipped at her coffee. Levi's face was full colour now, a pale pink flush from his neck right up to his hairline. Hange gave him a measured look, then kicked out the chair opposite her.

"Sit," she said. "If you have issues, I'd be happy to discuss."

Levi looked for a moment like he'd like nothing more than to strangle her. Then he pulled out the chair the rest of the way, and dropped himself into it.

"I don't give a fuck about the article," he said. "It's shitty gossip anyway."

Hange raised a brow at him. She opened her mouth to continue when, without prompt, a young waitress approached their table, practically bouncing on the spot as she stopped and gave Levi a dazzling smile. Her cheeks were flushed prettily, and Hange would have thought she were simply starstruck, if it weren't for the light of mirth in her eyes.

"Good morning, sir. Can I get you anything?" She gave Levi no chance to respond, before plowing on. "Water? Or tea, perhaps? Forgive me, but you seem a little upset. Might a nice tea calm you down?"

Levi grit his teeth. "No, thank you."

Hange almost apologised to the poor waitress on his behalf, but she didn't look bothered at all by his rudeness. In fact, she had barely turned from the table before she snorted in laughter, and caught her giggles in her hands as she scurried back behind the counter. A second passed, before all three waitresses snickered.

"That," Levi hissed, "is your fault."

Now Hange truly was confused. She furrowed her brow at him. "How does that have anything to do with me?"

"You and your stupid article," he said. Hange looked back to the waitress, who looked to their table again before falling into a fresh fit of giggles. Hange turned back to Levi, a little sympathetic.

"I think she just fancies you."

"You're trying to tell me you really don't know the mess you've caused?"

Hange shook her head slowly. Levi watched her closely, searching for proof of the lie, but Hange's earnestness must have shown through, for Levi's anger abated a little, and he slumped back on his chair.  

In lieu of a verbal explanation, Levi pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, typed something out, and scrolled a little way, before placing the phone on the table and sliding it towards her. Hange pulled it closer with a frown.

The screen displayed Twitter, and showed the feed beneath the search for Levi's name. Hange scrolled a few posts, eyes widening little by little as she went.

Levi was right. The contents of the article were of little significance at all. The photo grid, however, had gone viral overnight.

It showed four pictures of Levi and Eren, taken in succession. Each one showed only a portion of the back of Eren's head, but Levi's expression in every frame was more animated than Hange had ever seen him outside of his movie scenes, and each was more distraught than the last. Face tight, jaw clenched, teeth bared, with his finger pointed condescendingly in Eren's face. The second last picture shows his brows arched and his lips pressed into a thin line, and the final one—

Hange had laughed at it in isolation when Moblit had shown her. She had fully expected it to garner a few laughs, but she hadn't expected a photograph of Levi furiously slurping his tea to become a meme in less than 24 hours.  

"I see," Hange said, as she calmly slid the phone back to him. "In my defense, you don't help yourself. It wouldn't be half as funny if you didn't hold your tea cup so weird."

"In my defense," Levi snapped, "If you didn't post it online nobody would have anything to laugh at."

Hange crossed her arms on the table and leaned towards him, smiling pleasantly. "In your defense, you wouldn't have been so angry in public if it weren't for whatever Eren had to say. What was that about, by the way? I'm terribly curious."

Hange expected a very Levi response to her prying; a scowl, perhaps a quick kick under the table, an 'It's none of your damn business, four-eyes', if she were lucky.

What she got instead was a haughty sniff, and a gruff, "He's fucking my cousin."

For a moment, they were silent. Either Levi's anger at his new meme status had temporarily disabled the part of his brain that blocked any mention of his private life from slipping past his lips in the wrong company, or something about Eren's indiscretion had rattled him so much, he couldn't keep silent about it. Either way, he looked increasingly surprised—and horrified—at himself for saying it out loud. Hange's eyes were wide, and Levi's were growing wider by the second. Of all the people to slip up to, he had slipped up to her. An entertainment journalist, the one person in his life who thrived on this kind of insider knowledge.

Hange swallowed. Levi was still staring at her like a deer in headlights, no doubt painfully aware that there was no taking back what he had said now.

Hange doesn't take a great deal of pride in what she does. She feels satisfied when her stories receive the reception she'd predicted, validated in her ability to analyse their consumer base and make accurate assumptions about what will hit and what won't, but the work itself feels dirty, at times. An opportunistic scavenger feeding on whatever carrion they can find, no matter how rotten it may be.

This is a perfect opportunity. Salacious details of Levi's interpersonal relationships, right from the horse's mouth. If it were anyone else, Hange would be scribbling every word verbatim in her notebook.

But this is Levi. Levi, who seems jarred by her last article (though Hange will maintain this, at least, is no real fault of her journalism, and also, absolutely hilarious) and was clearly, for whatever reason, incensed by Eren's actions.

Hange brushed her palms over her thighs, and picked a speck of lint from her trousers.

"This is nice, isn't it?" She said, "having breakfast together. We should do it more often. It feels good to just talk, sometimes. Off the record."  

Levi blinked rapidly at her. He opened his mouth, but, still too shocked by his own loose tongue to speak, he said nothing. Hange pulled her phone from her bag and fiddled around with it some, tapping here and there, until she found what she was looking for. She turned it to Levi, and said, "I think this is my favourite edit so far."

Levi finally pulled his gaze from her, and looked down at the screen. It was truly something, the way the picture snapped him out of his stunned silence. Hange had never seen someone's face pinch up so rapidly.

"Come on, it's kinda funny. And look! That's Tony Stark, right? People are so creative. And maybe, if we're really lucky, Buzzfeed will do a compilation article of all the best ways people have used your new meme."  

Levi rolled his eyes at her. It looked strange, with his face so tightly twisted. Hange chuckled at him.

She nudged his ankle beneath the table with the toe of her shoe. "Lighten up, you look constipated."

"Oi, out of the two of us I'm not the one who's full of—"

"—Full of shit, I know, I know. That honour is all mine."

They lapsed into another silence, this one marginally more comfortable than the last. Hange finished the last of her coffee and checked her emails, while Levi tortured himself some more by scrolling through his Twitter feed. After a short while, he spoke again.

"That...doesn't sound bad," he said.

"Hm?"

"What you said about talking more. Off the record. It doesn't sound bad."

It was Hange's turn to flush. Heat rose in her cheeks, and she occupied herself by rifling through her bag in search of nothing.

"Yeah?" Her voice, an octave higher than usual, cracked around the vowels. She cleared her throat, "will you have more gossip for me? It's almost painful that I can't share it, you know."

"Good. I'll share as many secrets as I've got, if it'll bother you that much."

"Sounds terrible," Hange said. She tore a clean corner off her napkin and scribbled her personal number onto it. She slid it over the table to him. "Text me."

Levi pulled a face at the piece of napkin. "Is that used? Gross, shitty four-eyes." He pocketed it anyway.

Hange didn't know what else to say. Levi didn't seem to either, and so he stood, and tucked his chair back in. Hange turned her eyes down to her empty plate. Her stomach and chest felt strange, almost sickly, but in an oddly pleasant way.

Levi rapped his knuckles on the table. Hange jumped, startled, and looked up at the sound.

"This part is on the record," he said. The corner of Levi's mouth quirked into a small, barely there grin. "I heard from a reliable source that Eren was so scared on the set of Last War that he pissed his pants. Twice."

[babytortie]

baby birds

baby birds. ❘ stanley uris x reader.

summary: in which stanley finally breaks and distances himself from the loser’s group. the reader finds him alone and helps him cope to feel better.

warning: lots of fluff. <3

contains: slight mentioning of insecurities.

* all characters ( including reader ) of the loser's club are 15 years old in this one-shot.

~ 2.4k words.

it's been a couple of days since stanley showed up at the loser's clubhouse and the group was getting anxious. the curly haired teen always showed up after school when the group wanted to hang out. recently, he's made excuses for the past three times they've all hung out though.

"where's stan the man at?" mike broke the silence, uncrossing his legs and getting up from the couch to sit by bill instead. previously, he had been sitting with y/n and beverly. somehow but not before banging it around a few times and ben having to fix the walls, they managed to get the couch inside one weekend.

it was a hand-me down from the denbrough's garage. only deemed safe and clean after eddie tore it apart. the cushions and pillows were shampooed, as well as, a finishing touch of spray downs with two cans of lysol.

"maybe ed's mom is cheating on me and he's with her right now?" richie snickered, glancing up at the others from the hammock to see all of them unamused and letting out groans.

in his hand was the newest comic and for the past couple of minutes he'd been browsing through it. although, the tozier teen was not completely paying attention since he was mesmerized with eddie's face. the sunlight peeked through the wooden cracks and all of the asthmatic boy's freckles dusted perfectly along his skin.

the shorter boy was talking with bill who sat a few feet away from them and overheard the lanky boy's comment through mid-conversation. in return, he leaned over from the other side of the hammock and smacked richie's arm. "don't call me eds! how many times do i have to tell you that? also, i already have a nick name and it's eddie."

he swatted eddie's arm away and of course dramatically rubbed his arm a few times. with another occasional adjustment made to his coke-bottle glasses, richie pouted and put his arms up in exaggeration. "oh right sorry about that eddie spaghetti. but i don't know then. y/n?" he asked, automatically assuming you had answers about the curly haired teenager’s whereabouts.

beverly was in the middle of braiding y/n's hair and rolled her eyes. she let go of your strands and quickly smoothed them out. this was making you able to turn face-forward instead of the current side-ways position on the couch that you now only shared with her.

before reacting to the richie's remark, you gave beverly a sympathetic smile. an awfully long minute went by before you finally acknowledged tozier. he was still cackling though and everyone, including you, could tell it was full of nervousness.

"seriously, richie? i've talked to stanley just as much as the rest of you the last couple of days." you stated with a glare then shrugged before leaning back against the couch cushions.

"y-yeah, just bec-cause y/n and stan a-are love b-birds doesn't m-mean they keep tab-bs on each other all t-the time. ri-ight guys?" bill smirked.

beverly immediately put a hand over her mouth to contain the giggles threatening to spill out. she risked her luck and turned to gaze in your direction but you were already taking note of this with an eyebrow raised.

"are you alright there, beverly?" ben asked out of concern. because of her skin complexion, her face was easily able to turn bright red. he hasn't been paying much attention to the conversation with being zoned out into another good story. hanscom's face had been happily stuffed into an interesting book from the library.

"i'm sorry! sorry, it's just stanley and birds. good one bill!" she stumbled over her words from laughter. after a moment of hearing beverly and richie snickering together, like they were high, the others couldn't help but start hollering and whistling too.

"yep, laugh it up. glad to be of service for the jokes of today." shouting playfully which only caused a channeling of an inner-richie. you grabbed the couch arm for balance and stood up. they watched as you bowed twice then sat back down like the tozier teen would have been doing if he were the one in this situation.

the group would always tease you and stan. this causing the both of you to always blush in result and look anywhere in the room but each other while full of embarrassment.

the crazy thing was that what they said was true. neither of you wanted to admit first though and it was just another daily topic for the group. the other six members wished one of you would just open up and discuss the feelings you two bottled inside. no use still and after months of teasing, you nor stanley backed down yet.

"does anybody know where he'd be at right now?" mike paused to take a glimpse at his watch then added, "at four-thirty? he wouldn't go home so soon yet with his dad being off today."

the group was silent, none knew and the fact you and stan had a secret spot was not common shared information either. you contemplated for a moment before thinking what the hell? and just spoke up with a reply before you could take it back. "yeah, in fact i do. i'll see you guys later."

to avoid their stares, you didn't dare catching their reactions. instead taking that time to lean over the side of the couch and grab your backpack from school, lazily putting the straps around your shoulders.

"see, what'd i tell you?" richie smirked, leaning over in the hammock towards bill for a high five who did not return it but had a grin of his own. ben placed a bookmark into the open pages to mark the spot he left off on. after this, he gave beverly a look. this expression was one similar eddie was giving to mike.

"see you later guys!" you bid farewell once more and climbed the clubhouse stairs to venture off. you stifled a chuckle as you started to walk away, hearing them all burst out mixed comments of confusion and excitement.

about thirty minutes of walking later, you reached the woods surrounding the quarry. there was a ridge in the rocks off to the side which lead to a path. one wouldn't notice it from afar without really inspecting the vicinity.

it was about half a mile and stan was usually there with a towel laid out and his back against one of the trees. a perfect crease-free bird book splayed out on top of his lap and a pair of binoculars in the teen's hands.

recently if stanley were home he'd be in his room. with a lock on his door, he laid while reading books front to back and cover to cover. which was probably what he did last night except, the perfectionist took his sweet ol' time. this was to memorize every picture of the birds and the facts about them that was printed across the crisp pages.

before doing anything, you adjusted the long sleeves of the black and white flannel tied around your waist. your chucks nervously toed in the dirt gravel and you let out a deep breath you hadn't realized you were holding. curiously studying stan after that and noticing your prediction wasn’t far off. it was actually almost spot on except the book was nowhere to be found.

"this seat taken?" you asked, pointing towards the empty spot on the towel next to him. the uris teen jumped a bit, probably zoned out on a bird that was perched on the branch a few trees away from where you and stan were.

he looked over to you, a smile gracing his face. "it is now." uris was never bothered by the fact you often crashed the private bird-watching hobby of his. you knew he enjoyed quiet time in complete silence besides the occasional birds chirping. this was how it was found out that you had taken a liking to often just sitting and relaxing with your favorite person.

you started to move quickly by placing your backpack down before either of you could change his mind. with your hands placed on the back of your tied flannel, you crouched down before finding a comfortable position to sit in. then reaching into the bag, you retrieved the water bottle to take a sip.

after putting it back away, you sneaked a peek at him and saw that he was already watching you. your face flushed and you quickly faced away. not wanting to make a big deal of it, you started a conversation instead.

"you ready to talk yet?" you questioned, not wanting to push him but had already gave him a few minutes to gather his thoughts. he was an over-thinker. you knew him so well that almost all of the time, you could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

he watched the bird in the binoculars once more. admiring the red and orange colorful feathers before setting it down on the other side of him. letting out a loud sigh, he pondered. "i don't know y/n. am i a disappointment to you?"

stan? stanley uris? you opened your mouth and closed it again quite speechless with disbelief. disappointment? why would the person who you think is the definition of perfect think that he is a disappointment?"

“no way bubs! never." you stated in the most serious tone you've ever used to reassure him. looking into his brown eyes you noticed a few golden flecks that always caught in the sunlight. stan was a beautiful person inside and out but y/n hoped that he knew that.

"are you sure?" he asked, sheepishly and glanced down at his hands. if stanley couldn’t look you directly into the eyes, there was definitely something wrong. you took this as a chance to open up some feelings of your own and grabbed his left hand with your right, interlocking the fingers.

his breath hitched at the sight and he observed your hands together. a pair that fit perfectly and he felt his heart skip a beat at the thought. being as you were still confused, he took this as an appropriate moment to peer up at your face but he caught your eye again instead.

stan felt tears forming in the back of his eyes. figuring he should just tell you sooner or later, he let you know. "uh, so ever since the bar mitzvah, my dad and i have been distant. i just feel like i’m his disgraced son and a failure all the time."

he half-whispered the whole thing. inside he was feeling so ashamed that he told you this with such a sad tone full of dejection. this was shocking, making you completely quiet for a few moments to process the explanation. the tears had won, prickling and slowly starting to glaze over his eyes. your heart was breaking into pieces at the sight.

"it's been like almost two years though? maybe he doesn't know how to go about the situation. you should just get to the bottom of it and confront him tomorrow stanny." suggesting with a soft smile on your lips.

“i don’t know about that y/n, but thanks.” he chuckled, subtly glancing at your lips before clearing his throat and looking away again. while he watched the area, you rested into the crook of his neck. on the towel between the two of you was your right hand still intertwined with his. your eyes flickered up to scan the tree trunks. you gasped loudly at the sight above and patted stanley’s arm to grab his attention.

the two of you watched the branches above closely, your fingers squeezing his tightly while watching in awe. a bird’s nest was leaned up against the trunk of tree. you and stanley sat in silence to witness it. being as it was so quiet now, the only sounds that could be heard were little chirps coming from it.

“is that baby birds?” you whispered excitedly. rubbing over his thumb with yours. he watched how your face softened in awe. truly appreciating that you enjoyed when he shared this specific hobby with you.

his eyes widened when he finally realized the feeling in his stomach. butterflies. probably a whole zoo full of them. that was how much he liked, no, loved you. he shook his head and snickered at the fact you had the decency to talk quietly. “no need to whisper, y/n/n. we’ve been talking out loud this whole time. so, they won’t leave.”

you giggled; a sound that made him feel all mushy inside. stan loved your laugh and knew that if you asked him to do anything right now that he would in fact do it. smoothly letting go of your hand, he moved it rub your shoulder in comfort.

this was until you felt him slowly replacing the position of his fingers and they were repositioned underneath your chin. tilting your head upwards gently, he whispered softly now. it was almost as if he was scared that if he raised his voice to much, it would ruin the moment. “is this okay?”

the curly haired boy looked into your eyes for reassurance and you stumbled over a response by his sudden rush of confidence. lost in shock by his brown and golden flecked eyes, all you could get out was chopped, raspy response. “of course, bubs.”

stanley leaned in slowly, still a bit afraid you would change your mind. proving him wrong you quickly followed to meet him halfway. his lips finally brushed against yours and you felt his hand rub along your cheek with such delicacy. you scooted closer so you could easily put your hand in stan’s hair and massage his curls. he let out a small moan and smiled into the kiss.

before he pulled away slightly to let the two of you breathe, he rubbed your cheek once more. you kissed both corners of his lips and then his nose. a sweet laugh falling from his lips at the gestures.

you grabbed his hand again, playfully sizing them together and he watched. casually asking, “so do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“of course, i’d love to stanny!” grinning you leaned in to peck his lips once more but it turned into a small passionate kiss instead. after you both pulled away again, he questioned with a smirk. “should we tell the others, babylove?”

you let out a small hum, as if you were thinking of an answer. though, you broke the act with a smirk. one that he caught and snickered already knowing how this was going to go.

it wasn’t a hard decision, seeing as you felt like returning a little pay back of your own from all of the teasing. so, your response was simple. “nope. let’s see how long it takes for them to figure it out.”

© babytortie on tumblr + wattpad.

[kojinnie]

Zeke’s Work & Life in Modern!au

The childhood, back story, job/career and workplace antics of AOT characters in modern life. A series of modern!au Attack on Titan headcanon.

Disclaimer: inaccuracies in the description of mentioned jobs may occur, as my knowledge of the industries is limited.

The Vets (Part I) .::. Zeke Yeager (Part II) .::. My Masterlist

Reiner & Berthold (Part III)  [COMING SOON]

Warriors and 104th Cadets [COMING SOON] 

zeke!

Ok ok here’s the deal. He was born rich ok? I’m not just talking about dad’s-a-doctor kind of rich, but old money type of rich 

He had everything but a warm family. Mum died early, Dad remarried and had another kid which he loved more. Zeke went on to live with his grandparents upstate

Never really had parents figure in his life, the grandparents were just spoiling him left and right without actually “raising” him

Went to posh boarding school with other posh little kids who go to Polynesia for summer holiday with their private jets. He never really got along well with these kids, though

At certain age, he got bored of living life in the easy mode and started acting up for attention

Started smoking weed at the dorm, got suspended - parents donated money

Burnt down common room from a stupid prank he did, on the verge of getting expelled - parents donated more money. His expulsion got overruled, but he eventually got sick of being saved by his parents’ money

Ended up running away for a month to live with some biker dudes off the interstate highway, where he learned to sell weed (lol)

Parents didn’t report to police because they “didn’t want to create a commotion out of adolescent’s common ruckus”; instead they hired private detective to find where Zeke was (lol #2)

Zeke finally came to term with his parents, dropped out of the posh boarding school and re-enrolled at a public school on his own request, where he pretended to have a “boring accountant” dad; His friends not knowing that his Dad not only a physician but also inherited a whole ass accounting firm 

With his newly-learned “entrepreneur” skill, he quickly rose to fame as the school dealer

Got arrested by the police, once again bailed out by his parents. Where his friends finally learned who Zeke’s parents was 

ok this is getting tiring

He unfortunately succumbed to depression during his late-teenage years. Dropped out of the public school and got home-schooled for his SAT year

Zeke was born a genius, so he didn’t really have any problem scoring great on his SAT. He took a gap year where he traveled abroad aka rich kid culture

Nobody really knew where was he during his trip abroad (not like anybody cared to begin with, sadly), but he came home with newly acquired skills and passion. He came to be very handy with computers, where he (sort of) mastered the programming language just in a year

Got back home for uni at a prestigious school, where he majored in Computer Science. He kept it lowkey throughout his time there, where he ironically grew to hate the privileged kids who seemed to dominate most of the peers he was in. He thought he was better and smarter than the rest of them (he was), and that he liked to obsessively convince himself that he wasn’t just “one of those rich kids who got in because daddy was rich” 

Zeke was the type to skip classes here and there to smoke weed at his apartment, and yet managed to get the highest score still

He was popular because he was an awfully good-looking genius, but he didn’t really care. I doubt he even had any serious girlfriend during these years because he was just so sick of people. He got one friend he hung around with, though. A junior to be exact, whom he sort of ‘adopted’ for looking sad all the time (aka Reiner | read more on Pt. II - coming soon!)

This was the time where he started to develop the prototype of a payment gateway software with Reiner. The software made it big and got acquired by a huge financial service firm

The achievement really bounced Zeke back, he became outgoing and had a lot of vision for his business. Until he found out that the purchase decision of his software was influenced and lobbied by his Dad, who had a close relation with the firm who bought his software

Enraged upon learning this fact, he relinquished all of the share he had from selling the software, and went to build his own tech start-up company, with Reiner acting as CEO and him as CTO

Make no mistake, Zeke’s an asshole at work. He knows how good he was, and it gave him a free-pass to do whatever he wanted to, often at the expense of the company

He was one of those jerks who pretended to be some broke ass hippie who smelled like weed all the time, but donned Richard Mille watch around

His infamous line at work whenever someone pitches an idea which does not suit his liking was: “Yeah, that sounds stupid.” or “Yeah whatever, I own the company.”

He re-invested the company’s funding to a whole lot of shady ventures, until he was rebuked by the investors and was forced to step down from any managerial role. He was given two choices, to step down or be sued for embezzlement (the legal proceeding was supposed to be led by the notorious white-collar crime attorney, Erwin Smith - read here). This put a lot of strain to Reiner, who was still an active CEO at that time

The truth about Zeke’s embezzlement was discovered by a talented Forensic Accountant, Levi Ackerman (read here)

The company went public, and Zeke was pushed out of the picture entirely. He still kept a considerable amount of the company’s share, so he was still filthy rich without doing nothing

He tried to establish couple of other companies, which did not even make it to early stage of funding, due to potential investors’ distrust

His friendship with Reiner, the only friend he ever had, never did recover after he was kicked out of his own company

A/N: Ok. So at first, I was planning to only make four parts for all AoT main characters, but I had so much fun writing this that it got very detailed and complicated! I am planning to make an expansive universe out of this HC series and I hope you’re on board with me! Enjoy!

[ningningsplushie]

The Cute Barista

Pairing: Jimin x reader

Word count: 2263

Genre: Pastel cafe?? Jimin being a comforting person :3

Summary: Your favourite barista has moved away and in her place is the ever charming Park Jimin. Can he comfort you just the same?

Warnings: Cringey pick up line (rip but it fit well with the story), stressed and upset reader

After a long day, a trip to the cafe was exactly what she needed. Classes were kicking her ass, what with essays, assignments, and presentations piling up on the daily, not to mention her trying to keep up with work and her own personal life. A calming sit-down, with a nice book, along with her favourite barista, Hwa Young, would surely cheer her up. 

Opening the door to the cafe, the smell of brownies and buttercream frosting immediately wafts up her nose. The overall atmosphere of the place, with its pastel pinks walls and baby blue trimming, its bubbly aura due to the dainty display of desserts, large windows, and sweet jazz music instantly calms Y/N after a hectic day. 

Walking up to the cash register, she realizes that Hwa Young isn’t at her usual station, neither is she wiping down the tables or serving customers. 

She spots a blond boy standing in place of her favourite barista and decides to ask for her whereabouts. “Excuse me, I was wondering where Hwa Young was?”

The boy looks up from the till and gives her a warming grin, cheeks almost covering his eyes. My, he’s really handsome. Handsome, however, was an understatement. His face had an innocent, boyish charm to it, with large, honest eyes, plump lips with a subtle cupid’s bow, and a soft jaw. 

“I suppose you’re in the dark about her.” Hearing this, Y/N grows worried and the boy sees this. “Oh don’t worry,” he scrambles, panicking for frightening her, “she just moved to Japan for university. She left just last week.” 

She left? Crestfallen, Y/N looks to the ground. Damn, I was really looking forward to seeing her. “Really? It’s just...she has a really comforting aura and it was something I needed right now. I suppose I won’t be getting that ever again, if not ever again.” 

Y/N realizes her mistake of oversharing and clasps a hand over her mouth with wide eyes. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. The last thing you need right now is for a stranger telling you her problem.” 

The new barista chuckles, “It’s alright, my sister was a big help to a lot of people so I understand.”

“Yeah, she- wait. Sister? She was your sister?” Y/N squeaks out.

“Is, not was. She’s still here with us, just far away. But yeah, after she left I decided to take her place here to help our mom run the cafe.” 

“That’s sweet of you…” finding no reason to stay any longer she decides to leave, picking up her wallet from the counter. “Anyways, I’ve got to go, but uhhh, thank you for telling me about your sister. Have a nice day-” she reads the boy’s name tag. “Jimin. I’ll be going now.”

Just as she’s about to turn, Y/N feels a grip on her wrist, disabling her from leaving. Jimin looks at his hold on Y/N and quickly lets go. 

“Listen, I know you’re not exactly in the best of moods right now and I know I’m not my sister but please, stay and give yourself a rest.”

She considers his comment for a moment before turning back to him and offering a tight-lipped smile. 

“Alright. I’ll have a medium honey latte, please,” she says, offering Jimin money for her order. 

Taking the money from her, he gives a mock salute, chest puffing out. “Coming right up, Miss.” 

Y/N can’t help but giggle at his gesture, hands going up to cover her smile.

“Yeahhhh! That’s what we like to hear. My goodness, if I knew your smile was this bright, I never would have bothered to change the light bulbs in the chandeliers.” Jimin puts his arms out as if protecting himself from a bright flash and at this, Y/N laughs some more. Giving the barista some more material, he pretends to swoon, resting the back of his on his forehead. “Wow, wow, wow. I might as well just shut off our radio too. Your laugh sounds much nicer.”

Y/N blushes, earning a “cute,” from Jimin but then composes herself. “Call me Y/N, please.”

Nodding, he begins tinkering with the espresso machine. “Y/N, I might not be as comforting as my sister but I’m certainly more charming and cuter than her, aren’t I?” throwing a wink to the girl. 

Y/N rolls her eyes and replies, “You guys share half of the same DNA.”

“That’s true but my DNA gave me the upper hand in looks.” Y/N couldn’t deny that. She couldn’t stop staring at his lips, how they formed when he smiles, or the position they were in whenever he pouted whilst concentrating. 

“Alright, one medium honey latte for Y/N,” he whoops, placing the porcelain cup before her. 

“Thank you so much.” Taking a sip from her drink, she closes her eyes in pure bliss, the warmth of the latte spreading throughout her body. 

“How is it? Is it too sweet? I think I might have put too much sweetener in it so-”

“It’s perfect,” Y/N sighs, opening her eyes once more. 

He gives a proud smile and pats his head. “Good, I’m glad. I’ll leave you alone now, let you decompress for a while.”

“Thank you for everything… for being so patient and kind. I appreciate it,” Y/N says, gazing out the window. 

“A little kindness never anybody. I just hope I made your day somewhat better.”

“You definitely did.”

 And with that, Jimin leaves the girl alone, moving on to his own barista duties of washing the dishes, clearing tables, and taking the orders of a few people who wanted a kick of caffeine. It was close to the evening which meant that the cafe was nearly empty, something Y/N found most agreeable as it allowed her to enjoy the soft music playing through the speakers while enjoying her recent read. For about thirty minutes or so, Y/N was enjoying her novel whilst sipping occasionally on her latte, and at that moment, she was finally at peace. Here, she was able to temporarily forget about school, work, and her general stresses in life. All that mattered was her tranquility, the porcelain cup sitting ahead of her, and the cast of characters splayed out in her book. Y/N realizes that her brow had loosened, curing her blistering headache ever since she stepped foot into the shop, especially since she talked to Jimin. 

Leaving all her worries aside, Y/N gazes out the window and ponders. Everything is so beautiful right now, what with the snow gently falling and families walking hand in hand, she thought. It’s a shame I can’t fully enjoy life with all my stress plaguing my thoughts. I should just enjoy it while it lasts. 

It didn’t last long, that is, only because Jimin came over with a fresh piece of what appeared to be strawberry shortcake. He places the plate in front of Y/N and leaves with a simple, “Bon appetit.”

“Hey wait! I didn’t order this.” she rushes to her feet to return the cake. 

Jimin comes back, pushing Y/N by her shoulders so she’d sit back down. “I know you didn’t. But you can’t drink something on an empty stomach,” he urges, nudging the cake towards her and turning back around once again. 

With her mouth shaped into an O’, she reaches for her wallet to pay for the dessert but before she can do so, Jimin, with his back towards Y/N, protests, “don’t even think of paying for the cake. It’s on the house.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly eat this without paying. Besides, won’t you get in trouble?” 

“You can, and you will,” he affirms, now facing Y/N, slinging the rag over his shoulder, adding with, “plus, what’s the worst my mom can do? Not feed me Jjajangmyeon for two weeks? I can survive.”

Warily, Y/N begins to stab the fork into the cake before venturing with a meek, “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” he declares, giving her a warm smile that makes her want to eat the cake all the more, wanting to see his smile once more. “Also, I uhhhh,” Jimin stammers, “I wanted to give it to you cuz uhhh...it m-matches your sweater vest,” he declares, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment from his statement. 

Confused, Y/N looks down at herself. As per usual, she was in a rush to attend her first lecture of the day and just threw on the first thing her eyes met, which was a pink, strawberry printed sweater vest over a white button-up. Wait. He just gave me a slice of cake because it matched my vest. How much cuter can this guy get? With a blush creeping up her face, she shoved a piece of the cake in her mouth, and in an instant, her tense shoulders dropped, like a weight lifted off of them. The sweetness and acidity of the strawberries coated her tongue but was soon covered by the velvety taste of the buttercream frosting. 

“Wow Jimin, this is...absolutely delicious.” 

He hums, “I’m glad you think so. I’ll be sure to tell my mom.” 

“Yeah, you def- wait. Your mom?” Y/N interjects, mouth full of cake.

Jimin takes a napkin from the dispenser and wipes the frosting from the corner of her mouth and asks, “Did you really think I was the one who made the cake? You overestimate me, my dear friend,” he leans in closer to Y/N, lips frighteningly close to her ear and whispers, “I appreciate the sentiment though.” He pulls back and winks at her, hair falling over his eyes. “I just thought it befitting to feed you something as sweet as yourself.” 

Shocked at his boldness, Y/N goes back to eating her cake, not quite sure how to respond to him, especially since she was turning redder and redder by the second and it feels like her tongue had been swallowed. 

“Cute,” Jimin chuckles, going back to washing the dishes. 

By the time Y/N finished eating, the sun had set and it was closing time, leaving only Jimin and Y/N to be the only two in the shop. She looked at the time and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “Oh god, I’ve got to get going. I’ve got to wake up early tomorrow.” 

Y/N scrambles to gather her items in her bag, her book, her phone, her wallet and is about to zoom out the door before she hears Jimin calling her name. 

“Y/N hold up! You forgot something.” Bewildered, lets go of her hold on the door handle, and looks to the boy. 

“Come here,” he beckons for Y/N to come closer. 

Walking closer to the counter, Y/N has her hand reached out for him to place whatever it is she left behind. Jimin, placing something unbelievably small in her palm, smiles bright, cheeks overcoming his eyes. She looks down and sees a single Hershey’s chocolate kiss. Y/N looks back to Jimin for an explanation and what he says next throws her off completely.

“Hershey factories make millions of kisses a day, but I’m asking for only one...perhaps after our first date?” 

Y/N is silent for a few beats as she registers his cheesy pickup line. Jimin, panicking, quickly regrets his words and goes to take back the kiss but is stopped when Y/N doubles over, shoulders shaking. 

Concerned, the barista walks around the counter and puts his arms around Y/N, scared that he triggered what he thought were waterworks. “Y/N...I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you!” But then he hears laughter, belly-aching laughter, one that Jimin wants to hear all the time. 

For a good minute, Y/N is hunched over, cackling while Jimin lets out small giggles but then ceases her laughter, wiping her tears away, and looks towards Jimin. “Wow, thank you for making me laugh like that. I haven’t done that for so long.”

Jimin frowns, “I’m happy I made you laugh but are you laughing at me or with me?”

“With you, I’d never laugh at you, especially since you made me feel so much better today,” Y/N replies. 

“Oh thank God,” he lets out a deep sigh of relief. “So about that date...would you like to go out with me? I know it’s weird since we just met today but I heard a lot about you from Hwa Young and-and I always wanted to see what you were like. Our paths crossed and I didn’t want to give this moment up.”

Y/N considered how much of an impact he had on her in just one day and thought what it would be like being with him every day. She knew she’d feel tremendously better. As of now, she’s felt more comfortable than she had for a long while. Being around him reminded her of all the beautiful things she’s failed to notice and allowed her to feel like herself once more. If being around him felt like this, she never wanted it to end. His presence comforted Y/N and made her feel right at home. She definitely wasn’t going to turn him down. 

“I’d love nothing more than to go out with you. But you better not break that promise of a kiss.”

Brushing a small strand of hair behind Y/N’s ear, he replies with, “Oh, I promise.”

[dazedbydazai]

예뻤어 - You Were Beautiful

➤ Pairing: Dazai Osamu x Fem!Reader

➤ Genre: Angst

➤ Warning: Character death(s)

➤ WC: 2.0K

(A/N: This was requested by an anon and was inspired by DAY6′s song, You were Beautiful. I suggest listening to that while reading this. It just hits right.)

Dazai Osamu was a very secretive and elusive man. He had multiple tricks up his sleeve, he was manipulative, cunning, and unforgiving. He didn't know what love was, he abandoned that emotion long ago. He was merciless and self-centered, only caring about things that will benefit him. Dazai Osamu was not a good man.

But all of that changed when his closest friend, Odasaku, died.

Promising to turn over a new leaf, Dazai left the Port Mafia in pursuit of something more beautiful, something good, and he had also vowed to not let anyone else enter his life and be attached to them in fear of losing them like he lost his friend.

Dazai vowed. He closed himself off, hiding behind a pretentious and flamboyant character that fools people with his handsome smile and witty banter. Dazai didn't want to repeat the same mistake twice. Dazai had already learned.

He chanted this in his mind over and over again but alas, he was not able to stick to his word. Because just after a few months of leaving his past self behind, he suddenly met you.

A beautiful woman. Funny, kind, and just as intelligent as Dazai, you showed up in front of him like an angel and broke down all the walls he's built.

Dazai didn't understand why, of all people, did you come to him? Why waste your time on someone who's suicidal and clearly not of sound mind? Why bother entertaining his antics and flirtatious behavior when you knew that he only did this to cover up his ugliness within?

Simple. The answer was simple.

It was just in your nature.

You were gentle when you first embraced Dazai. You were understanding when he told you about his past. You were soft spoken when you told him that it's okay. You were kind, so very kind, that Dazai didn't bother to put up his walls around you anymore.

Dazai let himself fall. He wanted to hold you in his arms longer, wanted you to kiss his pain and anguish away, he wanted to love you. And he did.

That promise he made himself was long forgotten as he sighed contently, letting your fingers drag through his hair, gently fixing it up.

"Dazai? Are you falling asleep?" You giggle as you look at him through the mirror of your dresser.

Dazai blinked a few times before grinning at you. "Hmm... if I say yes, would you let me sleep in your bed tonight?"

You lightly smack his forehead and laugh. "If you meant that literally, then go ahead."

You were always so welcoming with Dazai, no, actually with all the people you meet. You treat them equally, always talking to them with a smile on your face. But Dazai likes to think that he's given special treatment from you. You are, after all, the closest person he's ever let in his life next to Odasaku.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Being with you was easy. You calmed Dazai's heart, relaxed his mind, made him feel more human.

"You are the most beautiful person I've ever met," He had told you one day as you ate your lunch together. If it was anybody else, they'd assume that Dazai was just being his usual flirty self. But since it was you, you knew that those words held something deeper as you look in his brown orbs.

Being with Dazai was difficult, to say the least, but you kept up with him, determined to help him in any way you can. And it wasn't long before you found yourself falling for him too.

It was in the gentle way he held your hand, the glint in his eyes whenever he talks to you, the softness and vulnerability of his voice when he lets out his inner thoughts and nightmares.

You were always there, listening through each and every one of his stories. Even when he had called you up at three o'clock in the morning, voice hoarse and shaky as he apologized to you.

"Did you have another nightmare?" You ask softly and when Dazai says yes, you sit up on your bed and walk him through it. You always knew how to calm him down, knew the right words to say, and Dazai was thankful for that.

Dazai truly loved you and you loved him too.

That's why even if he knows he won't be able to hold you in his arms forever, he still takes the chance and asks you to be his.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It feels like heaven. Dazai thought as he held you in his arms one cold winter night.

It was perfect. How your hand fit in his as he kissed your knuckles gently.

"You are so beautiful, my belladonna."

Those words never failed to make you blush, your heart skipping a beat as Dazai traces the features of your face with his finger.

"Stay with me like this forever, Dazai. I want to keep you close to me for as long as I can," You whisper these words as you close your eyes, feeling sleepy.

"Don't say that like you're going someplace else, my love. I will forever be by your side," Dazai replied as he kissed your forehead and wrapped the blanket closer to your bodies.

But maybe Dazai should have taken your words more seriously that night. Because a few weeks later, he will find himself regretting not holding onto you tighter.

Life was cruel, Dazai knew that from a young age. Things never go according to plan. One moment you're up in the clouds, and the next you're falling head first to the ground.

That's how Dazai felt today as he got a call from the hospital.

Leaving behind his work at the agency and rushing over to you in a panic, Dazai felt his world slowly crumble to pieces as he saw the state you were in.

"What happened?" Dazai asked the doctor as he stood still at the doorway of your room. Dazai's eyes were blank as he listened to the doctor explaining that you suddenly fainted in the middle of the street. That it was probably due to the strain in your heart, a terminal illness that Dazai had no idea you had.

But maybe he already knew. He saw you multiple times trying to take some medicine in secret, as if you were afraid of letting Dazai see. At one time he found a bottle of pills in your cabinet but he didn't dare ask what it was for.

It was silly, how you two were so alike, how you also masked your own pain by that beautiful smile of yours.

When the doctor had finished and left, Dazai approached your bed and sat by your side. Even with your eyes closed and your lips not the usual shade of pink, Dazai still found you beautiful and he simply stared at you, waiting for you to wake up.

When you come to, the first thing you see is the familiar tousle of Dazai’s hair as he laid his head on your hospital bed. You felt your words get caught up in your throat and your hand flinch.

“Belladonna?” Dazai called out groggily, having woken up by your movement.

Immediately, as you lock eyes with him, you felt your tears forming and falling at the corner of your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Was all you could say as you cried. You felt horrible, both physically and emotionally. All this time you had kept this a secret from him, from someone who has been so honest with you from the start. You apologized over and over again, not knowing what else to say.

Dazai hushed you by wiping your tears away. “What are you sorry for, my belladonna?”

You force the lump down your throat as you look up at the ceiling, suddenly unable to face Dazai head on.

“For everything,” You whisper. “I know I should have told you about this. But I just…”

Dazai waited for you to continue, staying silent as he brushed his thumb across your cheeks.

You shut your eyes and cry harder, your body shaking horribly. “I didn’t want to worry you, didn’t want you to see me like this. I look and feel so helpless.”

You clutch the sheets in your hands and take a shaky breath. “All my life they told me to just stay still, to not venture out in the world. I know I don’t have long to live and I planned to listen to them and close myself off. But that was until I met you.”

You find the courage to finally face Dazai again and your heart sank deeper as you see the blank look in his eyes. “I became selfish. Ever since I met you, I suddenly wanted to live. I wanted to experience everything life had to offer. I wanted to fall in love, and I’m so glad that I found that in you. And I don’t regret leaving my past behind and meeting you. But…”

You reach up and hold Dazai’s cheek and that’s when you saw the familiar pain cross his eyes. “The only regret that I have now is that I put you in this position once again.”

Dazai knew what you meant and he couldn’t help the deep sigh that escapes his lips. Closing his eyes, he leans into your touch and says, “Can’t you stay with me for a little longer, Y/N?”

It was the first time in a long while that he called you by your name and it hurt so bad how sad his tone was when saying it.

“I honestly don’t know Dazai,” You admit you aren’t sure how longer you can stay with him, how longer you can live. And as you helplessly lay on the bed and hold Dazai’s hand in yours tightly, you couldn’t help but pray to all the gods to give you a little bit more time.

Life was indeed cruel and it left a bitter taste in Dazai’s mouth as he stared out the window of your shared apartment. There were a lot of things left unsaid between you two but one thing was for certain, you really didn’t want Dazai to see the pain you were hiding inside.

You only wanted him to see the good things, the beautiful things. Wanted him to enjoy life and continue on his journey. But how was he supposed to do that now? He wanted to be angry, wanted to scream at the universe for kicking him down like this over and over again, but he can’t bring himself to. He couldn’t hate you. No. Not you.

Because you were beautiful.

From the moment he first saw you, he knew how gorgeous you were from inside and out.

You were beautiful.

Every time you said you loved him with that sparkle in your eyes. Every time you called his name in that sweet voice of yours. Every time you kissed and wrapped your arms around him.

You were beautiful.

Even as you saw all the ugliness of life, you still managed to smile.

You were beautiful.

Even as you said you were sorry, with tears staining your cheeks.

You were beautiful.

Even as you said your final good bye when you thought Dazai was sound asleep by your side.

Everything about you was beautiful, and deep down, Dazai was glad he found you. He was thankful that you guided him to the light. He was happy he got to spend a significant time with you.

But no matter how beautiful your time spent with him was, he still couldn’t help but clench his fist in anger. Why did you have to leave me too?

It was a question Dazai always asked but he never found an answer. Again, for the second time in his life, someone so dear slipped away from his hands.

Sometimes he wanted to end it as well, to fall into the hands of death. But he was suddenly afraid to push through it. He was afraid to forget you, to never see you again even as he closes his eyes. He was scared to lose his precious memories of you.

Because all of it was beautiful in his eyes.

And now as he lays in bed, he doesn’t know what hurts and haunts him more; the nightmares of his past life, or the constant dreams he has of you and your beautiful smile.

[silvokrent]

RWBY Character Analysis: Pietro and Penny Polendina

Up until now I’ve been keeping quiet about my opinions on the newest volume, in no small part because my personal life has been one absurd setback after another, and I haven’t had the energy to engage in fandom meta. If you do want to know what my current opinion of RWBY is, go over to @itsclydebitches blog, search through her #rwby-recaps tag, and read every single one. At this point, her metas are basically an itemized list of all my grievances with the show. I highly recommend you check ’em out.

Or, if you don’t feel like reading several hours’ worth of recaps, then go find a sheet of paper, give yourself a papercut, and then squeeze a lemon into it. That should give you an accurate impression of my feelings.

In truth, I have a lot to say about the show, particularly how I think CRWBY has mishandled the plot, characters, tone, and intended message of their series. And while I enjoy dissecting RWBY with what amounts to mad scientist levels of glee, I think plenty of other folks have already discussed V7′s and V8′s various issues in greater depth and with far more eloquence. Any contribution I could theoretically make at this point would be somewhat redundant.

That being said, I’d like to talk about something that’s been bothering me for a while, which (to my knowledge) no one else in the fandom has brought up. (And feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

Today’s topic of concern is Pietro Polendina, and his relationship with Penny.

And because I’m absolutely certain this post is going to be controversial and summon anonymous armchair critics to fill my inbox with sweary claptrap, I may as well just come out and say it:

Pietro Polendina, as he’s currently portrayed in the show, is an inherently abusive parental figure.

Let me take a second to clarify that I don’t think it was RWBY’s intention to portray Pietro that way. Much like other aspects of the show, a lot of nuance is often lost when discussing the difference between intention versus implementation, or telling versus showing. It’s what happens when a writer tries to characterize a person one way, but in execution portrays them in an entirely different light. Compounding this problem is what feels like a series of rather myopic writing decisions that started as early as Volume 2, concerning Penny’s sense of agency, and how the canon would bear out the implications of an autonomous being grappling with her identity. It’s infuriating that the show has spent seven seasons staunchly refusing to ask any sort of ethical questions surrounding her existence, only to then—with minimal setup—give us Pietro’s “heartfelt” emotional breakdown when he has to choose between “saving” Penny or “sacrificing” her for the greater good.

Yeah, no thanks.

If we want to talk about why this moment read as hollow and insincere, we need to first make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Spoilers for V8.E5 - “Amity.” Let’s not waste any time.

In light of the newest episode and its—shall we say—questionable implications, I figured now was the best time to bring it up while the thoughts were still fresh in my mind. (Because nothing generates momentum quite like frothing-at-the-mouth rage.)

The first time we’re told anything about Pietro, it comes from an exchange between Penny and Ruby. From V2.E2 - “A Minor Hiccup.”

Penny: I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... You have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot.

Ruby: Believe me, I know the feeling. But why not let us know you were okay?

Penny: I…was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really.

Ruby: Was your dad that upset?

Penny: No, it wasn’t my father.

The scene immediately diverts our attention to a public unveiling of the AK-200. A hologram of James Ironwood is presenting this newest model of Atlesian Knight to a crowd of enthusiastic spectators, along with the Atlesian Paladin, a piloted mech. During the demonstration, James informs his audience that Atlas’ military created them with the intent of removing people from the battlefield and mitigating casualties (presumably against Grimm).

Penny is quickly spotted by several soldiers, and flees. Ruby follows, and in the process the two are nearly hit by a truck. Penny’s display of strength draws a crowd and prompts her to retreat into an alley, where Ruby learns that Penny isn’t “a real girl.”

This scene continues in the next episode, “Painting the Town…”

Penny: Most girls are born, but I was made. I’m the world’s first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura. [Averts her gaze.] I’m not real…

After Ruby assures her that no, you don’t have to be organic in order to have personhood, Penny proceeds to hug her with slightly more force than necessary.

Ruby: [Muffled noise of pain.] I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!

Penny: [Releases Ruby.] Oh, he’s very sweet! My father’s the one that built me! I’m sure you would love him.

Ruby: Wow. He built you all by himself?

Penny: Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood.

Ruby: The general? Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?

Penny: They like to protect me, too!

Ruby: They don't think you can protect yourself?

Penny: They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament.

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of the approaching soldiers from earlier. Despite Ruby’s protests, Penny proceeds to yeet her into the nearby dumpster, all while reassuring her that it’s to keep Ruby out of trouble, not her. When the soldiers arrive, they ask her if she’s okay, then proceed to lightly scold her for causing a scene. Penny’s told that her father “isn’t going to be happy about this,” and is then politely asked (not ordered; asked) to let them escort her back.

Let’s take a second to break down these events.

When these two episodes first aired, the wording and visuals (“No, it wasn’t my father,” followed by the cutaway to James unveiling the automatons) implied that James was the one forbidding her from interacting with other people. It’s supposed to make you think that James is being restrictive and harsh, while Pietro is meant as a foil—the sweet, but cautious father figure. But here’s the thing: both of these depictions are inaccurate, and frankly, Penny’s the one at fault here. Penny blew her cover within minutes of interacting with Ruby—a scenario that Penny was responsible for because she was sneaking off without permission. Penny is a classified, top-secret military project, as made clear by the fact that she begs Ruby to not say anything to anyone. Penny is in full acknowledgement that her existence, if made public, could cause massive issues for her (something that she’s clearly experienced before, if her line, “You’re taking this extraordinarily well,” is anything to go by).

But here’s the thing—keeping Penny on a short leash wasn’t a unilateral decision made by James. That was Pietro’s choice as well. “My father asked me not to venture out too far,” “Your father isn’t going to be happy about this”—as much as this scene is desperately trying to put the onus on James for Penny’s truant behavior, Pietro canonically shares that blame. And Penny (to some extent) is in recognition of the fact that she did something wrong.

Back in Volumes 1 – 3, before the series butchered James’ characterization, these moments were meant as pretty clever examples of foreshadowing and subverting the controlling-military-general trope. This scene is meant to illustrate that yes, Penny is craving social interaction outside of military personnel as a consequence of being hidden, but that hiding her is also a necessity. It’s a complicated situation with no easy answer, but it’s also something of a necessary evil (as Penny’s close call with the truck and her disclosing that intel to Ruby are anything to go by).

Let’s skip ahead to Volume 7, shortly after Watts tampered with the drone footage and framed her for several deaths. In V7.E7 - “Worst Case Scenario,” a newscaster informs us that people in Atlas and Mantle want Penny to be deactivated, despite James’ insistence that the footage was doctored and Penny didn’t go on a killing spree. The public’s unfavorable opinion of Penny—a sentiment that Jacques of all people embodies when he brings it up in V7.E8—reinforces V2’s assessment of why keeping her secret was necessary. Not only is her existence controversial because Aura research is still taboo, but people are afraid that a mechanical person with military-grade hardware could be hacked and weaponized against them. (Something which Volume 8 actually validates when James has Watts take control of her in the most recent episode.)

But I digress.

We’re taken to Pietro’s lab, where Penny is hooked up to some sort of recharge/docking station. Ruby, Weiss, and Maria look on in concern while the machine is uploading the visual data from her systems. There’s one part of their conversation I want to focus on in particular:

Pietro: When the general first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration.

Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul.

Pietro: I did. And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.

Allow me to break down their conversation so we can fully appreciate what he’s actually saying.

The Penny Project was picked as the candidate for the next breakthrough in defense technology.

Pietro wanted a protector with a SOUL.

In RWBY, Aura and souls are one of the defining characteristics of personhood. Personhood is central to Penny’s identity and internal conflict (particularly when we consider that she’s based on Pinocchio). That’s why Penny accepts Ruby’s reassurances that she’s a real person. That’s why she wants to have emotional connections with others.

What makes that revelation disturbing is when you realize that Pietro knowingly created a child soldier.

Look, there’s no getting around this. Pietro fully admits that he wanted to create a person—a human being—a fucking child—as a "defense technology” to throw at the Grimm (and by extension, Salem). Everything, from the language he uses, to the mere fact that he entered Penny in the Vytal Tournament as a proving ground where she could “test [her]self,” tells us that he either didn’t consider or didn’t care about the implications behind his proposal.

When you break it all down, this is what we end up with:

“Hey, I have an idea: Why don’t we make a person, cram as many weapons as we can fit into that person, and then inform her every day for the rest of her life that she was built for the sole purpose of fighting monsters, just so we don’t have to risk the lives of others. Let’s then take away anything remotely resembling autonomy, minimize her interactions with people, and basically indoctrinate her into thinking that this is something she wants for herself. Oh, and in case she starts to raise objections, remind her that I donated part of my soul to her. If we make her feel guilty about this generous sacrifice I made so she could have the privilege of existing, she won’t question our motives. Next, let’s give her a taste of freedom by having her fight in a gladiatorial blood sport so that we can prove our child soldier is an effective killer. And then, after she’s brutally murdered on international television, we can rebuild her and assign her to protecting an entire city that’s inherently prejudiced against her, all while I brood in my lab about how sad I am.”

Holy fuck. Watts might be a morally bankrupt asshole, but at least his proposal didn’t hinge on manufacturing state-of-the-art living weapons. They should have just gone with his idea.

(Which, hilariously enough, they did. Watts is the inventor of the Paladins—Paladins which, I’ll remind you, were invented so the army could remove people from the battlefield. You know, people. Kind of like what Penny is.)

Do you see why this entire scene might have pissed me off? Even if the show didn’t intend for any of this to be the case, when you think critically about the circumstances there’s no denying the tacit implications.

To reiterate, V8.E5 is the episode where Pietro says, and I quote:

“I don’t care about the big picture! I care about my daughter! I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.”

Oh, yeah? And what life is that? The one where she’s supposed to kill Grimm and literally nothing else? You do realize that she died specifically because you made her for the purpose of fighting, right?

No one, literally no one, was holding a gun to Pietro’s head and telling him that he had to build a living weapon. That was his idea. He chose to do that.

Remember when Cinder said, “I don’t serve anyone! And you wouldn’t either, if you weren’t built that way.” She…basically has a point. Penny has never been given the option to explore the world in a capacity where she wasn’t charged with defending it by her father. We know she doesn’t have many friends, courtesy of Ironwood dissuading her against it in V7. But I’m left with the troubling realization that the show (and the fandom), in their crusade to vilify James, are ignoring the fact that Pietro is also complicit in this behavior by virtue of being her creator. If we condemn the man that prevents Penny from having relationships, then what will we do to the man who forced her into that existence in the first place?

Being her “father” has given him a free pass to overlook the ethics of having a child who was created with a pre-planned purpose. How the hell did the show intend for Pietro to reconcile “I want you to live your life” with “I created you so you’d spend your life defending the world”? It viscerally reminds me of the sort of narcissistic parents who have kids because they want to pass on the family name, or continue their bloodline, or have live-in caregivers when they get older, only on a larger and much more horrific scale. And that’s fucked up.

Now, I’m not saying I’m against having a conflict like this in the show. In fact, I’d love to have a character who has to grapple with her own humanity while questioning the environment she grew up in. Penny is a character who is extremely fascinating because of all the potential she represents—a young woman who through a chance encounter befriends a group of strangers, and over time, is exposed to freedoms and friendships she was previously denied. Slowly, she begins to unlearn the mindset she was indoctrinated with, and starts to petition for agency and autonomy. Pietro is forced to confront the fact that what he did was traumatic and cruel, and that his love for her doesn’t erase the harm he unintentionally subjected her to, nor does it change the fact that he knowingly burdened a person with a responsibility she never consented to. There’s a wealth of character growth and narrative payoff buried here, but like most things in RWBY, it was either underdeveloped or not thought through all the way.

The wholesome father-daughter relationship the show wants Pietro and Penny to have is fundamentally contradicted by the nature of her existence, and the fact that no one (besides the villains) calls attention to it. I’d love for them to have that sort of dynamic, but the show had to do more to earn it. Instead, it’ll forever be another item on RWBY’s ever-growing list of disappointments—

Because Pietro’s remorse is more artificial than Penny could ever hope to be.

[gallavictorious]

11x01 Reaction Post

Random thoughts on and reactions to 11x01; no careful analysis or anything, just the bits and pieces that's not likely to make it into meta proper but which I still want to make note of so I can go back later and remember what my initial reaction to the episode was (since my impressions are likely to change as the season unfolds). Mostly Gallavich related, because duh, but there's disordered rambling on a bit of everything. Under a cut (God I miss LJ sometimes) because this got long.

Ian looks damned good as the homocidal muscle. I don't do AU:s, but if I did... On the other hand, Frank as a member of the Chicago “Eight” looks like a werewolf. Less interested in that AU. And listen, I get that they couldn't get Emmy Rossum for this, but I really miss Fiona showing up in a few random olden day pictures. She's gone, but she's still a Gallagher dammit! Carl at the slaughter house looked weird – and part of me thought that was appropriate because slightly off editing would be a sweet way of communicating that it's all bollocks, but the rest of shots looked okay (Debbie as a milk maid and Frank as the aforementioned werewolf) or good (everything else) so no.

The sound of a baby crying is a horror matched only by persistent lack of sleep so I feel for Lip and Tami so much. Here's to all parents who managed to get through the first year without murdering anybody! I think that maybe you don't get enough credit... I, for instance, want to kill someone just hearing Freddie cry in the background for half a minute. Not sure it bodes too well for their relationship for them to be so ready to spend every night apart like Lip suggests, but a, what wouldn't you do for a good night's sleep, and b, love the thought of Lip spending more time at the old house. Could see them breaking up during the course of the season, though. Not sure how I feel about that – Tami's my favourite out of Lip's love interests, but having too many of the couples staying together all through the finale wouldn't feel quite right (for Shameless) and I don't see them breaking up Ian and Mickey or Kev and V. Don't really expect Sandy or Debbie to last either, but since it's more of a casual thing it might have more of a casual end.

Do you remember when the promo dropped and there was Concern about That Look on Ian's face after he kisses Mickey, and I tag theorized about it being because Mickey stole his coffee? Turns out there wasn't really A Look in the actual episode, but I sure as hell was right about the coffee, and I want noted somewhere. Maybe there should also be a small diploma? A golden statue seems a little over the top, but I mean, if you insist...

I appreciate that Ian is very adament about it being their money but when Mickey thinks it's their breakfast it's suddenly every man for himself. Do you share or not, Ian? Hmm? (Let the record show that I'm joking, please. Ian is damned right to take his toast back, and I say this as a “person most likely to steal their partner's toast right out of their hand”. I also love that Mickey completely gives up on breakfast when he can't have Ian's toast and just grabs a beer instead.) The kitchen scene is glorious and I just really like their dynamic here; the casual kiss, “I only make breakfast for husbands who have jobs”, how relaxed it is even when Ian's a bit annoyed, Mickey being so... Mickey. I do wonder what went through his head when Ian started talking about their wedding present money, though – he seems worried for a moment, but then shrugs it off, and that could be either bravado or just actual lack of concern. I tend mostly towards the latter, since Mickey quite genuinely figures this isn't a big deal (even though he still recognizes that Ian will probably think it one). Please note that he immediately offers to get money when Ian mentions that they need more of it coming in. Not his fault Ian vetoes his methods, right? (Also love that Ian's objection is due to him not wanting to be separated from Mickey, rather than any moral qualms about robbing stores.)

Okay, the gag ball. Would they really keep it like that if they were actually using it? Maybe either of them just tossed it there after taking it off, I suppose... Yeah, I don't know. Not what I'd imagined them being into, but that might be my own extreme lack of enthusiasm for gag balls and harnesses talking. Either they're into it and if so, you do you, boys, or it was a gift and they're keeping it around and semi-prominently on display for shits and giggles. (But if it was a gift, they did try it at least once, right?)

Mickey in the bath remains stupidly and surprisingly gorgerous. Incidentally, I really don't think his question about the meds is any indication of him not thinking them important, but there's little wonder that Ian bristles at the mention of them. Maybe not be an ass just to prove a point, eh, Mick?

I've already talked about how hard Ian is trying here but let's just take another moment to congratulate our boy on his persistent attempts at mature communication. Though he might have given some actual consideration to Mickey not wanting to save the money if he's really serious about them making decisions together... But he gets there! I think this whole situation – which would royally piss most people, including me, off – is actually particularly difficult for Ian, because he might well see Mickey's behavior as uncomfortably reminiscent of Frank and Monica's destructive habits and yeah, that would fuck him up. And still! He forces himself to calm down! He takes Mickey's hand! He refuses to let himself be distracted by Mickey looking SO INSANELY PRETTY I CANNOT EVEN UNDERSTAND IT! Ian, I salute you!

[starwars_eu_nerd_mode]KORRIBAN! YES! HA! TAKE THAT DISNEY! You take your new so-called “canon” and your “Moraband” and you fuck right off. I salute you, Bitcoin Boy![/starwars_eu_nerd_mode]

Ah, the porch scene... This one I do have a bunch of thoughs on that will probably make it into meta proper one day, so I'll leave it for now. It was the one that took the most thinking about for me to square (still not a lot, it should be noted), but now I'm actually very happy about it. (Full disclosure: none of their scenes feel quite right the first time I see them these days, because I'm just so very on edge about what's to come that I kind of miss the forest for all the trees you know? It's not a Shameless thing – it's always like this when I'm extremely invested in something and have waited for it for some time. Will it fit with how I see the characters? Will it be cringey? Will Mickey suddenly profess a love for hideous Hawaii shirts? Also, what are they saying because English is hard... But then I watch them a couple of times and they sink in and I start to get giddy over them. I guess watching actual canon unfold always requires a little bit of re-calibration if you've been busy fanoning while waiting for it to arrive, and while I love that sort of interpretative work, there’s also the fear that the show will veer off into a direction I cannot easily follow.)

Mickey's insistence that he spelled monogamy wrong does genuinely amuse me. Not to mention the whole “No more parking tickets for me!” - “You don't have a car, dumbass.” Also, Mickey being friendly with Carl kills me, in a good way. Family FTW!

Frank's storyline fails to stir even the vaguest hint of interest in me, as per usual. For all his talk of family in this episode, the lack of interaction with any of his kids is striking. If he's to have any value at all this season I'll need him to get involved in the rest of the Gallagher's storylines (which seems like it might be happening at least for a bit later on, so I'm vaguely hopeful?). I find but faint intrigue in Carl's and Debbie's stuff, but it doesn’t annoy me either so I'll call it a win. Kev and V are (almost) always a delight, but do anyone else feel like their kids are only props, even to them? I don't know... I just don't think there's a connection or sense of realness to their relationship, you know? Maybe it's just me... Anyway, here's to hoping V turning pageant mom changes all that! Oh, and I'll need Liam to have some more screentime and stuff to do.

The Tommy and Kermit thing was weird. Eh. Whatever.

Sandy is so gorgerous. I can't. The Milkoviches really be bringing it this episode.

This is only the second season I've watched episode by episode as it airs (other one was S6) and it's a curiuos experience. I think that by and large, and particularly in later seasons, Shameless works better when you binge it, but I love the delightful anticipation of waiting for a new episode and the feverent discussion that follows. Sometimes I also despair over the ferverent discussion that follows, but... you know. It is what it is. Admittedly, any attempts at meta this early in the season is a precarious venture at best, since we don't have the whole story, and it might be wiser to abstain but it's just so much fun, so I'm not very likely to stop.

All in all, I love the Gallavich stuff, am intrigued by Lip & Tami and Kev & V's lives, okay with whatever Debbie and Carl's got going on, hot for Sandy, bored by Frank, and missing Liam. It sets up a lot of promising things, but as an episode all unto itself it felt a bit empty – probably because there were no real plots and the storylines didn't intersect as much as I would have liked them to. Shameless is best when it's about family, which both the show and Frank seems to recognize, but there's little narrative follow-through on that realization in this episode; everyone is pretty much doing their own thing. Adored the Lip and Ian convo, and that house party scene was wonderful, but so short. Think we'll get more of all of them together going forward, though, and more actual plots too, so I'm very excited about it all. Can't wait for Sunday!

[slashermom]

In the vein of your recent posts... what do you think would happen if someone was friends with Asa as a kid?? Maybe even before his dad killed his family????

Interesting concept indeed.

Asa was a lonely kiddo.

Between the neglect and abuse, he suffered at a home and the alienation he received at school he wasn’t that big of a people person.

But in some ways, he brought his alienation on to himself.

Asa detached himself from his peers and their activities and was only as polite as he needed to be.

No sense in entertaining the idea of something that wouldn’t work out in the future.

But that’s where you come in.

You weren’t exactly high on the social ladder either and thought you should find someone more your speed.

Asa Emory seemed to be the perfect candidate.

Tricky thing was that he was about as talkative as a pet rock.

So you began to chip away at his cold exterior day by day.

First by sitting next to him in class and lunch. He would never start and conversation only looking in your general direction for a moment before returning to whatever he was doing.

You began to notice that he often didn’t eat lunch. Strange.

Always reading a book or even doodling tiny insects in an old notebook.

You finally worked up the guts to actually start a conversation with him.

“What kinda bug is that? Looks really cool!” You leaned across the table to get a closer look before Asa abruptly flipped the notebook on its back to a blank page. He looked up at you for a second, recognizing who you were before dropping his head again.

“Did someone put you up to this? Because if that’s the case I just want to be left alone.”

You blinked at his sudden declaration. Did he really think you were gonna tease him?

“Nobody put me up to this. I’m just curious.” You answered truthfully.

His eyes flashed around the room looking at the different friend groups for any sign that they were laughing at him. This gave you a chance to get a better look at his eyes. They were usually hidden behind large frames and focused on the desk but now you could see they were a deep obsidian.

He sighed and turned the notebook back over - not meeting your gaze again as he spoke.

“It’s a Goliath beetle.” He mumbled and you smiled at the progress in your relationship.

From that point forward you began to always ask him what new bug he was drawing or reading about. Sometimes he would just show you and other times he would give you little fun facts about the insect.

These moments helped build up and grow your friendship.

Soon you two were hanging out after school together.

More often than not you would play near the woods or in your backyard. He liked to see what nature had to offer.

“You want to hold it?” Asa cradles a tiny black spider in his hands. “It won’t hurt you.”

Even if you’re a little apprehensive or scared of bugs he’ll give you a reassuring look that you’ll be alright before placing the insect into your cupped palm.

Observing you twist and turn your hand to try to keep the spider steady and in one spot, he felt a tiny smile spread on his lips and he thought he caught a glimpse of one on yours as well.

That is until the arachnid got a little bold and tried to venture further up your arm.

“Asa... Asa! Grab it! It’s gonna go up my sleeve!”

He let out a genuine laugh as he scooped the spider back up and turned to set it back in the grass.

You started to pick up on how he was always checking the time or paying special attention to certain cars that drove by when you played outside.

Asa needed to be careful about how much time he spent with you. He was starting to be late coming home or to his father’s work and it was earning him some less than gentle reprimandings.

He also didn’t let you near his house or the museum.

Asa didn’t want his father learning he had a friend out of fear that he would scare you away or worse - hurt you. Not to mention, he didn’t want to risk his father telling him to stop seeing you.

You had assured him multiple times that he didn’t need to be ashamed be of his family. You didn’t care if they were all bald and toothless, you just cared about Asa.

Oh, how he wished it was that simple.

He never lingered on the topic of family for long. Always pulling some random piece of bug knowledge out of thin air and smirking at your bewilderment.

You enjoyed when he talked about his hobbies. He seemed to stumble over his words less when he was passionately explaining something to you.

Whether it be a discovery of his own or a new book he picked up at the library, there was a spark that lit up behind the young man’s eyes that seemed to be snuffed out more often than stoked.

So you let him ramble - which is exactly what he needed.

It’s not liked he talked often, especially not about things he enjoyed.

These moments were important for more than one reason.

Obviously in the fact that Asa was able to get some positive human interaction but also it showed that he trusted you.

He didn’t care to share parts of himself with just anybody.

You were special.

Asa had grown way more attached to you than he realized.

The strength of this bond became clear after his father lost his mind and slaughtered his whole family on Thanksgiving.

While stuck in the box he thought about many things - you being one of the most prominent among those things

When he finally escaped and was taken into custody for his protection, he thought about when he would be able to see you again.

But when he finally was able to go find you he only found an empty house and you nowhere in sight.

He remembers you talking about how your folks work required you to move every once in a while and it figures that you would move away when he needed you the most.

‘Pain builds character, son. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can become a man.’

Asa used the years of abuse, the loss of his family, the loss of you to shape his life and what would become his collection.

It wasn’t until he was an adult and well into his collecting that he felt a pang in his chest as he re-evaluated his life.

Something was missing.

From his collection? From his life? Maybe both.

Asa couldn’t place it for the longest time but on his way to work, he stumbled upon two young children walking down the street. One with his head shoved into a book and the other balancing on the edge of the sidewalk while they made their way to their destination.

Suddenly, it all shifted together.

It was you that was missing.

The kid who put up with his insatiable interest for all things insects, the one who offered him their lunch every day without fail, the one who fussed over every new bruise with empathy so foreign to him.

He wondered if you were still like that. Asa intended to find out.

[kandaxxx]

Hi there! Could you please write something for Kanda and an S/O for the writing prompt- “We are in public!” “We’re just holding hands??” Thanks :)

Normally when I do these, I write CHARACTER x S/O but today I wanted to try a CHARACTER x READER. I hope that’s okay!! I also hope I do a good job with it! The prompt is freakin’ adorable and so I want to make an equally adorable, light-hearted imagine ≧'◡'≦ I hope you like it! Thank you for the request!! Feel free to send me anymore you dream up~

Kanda was aggravated. Neither of his companions appeared to pay him any mind however, because then again, when wasn’t the swordsman carrying a mood so dark and fouled that it could be felt for miles?

They were on a mission, God dammit! This wasn’t the time to laze around doodling. You were standing behind General Tiedoll, peeking over his shoulder, as he painted the rising sun that sat before the lot of you. Kanda sat behind the two of you, back pressed into the thick trunk of a tree, with his arms crossed tightly over his and his eyes darkened in his irritation.

He knew that he was still adapting to his new title as Tiedoll’s fellow General, but even he knew that they needed to focus.

The pair of you had been sent to accompany the General as he traveled across Eastern Asia in search of Innocence and new Accommodators to mentor. Tiedoll had been given the additional task of training Kanda on what exactly it meant to be a General. You had been Kanda’s first pupil.

When you first met, the thought of loving Kanda and being loved by Kanda was laughable.

You had been told that Kanda used to be meaner, more miserable, quicker to anger. You had laughed at that; you couldn’t imagine anybody being meaner, more miserable, or quicker to anger than Kanda. And it had been worse? Pity those that had to have been around him before he had been able to make his peace.

But too many missions and near-death experiences and sleepless nights somehow added together in some peculiar equation that gave love room to blossom.

You spent your days learning how to fight akuma. You weren’t as skilled as either General, but with their combined guidance, you were learning. And you were learning quickly. Tiedoll had commented that the growth in your skill was staggering. Kanda was a surprisingly good teacher. Patient? Absolutely not. Encouraging? If you counted the don’t-fucking-die-and-kill-the-akuma-you-idiot speeches then, yes? But he was talented in what he needed to teach. He was challenging. He worked you ruthlessly to the bone and left you soaked in your own sweat and with aches that were so frequent that you worried they might be permanent at this point.

But nights were disparate. You didn’t know what it was, but when the moon found itself bright overhead, Kanda’s scaly exterior would soften for you and let you in. Make no mistake, in these instances, Kanda did not vanish, but he seemed to let the ever present crack in his heart open just the tiniest bit more, just enough to let you crawl in.

If your crew got an Inn for the night, you’d share a room and a bed. If you were roughing it out, you shared a sleeping bag. It was rarely without chiding from Tiedoll who seemed even more enamored than you by in-love-Yu-Kanda. “Be safe!” He’d say with a wink before retiring to his own room while you wrapped your arms around Kanda’s thrashing body from behind to keep him from murdering the older General.

Underneath the star-splattered sky or dusty ceiling of your room, you laid together. Your partner wasn’t very physically affectionate, so cuddling was something of a rarity, which suited you just fine. You’d lie next to each other, with a comfortable closeness, facing each other. Sometimes your lips would meet in a warm caress. Sometimes you’d talk. Sometimes you just studied the smooth lines and curves of each other’s features.

But now, you and your Generals left the woods to venture into a nearby town in search of breakfast.

Tiedoll walks ahead of you, greeting locals as though he’s known them all his life, while you and Kanda trail behind. You’re taking in the quaint town around you while his skin seems to hum with his wariness.

Is he never not on the edge? You wondered to yourself.

Wanting to comfort him, you grow bold with an idea. You reach your hand over and grab his firmly. His hand is warm in yours.

His head whips to the side to face you, his hair following the movement like a whip. Eyes the color of a summer’s sky have widened marginally, his eyebrows have raised, and his lips twist into a scowl. His expression is a comical contradiction of shock and indignation. He’s stopped walking, forcing you to stop as well lest you lose your grasp on him.

“We’re in public!” He hisses at you.

But that’s when you see it. He’s blushing. It’s faint, so subtle that you almost missed it. Yu Kanda, sword-wielding Exorcist to the stars, is blushing.

“We’re just holding hands?” Your tone is coy and confused, emphasized with the slight cocking of your head to the side. But you can’t play this game because you can’t hold your grin back.

His lips move, tongue ready to strike like a snake with a retort, when you both are jolted back into reality by General Tiedoll’s voice.

“Yu, you’re not going to let a little hand-holding stop you, are you?” His smile is aimed at you and it's soft and reassuring. For reasons you can’t name, however, his eyes are washing over you with gratitude. When he turns to face Kanda, his smile turns playful, and as Kanda’s ever faithful teacher in every aspect life required him to be, explained, “Holding hands is perfectly normal.”

“I know that!” Kanda barked out defensively, though you suspected that he was lying. He began then to walk, shoving past Tiedoll, so quickly that he yanks your arm and for a split second you worry about the possibility of him dislocating your shoulder. You pick up the pace to keep up with him.

His grip on your hand is too hard.

But he didn’t let go.

I meant to be light-hearted and adorable, but this turned sappy realllllllllly quick, so, my bad (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)👌

[dibleopard-writes]

A Chosen One by Any Other Name

Fandom: Star Wars Prequels Characters:  Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Sheev Palpatine, Mace Windu Rating: Gen Warnings: None Word Count: 1,983 Summary: “Whether or not the child really is the Chosen One as Qui-Gon believed is irrelevant. What matters is whether or not everybody thinks he is the Chosen One." The title of Chosen One brings with it the sort of  attention you wouldn't want on a nine-year-old. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the  obvious choice to replace him in the line of fire. Part 1 of Decoy, Prophesied Also on Ao3

“Whether or not the child really is the Chosen One as Qui-Gon believed is irrelevant. What matters is whether or not everybody thinks he is the Chosen One. To have such a legend overshadowing his every move will put him at a disadvantage and will draw attention from forces we don’t yet know.”

“The Sith?”

“If they really have returned, then it is likely, but there will also be interested parties where you least expect it, with machinations we aren’t in a position to truly understand.”

Obi-Wan nodded, stopping himself from jerking at the absence of his braid shifting with the movement. His feet hurt from standing for hours at the funeral but the alcove that Master Windu had pulled him into had no seating nearby. “How do you propose we solve this issue?”

“Whispers of the Chosen One have been circulating since Qui-Gon made his claims in the Temple last week, and after his recent achievements the Council believes that it would be difficult to erase the rumours completely. Especially since Skywalker himself knows.”

Qui-Gon hadn’t been known for his subtlety, and Anakin struck him as the sort of boy who would latch onto any sense of self-importance thrown his way after a life of slavery. Obi-Wan couldn’t quite blame him – he himself held onto as many of Qui-Gon’s compliments and words of praise as his memory allowed. Nevertheless, such grand destinies were paths to egocentricity and arrogance and Obi-Wan feared himself unequipped to temper them.

Master Windu continued, “Master Yoda and I have considered the options and we have arrived at a proposal to you: you take on the title of Chosen One. Redirect the attention. As far as everyone who has any investment is concerned, your defeat of the Sith assassin was the proof we needed to confirm that you are the Jedi of prophecy, not Anakin Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan found himself at a loss for words. Him? How would anybody be convinced that he was anywhere near good enough to be the Chosen One? “And what about Anakin?” he asked.

“Skywalker simply has an unusually high midichlorian count, much like Master Yoda. Such power could only be trained by the Chosen One. That’s if you still want to take him on as your padawan.”

“Oh, ye- yes, of course, of course I do,” he murmured, trying to wrap his mind around it all. Training Anakin was not a question, but stringing along the Order, the Senate, the Galaxy in this self-aggrandising deception was so ridiculous that he wasn’t entirely sure that this wasn’t some sort of test. “But what if he is the Chosen One?”

“Then he can get on with fulfilling the prophecy without anyone trying to sway him from his path for their own gain. Having a title does not a Chosen One make. Besides, even without the prophecy he’s still one of the most Force-sensitive people on our records; he won’t exactly be starved of reputation.”

Intricate moulding decorated the wall behind Master Windu, but Obi-Wan’s eyes were drifting beyond it as he tried and failed to solidify the nebulous thoughts orbiting within his head.

“I’m not sure I’m…” he scrambled for a word that wouldn’t make his concerns sound irrational, “... capable of living up to the expectations of the title, even as a decoy.”

If this was a test, he should have passed it with his humble concern. If it wasn't, he hadn’t declined the orders of the highest ranking Jedi on the Council, simply urged them to reconsider.

Unfortunately, Master Windu already seemed resolved on the matter. “Who else can say that they’ve successfully defeated a Sith? Even Yoda can’t claim that much; you’re the first in a thousand years. Quite the qualification.”

He dropped a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, the one that his braid had once covered, “We understand that you may need time to think about it. Preferably, we’d start our rumours at the parade tomorrow so try to get your answer to us by noon. May the Force be with you, Knight Kenobi.”

“And with you, Master,” he replied as he was left alone in the dimly lit guest halls of Theed Palace.

…

Obi-Wan woke with the sun, which fortunately rose at a civilised time of morning at this time of year at Theed. Anakin, unused to the way interplanetary travel interfered with one’s circadian rhythm, was still asleep after Obi-Wan had showered and dressed, although perhaps it was exhaustion after his taxing week.

The boy ate his breakfast in his sleeping clothes, feet swinging under his chair, blond hair in noticeable disarray. He looked up and caught Obi-Wan staring. “Aren’t you going to have anything?”

Obi-Wan blinked. “No. Maybe later.”

“You can have some of mine,” offered Anakin, nudging his plate of toast towards Obi-Wan’s empty place at the small table. One piece had several bites missing, but that was hardly an issue for people in situations like Anakin’s – or parents used to children insisting on trying food they barely ate, as Obi-Wan had learnt on several missions during his apprenticeship. He wondered if he too would have to eliminate any aversion to sharing germs. Perhaps he was already there, because his stomach objected more to the thought of food than what had been done to it.

“I’m not hungry, Anakin, you have it. I can get some later.”

Anakin shrugged, “If you say so.”

Time passed and Obi-Wan found himself staring again, although he was seeing very little. Anakin was regarding him out of the corner of his eyes as he finished his breakfast.

“I think,” Obi-Wan began, earning himself full attention, “Once you’ve finished we should sort out your hair.”

Anakin nodded slowly, confusion written on his face.

“It’s traditional for padawans to have a certain haircut. Short,” he gestured to his own hair, “And with a padawan braid,” his hand tried to grab it but met air, resulting in an awkward miming that he aborted quickly.

“Like yours?”

He nodded mutely.

“Wizard,” said Anakin before crumpling his final half-slice of toast into his mouth in a terrifying display and asking, “Can we do it now?” through a spray of crumbs.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Obi-Wan stood and took the dishes. “Yes, yes, I suppose so. I’ll need to go and find some clippers, though.”

“Can I come with you?” Anakin was bouncing on his toes, suddenly invigorated out of the morning’s sleepiness. 

“You’re hardly dressed to venture the Palace halls, are you?”

“I might be!”

“No. I’ll get them, you stay here and take a shower.”

“But I just had one yesterday!”

Obi-Wan tugged on his boots. “And you’ll have one today; you need to be presentable. If you don’t want to use the water, there’s a sonic right next to it.”

Anakin sighed, long-sufferingly, as Obi-Wan moved out of the door.

“I shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes; I want you clean by then.”

Was this what his life was to become? A negotiation for every benign task, another mouth to feed, another life to look after? He had only got himself out of bed on autopilot, his mind weighing heavy and lethargic with grief. His life had changed irrevocably in a thousand tiny ways in the space of a week – and in a few massive ways in the space of a day. The tide of it all was too strong to ignore, it would crash down on him eventually, but for now there were things to do, and he let the distractions buoy him like driftwood.

He was barely halfway down the hall when he was intercepted by the newly-elected Chancellor Palpatine.

“Ah, Master Jedi, I was just coming to see you and young Skywalker. I do hope your accommodations were satisfactory.”

Obi-Wan plastered a diplomat’s smile on his face, “Of course, your excellency, it was more than we would dream of asking.”

“Not at all, Padawan Kenobi. Rather, it was the least the Queen and myself could offer to the heroes of Naboo.” Chancellor Palpatine’s face was friendly and his eyes smiled with the rest of him, but there was an undercurrent that Obi-Wan couldn’t place. “Tell me, is there anything you were searching for out here? You aren’t expected at the parade until this afternoon.”

“I was just looking for some hair clippers, nothing quite of your station, Chancellor.” He grinned the way one did while trying to make polite jokes at a political function and Palpatine’s smile remained even as he turned to walk beside him, hand on his shoulder.

“Well, I’m sure we can find something that will be of use to you.”

“Oh, there’s no need–”

“Nonsense, my boy. I’ll admit I’ve been wanting to talk to you and young Skywalker since yesterday, but it didn’t seem to be the time.”

“Is that so?” He noticed the way his voice had already been subdued by grief at even a vague mention of Qui-Gon’s death. It was unbecoming. He cleared his throat.

“Why, of course,” replied Palpatine, steering him into an indistinguishably ornate room, “I have much to thank you for. As well as, of course–” and here he sighed sadly while investigating the various drawers– “to enquire about your thoughts on this… assassin who hunted the Queen and infiltrated the palace without so much as an alarm to alert us of his presence”

Perhaps he should have thought the topic of the Sith to be inevitable, but it hit him in the lungs to hear it spoken about as if it was little more than an abnormal security concern. Sith was a word to be whispered. It was perfectly constructed to be hissed in low voices. They had grown complacent in the Sith’s absence, used the word loudly, as curses and insults. Obi-Wan knew that once he was back in the Temple, it would be relegated back to whispers, at least for as long as it took for people to forget this time on Naboo, so distant from their lives and yet already a fulcrum of his.

Palpatine didn’t say Sith, so neither would he.

“We know very little, unfortunately. It was a Force-user trained in lightsaber combat. It was dark. Powerful.”

A contemplative nod, then, “Do you think he was targeting the Queen specifically? Is she in danger of further attacks?”

“It’s hard to say; his motives were unclear. He was easily distracted by Jedi both times he appeared, and both times the Jedi and Queen Amidala were together. Perhaps he intended for her to die, perhaps he was after us all along and she simply happened to be with us.”

“Do you think he could have been targeting the boy?”

Obi-Wan looked up sharply, but Palpatine was still searching through drawers, clattering their contents about. “What?”

“I’ve heard young Skywalker must be rather special to be accepted into the Order at such an old age, and he is obviously rather talented to destroy the Trade Federation’s command station almost single handedly.”

“He’s certainly special,” he conceded.

“There are rumours,” Palpatine continued, “That he is to fulfil an old Jedi prophecy. ‘The Chosen One’, I believe the term was.”

Frozen, Obi-Wan realised what the undercurrent beneath Palpatine’s good-naturedness was: silence. It was hard to place, hard to define, hard to be sure of, but the sinking certainty in Obi-Wan’s throat confirmed it. There was not necessarily anything wrong with silence, but there definitely wasn’t anything right either.

“Ah, here it is,” declared Palpatine, raising some clippers into the air. He handed it to Obi-Wan, who couldn’t help but meet his eyes too intensely to be polite. Already, the words were spilling off his tongue, a night of anxious insomnia behind them, slowed to an audible speed only by a decade of practice.

“I’m afraid the rumours have been rather tangled, Chancellor.”

“How so, Padawan Kenobi?”

“Knight Kenobi,” he gritted out, “And it’s because Anakin is not the Chosen One. I am.”

[mycarlydotcom]

The Issue With The Relationship Pairings of iCarly:

If you were a fan of iCarly, you are very much aware of the passionately fueled "shipping" war that went on between fans while the show aired. Diehard fans planted their flags in the ground and went to bat for the pairing they respectively “shipped,” and boy were they fervent about it. There were the Creddiers, who believed Carly and Freddie should get together; and in opposition to them were the Seddiers, who believed the same about Sam and Freddie. Now, I’d be remiss not to mention that there was also a third camp of fans as well; those who did not support either pairing ending up together. The divide in the audience was real, with all sides vehement about their position, but regardless of which camp you fell into, there was always one MAJOR constant, and that was the show’s failure to choose which direction they wanted to go in, and sticking to it.

Now, before diving deep into this topic, I feel it pertinent to acknowledge which camp I fell into for the sake of transparency, and to hopefully avoid any personal bias. I was, and still am, a full fledged supporter of Sam and Freddie. They stole my heart from the very beginning, and to this day my mind will sometimes venture off into cheesy, mushy thoughts about this pairing. I love them to death, but just because I am what would be deemed a "Seddier," doesn't mean I'm ignorant to the opposing beliefs. I fully acknowledge that the Carly and Freddie pairing has a lot of merit to it, and so does the idea that neither pairing should’ve been endgame. I’m not here to argue in favor of Sam and Freddie right now, I’m here to discuss why the way the pairings were handled was problematic to the show.

As the “shipping” war between fans reached all time heights, the show unfortunately got lost in trying to please everyone at once. This resulted in a mess where both pairings were constantly being teased while still trying to leave the narratives ambiguous enough to not scare off people who didn’t support either one. It ultimately lead to no commitment in any particular direction for the show, and left many fans feeling like they never got closure.

Closure, if there was one thing that mattered most to me as a fan, it was closure. I honestly would have been okay with the opposing pairing of Carly and Freddie being endgame as long as my desired pairing would have been given proper closure. I also would've been okay with neither pairing being endgame, so long as both received that closure. Unfortunately, that was not what anybody got. What we got at the end of the series was an unspoken love triangle left ambiguous, and it rubbed many fans the wrong way.

As you know, towards the end of iGoodbye, Carly and Freddie share a kiss before she leaves for Italy with her father. This moment, by all means should please the Creddiers, as it is the last bit of romance we see between any characters in the series, but unfortunately there is an asterix beside it. It is proceeded by a scene where Freddie asks Sam if she “wants to get back together,” and even though we are not afforded a response by Sam, we are left to infer that these characters are still harboring feelings of love for one another.

So, what are we left with? Carly kisses Freddie, her best friend’s ex-boyfriend, after Sam spends a majority of the episode being a great friend to her; so much so, that Spencer gifts Sam an expensive Motorcycle because in his words, she is “a great best friend" to his little sister. It really doesn’t paint Carly in a favorable light. Then we have Freddie, who willingly kisses Carly just hours after implying he still has feelings for Sam. This is after Freddie spends most of Season 6 being cold to Sam, despite telling the poor girl he loved her before their break up. To our knowledge, Carly is unaware of all the aforementioned about Sam. So Freddie is also painted in an unfavorable light, as he juggles two girls unbeknownst to him doing so. Lastly, we have Sam. Poor Sam gets left out in the cold, as her ex-boyfriend that she still cares about and her best friend she’d do anything for (as displayed in this episode) kiss behind her back. She never finds out, she gets strung along, and then just leaves without any formal goodbyes to anyone besides Carly. 

None of the character’s are given closure here, and everything is left ambiguous. Leaving things open-ended can be fine if done properly, but when you leave three different potential outcomes (Creddie, Seddie, or neither) all open-ended like that, it just muddles the story. It becomes an ambiguous mess where nothing gets settled, and it’s insulting to the audience.

There was a complete lack of commitment by the writers when it came to these pairings, and it ultimately left a blemish on this beloved series.

[ihearthorror]

My Top 10 Favourite Horror Films of 2020

Every January, most people who review or talk about movies on YouTube tend to piece together a Top 10 list of their favourite movies from the year prior. In order to stand out from the crowd (and also because I was too lazy to do this sooner), I decided to wait until March, by which time most YouTubers aren’t really talking about movies from 2020 anymore.

I know what you’re thinking: sounds kinda stupid – why would anybody care about a Top 10 list of the best movies of 2020…THREE months into the new year!? Well, as you’ve likely heard, 2020 was a year like no other, and as result of the ongoing global pandemic, movie release dates from 2020 were pushed back months, sometimes multiple times. Some films that were supposed to be released last year didn’t arrive until 2021, even though they’re officially considered “2020 films,” according to their profiles on websites like IMBD and Letterboxd.

And so, some of these so-called “2020 films” were not available (at least to me) until only recently, such as Saint Maud or The Dark and the Wicked. I feel like I’ve now had a chance to see almost all of the horror films I’ve wanted to see from last year. In this video, if you care to stick around, I will share with you my Top 10 favourite horror films of 2020. So, here we go…

#10/ The Dark and the Wicked:

A sister and brother return to the family homestead where their father is slowly dying and their mother is understandably distraught but also disturbed and distant. The siblings soon realize that something evil has invaded their family home as they are terrorized by whatever is slowly killing their father. Directed by the same guy behind 2008’s The Strangers, The Dark and the Wicked is at times bleak and unsettling, and it does a good job at keeping you intrigued in this family’s unnerving conflict. However, it felt a bit rushed and undeveloped at other times, and its ending left me somewhat unsatisfied.

#9/ Relic:

Soon after Kay and her daughter Sam return to their remote family home following the disappearance of the family matriarch, the widowed Edna, they discover that something sinister has taken hold of both Edna and the house itself. Although Relic – which was co-produced by Jake Gyllenhaal and marked the feature directorial debut for Natalie Erika James – isn’t exactly offering up any enticing twists or salacious gore, or even a original concept for that matter, it relies on evoking dread and building tension to compel its audience to stay invested until the bitter end.

#8/ Amulet:

Taking its sweet time to unravel, Amulet is centered around Tomaz, an ex-soldier who is now homeless but is offered a place to stay at a decaying house in London, which is inhabited by a beautiful young woman named Magda and her dying mother. As the story moves along, we see that Tomaz is starting to develop feelings for Magda, who seems a bit…off. His feelings for her don’t wane even after Tomaz discovers that there’s something insidious going on in the attic of the house, where Magda’s mother is seemingly imprisoned. Toss in a suspicious nun and you’ve got yourself a creepy little film that seems to have fallen between the cracks.

#7/ The Beach House:

One might argue that not a lot actually happens in The Beach House and that the payoff isn’t worth the investment, but if you go into this film with an open mind and zero expectations, you should at least be satisfied. Two troubled college students head to a deserted beach getaway to spend some time together, but end up struggling to survive alongside some unexpected guests as a mysterious infection disrupts their holiday. Although it is a slow build up to the film’s climax, it is a tense and intriguing ride along the way, as a series of unsettling events give way to an apocalyptic episode that feels almost like a throwback to the sci-fi films of the 1950s. Making his feature film directorial debut, Jeffrey A. Brown elicits with The Beach House those brooding existential thoughts that lay dormant in the deep boroughs of our minds. 

#6/ The Invisible Man:

There’s always an elevated risk when making a modern film based on an old story that has already been told through cinema numerous times before. The last time H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel The Invisible Man had been adapted by Hollywood was in 2000’s Hollow Man, which was panned by critics despite making a sizeable profit. The 2020 adaptation is far superior and is perhaps the best adaptation of Wells’ classic in any medium. Elizabeth Moss gives a stellar performance that draws real emotion, so that we agonize alongside her as she is essentially haunted by a relentless ghost hellbent on controlling every aspect of her life. We live in an era when technology has advanced enough to bring this 124-year-old story to life like never before, while a polished script and an exceptional lead performance gives The Invisible Man a deeper level of emotion and terror.

#5/ Saint Maud:

For most of Saint Maud it is unclear whether certain experiences are actually happening in reality for the main character or if it’s all simply in her head, as some sort of mental breakdown caused by a work-related tragedy. Maud is a young hospice nurse and a newly-converted Roman Catholic who suddenly becomes obsessed with “saving the soul” of the woman she is currently taking care of, Amanda, a hedonistic dancer with a chronic illness. Maud’s behaviour worsens, as does her mental state, as horrific scenes and visions make us question if she’s actually losing her mind or experiencing something beyond this world. Saint Maud is an A24 feature by the way, so that should be enough to know what you’re getting here in terms of quality.

#4/ The Lodge:

Isolation is often embraced as a way to pad a horror film’s fear factor, and it works especially here in The Lodge, as a soon-to-be stepmom becomes stranded at a remote holiday home in the middle of winter with her fiance’s two children. The kids begin to untangle the dark past of their stepmom-to-be and a series of disturbing events transpire as their hope for survival fades. The Lodge is a dreary, atmospheric slow burn that leaves you somewhat unsettled. With its wintry backdrop, stylish sequences, and almost claustrophobic dread, the film doesn’t ever allow its audience to feel at ease for long, insisting that an underlying foreboding remain intact throughout. Although I found the ending somewhat disappointing, I immediately began to concoct a possible prequel that would delve into the backstory of the film’s lead character. One can hope.

#3/ Host:

It’s increasingly difficult to be innovative and original when it comes to horror films these days, especially in the particular genre of so-called “found footage.” Rob Savage’s Host, however, comes off as something different, setting itself apart from most films in this realm in various ways. It centers around six friends who hold a séance via Zoom during a COVID lockdown, guided (at first) by a medium they hired. The séance then takes a dark turn and things soon escalate into madness. Sure, there are elements in Host that are prevalent in numerous horror films, but it uses a modern and topical way to implement them, while also refusing to overstay its welcome by cueing the credits less than an hour in. Overall, this film’s popcorn-and-Saturday-night-movie fun factor is why it ranks so high on this list.

#2/ Possessor:

It’s always a treat to come across an original idea, especially when it’s within the horror realm, and Possessor is certainly unlike anything else I’ve seen in awhile. Andrea Riseborough plays an elite corporate assassin who uses brain-implant technology to take control over other people’s bodies in order to kill high profile targets, though with every mission she gets further and further away from her true self. With her latest possession, she becomes trapped in the mind of a man who threatens to obliterate her for good. It is a provocative vision by director-writer Brandon Cronenberg, who just so happens to be the son of legendary Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, and it serves as a disturbing piece of dystopian fiction that is even more frightening because it isn’t too far beyond belief.

And because everyone else is doing it, here are five honorable mentions that narrowly missed the list:

- The Call

- Color Out of Space

- Don’t Listen

- The Mortuary Collection

- Porno

#1/ His House:

In addition to its emotional storytelling and genuine moments of terror, His House – from first-time director Remi Weekes – sheds a light on the plight of refugees in a way that feels both respectful and empathetic. After a Sudanese couple make a harrowing escape from their war-torn homeland, they are granted asylum in England, where they struggle to adjust and fit in. They are assigned a shabby house on the outskirts of London, where the couple begin to experience terrifying and unexplainable events. His House is built around a fresh concept, two fantastic leads, and some truly haunting imagery, and I wish that more horror directors would put as much effort into quality filmmaking as Weekes did here. If this is his first venture into feature filmmaking, I am excited to see what his future has in store. 

There you have it, my Top 10 favourite horror films of 2020. What did you think and were any of these titles on your own Top 10 list? Please tell me your thoughts and recommendations in the comments below.

[notthefilmreview]

17 year old watches MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: ZOMBIZOU

Hey it’s Dana!

As you can tell from the title I’m obviously 17 and today I’ve decided to watch the Miraculous Ladybug episode Zombizou (admittedly not the first time I’ve watched Miraculous) because this episode is about zombies and I LOVE ZOMBIES. 

Horror movies in general are great and usually when a series decides to do a horror themed episode I’m sitting there ready to watch, but zombie movies are arguably superior (don’t @ me).

However, I am a tad bit sceptical about a kids show doing a zombie themed episode because obviously they won’t kill anyone - RIGHT!?!

And also how are they going to transfer the infection? Are these children going to go around biting each other???? Not gonna lie, if they do, that’ll be a dark twist I’m ready for.

This probably won’t happen because Huffinton post does recommend it towards 6 - 15 year olds so…

Anyway, read on for my reaction to Miraculous Ladybug Zombizou…

Lol, okay, so we’re not into the episode yet but I paused the screen at this moment and it looked kinda funny so I thought I’d just share.

So while I see why everyone’s so annoyed about Chloe forgetting Ms Bustier’s birthday it just doesn’t really matter. Most teachers don’t really care about all their students remembering their birthdays and most students either don’t know when their teachers birthday is or they don’t even bring it up (at least that’s what happened in my student experience lol, I don’t know about the rest of you).

Also, everyone does know about Chloe’s issues with her parents so they have to understand that she has a habbit of forgetting special occassions or showing sentimentality.

ALSO, there’s bound to be someone else in the class who’s forgotten Ms Bustier’s present - not just Chloe. Why aren’t they ganging up on them? Like what about Adrien? What did he get her with all that money he has stored up?? Huh???

#ChloeBourgeoiseDefenceSquad

Okay…so I’ve got to admit that was a bit rude of Chloe to do, but what do you expect when everyone constantly mocks her for not getting Ms Bustier a present? I’m just surprised she never did anything like this on Ms Bustier’s previous birthdays.

#StillChloeBourgeoiseDefenceSquad

On a side note: Ms Bustier is an absolute angel! Seriously, I don’t know how this woman manages to keep her patience teaching these hormonal 14 year olds every day while some deranged butterfly akumatises them on the daily.

On an extra side note: Ms Bustier is so pretty! Why doesn’t she have a boyfriend? (or a girlfriend?) She seriously has everything going for her: patience, love, support, good-looks, good with children…

How does Marinette manage to keep up her hobby of fashion, save Paris, get her schoolwork done, WHILE being the Class Representative? I can’t even handle just my A Levels and she’s out there doing all of this at 14??? What is this wizardry???

Also, I kinda hope Marinette gets akumatised because that would just make it so much more harder to get rid of the zombies.

Okay, so if I were Marinette I would have just transformed into Ladybug when the akuma was coming after her and Ms Bustier. She can obviously trust Ms Bustier to keep her secret and it may even help when she needs to miss class or get extensions on her homework or even cover for her when she needs an adult to do stuff…Then, Ms Bustier wouldn’t have been akumatised!

Wow Ivan truly deserves better! He is such a little sweetheart for offering to hold Mylene and Sabrina back while everyone else runs off to safety. BUT - look at Adrien over here doing absolutely NOTHING! I know that there’s a rule that they shouldn’t let anyone else know their secret identities but sometimes there should be exceptions - like in this situation.

Like with Marinette and Ms Bustier earlier, if Adrien just transformed maybe even in the classroom when Zombizou first broke in then he could have saved Sabrina, Mylene, and Ivan. Then he could have easily guided everyone to safety without thinking about when and where he should transform.

Lol, don’t lie Marinette, you secretly liked that…

I do like the whole “is anybody here?” thing with Ladybug going through the school trying to find survivors like a real zombie movie.

Smooth, Adrien, smooth…

I love how Adrien attempts to take advantage of the situation to kiss Ladybug! At least he tried; it was worth a go.

However, it does lead me to wonder what would happen if he actually did land a kiss, making Ladybug believe she’s infected. But then he has to explain to her that he’s actually not zombie-fied. That would be quite awkward.

Also he just looks so extra and in love in this photo!

Lol, also Alya blaming Chloe for why Adrien got kissed is actually quite funny. I don’t know why but it just felt as though Alya just wants another reason to hate on Chloe. #ChloeProtectionSquad.

Awwwwww look at that little back hug! That is actually just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life! Mylene and Ivan are just so cute together!

This is quite a cool shot with all the survivors being on the roof, waiting for their leader (Ladybug) to tell them what to do next. It’s such a zombie movie trope!

Kim looks like he’s just seen his whole life pass before his eyes and he’s determined to do something heroic (such as possibly sacrificing his life for his friends).

Max, Nino, and Alix look like they’ve given up.

Alya and Ladybug look like the leader and the co-leader discussing what they need to do to get out (and possibly what sacrifices they need to make).

Juleka and Rose look like The Couple! Omg they are just as cute as Ivan and Mylene! If anything happens to them I will give Chloe up to Zombizou myself! (Sorry not sorry, Chloe).

Finally, Chloe looks like that one person everyone hates in the group. Those types of survivors in zombie movies usually come into a stable group (mostly by being saved) and then mess everything up. They’re usually the one who *accidently* gets everyone killed and then survives at the end! We hate those types of people…

So, if I were Zombizou I would just send my kisses off into Paris to just try and catch people. Her kisses are a lot faster and can reach high places, unlike her zombies, and the gang is on the roof so they’re basically sitting ducks for her kisses.

Here it comes; this is the point in the trope when one by one everyone decides to be heroic and make a sacrifice to save the-last-hope/main-objective/the-key-t0-the-end-of-the-virus (aka Chloe). While I think it was quite heroic for Max to hold back the zombie’s and for Rose to go out and save Chloe, Chat Noir and Ladybug could have easily done that themselves without getting kissed! 

I just feel like this episode has underused and underemphasises (is that a word?) their powers to make their classmates seem more heroic. On one hand that is good for character development but I do feel as though they could have done that in a different way. 

For example, they could have had Ladybug and Chat Noir possibly kidnapped by Zombizou or something like that (basically the heroes aren’t there to help them) but they all know, possibly from a transmission from Ladybug, that they need to safely get Chloe from the school to some checkpoint. Then, on the way, each classmate makes their own heroic sacrifice until finally it is just Chloe at the checkpoint (possibly just with Alya because Alya hates her so much) and they use Chloe as bait (willingly, of course) while Alya frees Ladybug and Chat Noir and they save the day.

Just a thought :)

Firstly, Rose and Juleka are so cute together and basically act like a couple so why can’t they just make it official????

Secondly, omg the hiding-the-bite trope!!! Ahhhh! I usually hate these people and just hope they die already BUT, in this circumstance when it’s my sweet little Rose who risked her life to safe Chloe, I just feel bad for her AND for Juleka.

Okay do you see those hands??? That is not how you hold a friend, just saying…

This was quite an emotional scene and just makes me love Nino so much more! The fact that he decided to stay with her, trusting that Ladybug and Chat Noir would fix everything but also not completely knowing that they will, just shows how he’s such a reliable and loving guy. I would seriously trust Nino with my life; why can’t he be my boyfriend????

I’ve never been such a big fan of Alya as a good friend to Marinette but I feel as though Alya and Nino together is much more better. But that may just be because Nino’s such a sweet boy who loves his girlfriend and his friends so much and deserves so much love back. #NinoProtectionSquad.

I feel really bad for Ladybug! She’s only 14!!!!!! And she has all these people relying and trusting in her to fix everything. It must be so traumatic for her! 

Since it’s a kids show they obviously won’t venture into how traumatic all these experiences (watching all of her friends become zombie-fied) are for Marinette but I can’t help but ponder on how messed up her brain is. 

Although she may fix everything with her Miraculous Ladybug, it’s only the exterior that is fixed - not the trauma. 

It does cause some people to forget what happened, only she (and Chat Noir of course) know what really happened. 

Do you ever think they get nightmares about these things? Because they’re seriously just 14 year olds with the weight and order of the world resting in their hands, which is quite a parallel to the power rangers (and they’re probably all messed up in the head as well).

That was quite redeeming of Chloe to sacrifice herself for Ladybug. Yes, you go girl! #ChloeRedemptionSquad!

Hawkmoth was a bit stupid for making her central power the lipstick because it does easily rub off after a long day of terrorising the Paris…so this ending did seem a bit anti-climactic because it was just make-up remover. Make-up remover, really? After all your classmates sacrifice themselves, all you needed was some make-up remover???

This is really cute and seems like a mother-daughter type of interaction. And we do know that Chloe’s parents are practically absent so what I’m saying is - what if Ms Bustier just adopts Chloe??? #ChloeAdoptionSquad.

Okay, that was really cute. Although Chloe didn’t apologise to the rest of the class, she finally decided to make an effort and get something for Ms Bustier. I also love how she didn’t tell anyone because that is quite humble of her but Marinette and Alya did see her so that does make her look better in their eyes. Yay #ChloeRedemptionSquad!

Overall, the episode was really interesting and did seem like a zombie-type movie (especially if it was longer *cough* *cough* Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie *cough* *cough*). The end was quite annoying with Ladybug defeating Zombiezou with just makeup but the ending did redeem itself by having Chloe also redeem herself.

What other episodes of Miraculous Ladybug should I watch next???

[elejahfanfic]

Hello Love/4

Fanfiction

Part 4

This is an AU story with tvd/to characters. All human, no vampires or witches.

A sweet fluffy love story, ft. Klaroline, Kennett, Jebekah (Rebekah and Jackson!)

but the main pairing is Miguel Galindo x Elena Gilbert

since I love to write crossover au’s, here I am borrowing Miguel Galindo from MayansMC...played by Danny Pino.

Yemaya is played by Zoe Saldana.

tag_  @miguelsbrat​

Thank you for reading. It means a lot.

✽-(●◡●)/✽

***

The next day, Caroline had to call Elena first thing in the morning to tell her about her date.

"Danielle's-it was so good that it seems so unreal- and he was a perfect gentleman. I thought that they don't exist "Caroline swooned.

"Sounds unreal " Elena said.

"I know. But- Please let me have this, let me dream he is out of the ordinary."

"Just because crap happens to me. Things don't have to happen to you."

Elena now shared that Miguel and Rebekah came to the bakery shop and that she got the comission to make Cristobal’s birthday cake, aslod adding that Rebekah had invited them for lunch at Rafa's.

Yemaya couldn't make it as she was busy following a lead on a story, with Stefan, of course. She reported though that she and Stefan talked about their one nighter, and decided to  remain colleagues and that her career was important to her.

"She is crazy." Caroline said as she put the phone down after having spoken to Yemaya.

 "It’s her life.”Elena said, “anyway I talked to my aunt Jenna. She called me like at 3 a.m. She is coming back like in a couple of weeks. She has an exhibition or something."

"So her excavations went well?!" Caroline concluded.

"Yep. It will be so good seeing her. And so when are you meeting Klaus again?"

"Tomorrow night. Talking about exhibitions- there is one of his favourite architect Le Courbisier- now explain the Damon kiss?!"

"There is nothing to explain. He kissed me- but I didn't kiss him back - and when I said that we are done. We are done! He can do what he wants. I really don't care. Can we not talk about Damon ever again."

“Sure.” Caroline said and then said that she had to hang up as she had to rush.

A couple of hours later, Rebekah, Elena and Caroline ventured into one of their favourite restaurants. As they ordered, the first topic was Caroline’s date with Klaus.

"Ok - this is kind wierd, but I can’t tell him who to date or not. I got to tell you this. He is a great charmer and- I have told him if he breaks your heart he will be dealing with me!"

"I didn't mean to be negative. But, I like our friendship- and I wouldn't  want to lose that if something went wrong if I dated your brother " Elena explained.

She had a valid point.

"You would want to date my brother?" Rebekah then confronted Elena with a question she didn't expect.

"No. I was just saying." Elena quickly blurted out.

"I thought you liked Miguel?! I mean- yesterday-  you spent quite a lot of time talking to him" Rebekah would sometimes be too blind and straight forward putting a person on the spot.

"I was talking to all of you!" Elena defended herself and was now blushing. " I like him. Ok - I’ve said that I don't want to date anybody. I am not ready."

"Miguel hasn't dated in like- forever." Rebekah said.

"So, he seriously hasn't been with anyone since his wife died?! That’s like ten years" Caroline said.

"Not that I know of. I don't think he is capable of one night stands. He was always romantic and by the book. He takes the girl out and marries her!" Rebekah joked."He was born serious!"

Before they could continue Caroline's phone rang and it was Yemaya on the phone. She was frantically explaining to her friend that she was on the way to the hospital and that Stefan had been stabbed..

The lunch finished abruptly, and Rebekah now called her father, and then her office. All three women rushed to the hospital. Stefan and Yemaya were their friends for a long while, and they had to be there for both of them.

Elena was on the phone to her co-worker explaining that she would not be returning to the shop.

Caroline could not stay long as her father called her back to the office, as there was a new important client she had to meet.

"I'll be back when I am done with the meeting!"- she assured Yemaya, who was completely distressed.

At the hospital exit, Caroline bumped into her mother, who was now on the case. They just quickly exchanged words and Liz now went up to talk to Yemaya.

Damon arrived wanting answer about what had happened. Katherine was with him.

Elena explained what Yemaya told them, and that was that he was following up a story about gangs. Damon was furious, as Stefan would go for a good story to the most shady places and dealing with all kinds of criminals if necessary. There were numerous times that Damon would go with him and there had been occasions where they nearly didn't make it out of a bad situation.

Rebekah came up to them. She informed them that Miguel was operating with his team.

"Stefan is in good hands!" she said to Damon.

Krystal now took Damon away from them.

Rebekah now slipped to Elena nearly whispering.

"So much about Krystal being just a glitch!” Rebekah remarked.

“Well, I wish them all the luck in the world” Elena said, turning to Yemaya and  offered her the cup with the coffee and a sandwich.

"I can't eat!" Yemaya said. "Thanks yo so much, Elena. Oh- I just hope he is all right! He must be all right!!!"

"He will be all right. Rebekah's brother is operating and he is like the best of the best."

"How do you know?!" Yemaya slipped and then apologized, wrenching her hands with worry.

"I googled it!" Elena then said. "He is like the top cardiothoracic surgeon in the world- the best! Stefan will be fine!" She encouraged her friend to think positively. She said a little prayer inside herself. Stefan was a really good friend, she had met when he still lived in her building. They were neighbours. He had a crash on her, but he never told her, as he saw that she started showing interest in his brother. Their friendship grew into something strong and solid.

The wait was agonizing and the four of them kept quiet, although Damon was pacing back and forth several times. Finally, Miguel came out and now was asking who the next of kin was to give them the report.

Damon came up to him, explaining that he was Stefan's brother.

Miguel had promising news. The operation went well, although it was a chest wound. Damon would be able to see him in a little while.

Then he noticed Elena there, and greeted her cordially. She nodded saying a faintly hello. He excused himself and went away.

Not long after, the nurse came to Damon to take him to the ICU where Stefan was sent to.

When he got to the room, seeing Stefan hooked up on the machines monitoring his heartbeat and other vitals, overwhelmed Damon.

"Damn you, Stefan -what were you thinking - that you are not invincible." he muttered with mixure of pain and anger looking at his brother who was still unconscious.

Damon was a terrible womanizer, but when it came to Stefan, he could give his life for him. ***

Elsewhere

Bonnie now switched her phone on and there were tones of messages notifying her about Stefan's stabbing. She returned Elena's calls and told her that she would be in hospital soon. Then she called Kol to let him know why she was changing their plans for the night.

Charly knocked at her office door and Bonnie invited her in.

"Hi.How can I help you?" Bonnie said.

"Ms Bennett, I know I am probably late, but I was wondering if I could still do the audition for the musical?"

"Of course," Bonnie said, "Singing or - would you like the role of the narrator?"

"Singing, reading, anything. I want to be in the school play!" Cristobal said.

"Good. I will put your name down. It is with Mr Petrov on Wednesday at the School's Drama Hall. Details will be hung at the board just outside my office."

"Thank you." Cristobal said, happy that he got into the play.

Bonnie now got ready to leave herself.

***

Back in the hospital, Yemaya now asked if she could see Stefan but the nurse said that only the surgeon could authorize it, since she wasn't family.

Elena now told her friend to wait and she went to see where Elijah was and if he was available. The nurse directed her to his study.

She knocked at the door and when she heard him say to come in, she gulped a bit and then walked in.

"Elena?!" Miguel stood up surprised to see that it was her.

"I apologize for disturbing you. My friend has been told that you are the only person who can authorize visits. Yemaya is Stefan colleague, and practically his girlfriend, although it is not official."- she knew she went into the rambling zone, and hated that she was like this in front of him.

"Yes- All right. What is her name?" Miguel picked the phone to call the nurses station.

"Yemaya Baker!" Elena said.

He repeated it and then tol her how long Yemaya could stay.

"Thank you," Elena said,"I usually don't do this-use my friendship connections- but-"

"I understand. One can always make an exception. "

"Yes. Thank you!" And as she wanted to leave now, he uttered,"Elena-"

"Ha- Yes?" the brunette  turned around lookina at the surgeon breathing in through her nose, her stomach flipping uncontrolably again.

A knock at the door made both flinch. A man now entered, interruping them.

"Oh-excuse me. I didn't know that you were with a patient- You said you were done-" Dr Shepherd said.

"Uhm -yes," Miguel said and looked at his colleague.

"I will not keep you." Elena said and walked out of the office.

Elena's phone rang and it was Caroline following up on the message she received earlier.

"I'll be going home soon. I'll see you tomorrow." Elena said and hung up.

Bonnie offered to stay and wait for Yemaya, and so Elena left the hospital.

She wanted to walk and so she took off slowly through the nearby park. She wanted to clear her mind and try to make sense of her stomach making somersault everyt time she was around Miguel. 

***

Sometime later, Miguel went to checked upon Stefan, before he left the hospital, who was stable. He then told the nurses that Yemaya could see him on the daily basis.

As he got into his office, he rang Cristobal, who informed him that he was with Henrik and his friends.

“Right. I guess you will sleep over again?”

“No. Grandma’s chauffeur will drive me home.”

“All right then. Have a great time.” Miguel said.

“Ok. Night, papa.”

“Night, mi hijo.” Miguel said and as he picked up his jacket and bag, he exited his office.

He rarely put the radio on, but now he did. It played 'All of the Stars'. At a junction, instead of turning right to take the road to the house, he turned left. Soon he found himself parking not far from the cafe where he first met Elena by chance. It was closed when he got to it as it was only open till six o'clock.

It's just another night And I'm staring at the moon I saw a shooting star And thought of you

"Hello-" a familiar voice said, and he nearly jumped, turning around.

"Hello!" he said somewhat clumsily.

"I saw you- uhm this is closed - but the bar just here is open." Elena showed him the bar she had been in "they have great wine - you can join me if you’d like"

"I'd love to have a glass of wine!" he said with as small smile dancing up on his face and now followed Elena in.

Elena ordered their wine and eased into the conversation after a few sips.

"I don't know how much Rebekah has told you about me-"

"Not much really. Just some stuff."

"Just some stuff-"he repeated.

"It's not that bad. She is really happy you guys are back. Especially for Cristobal."

"Yes. Cristobal has really welcomed the move. I thought she would oppose." Miguel said and was surprised with what ease he could share something personal with the woman he had met just a few times.

"And you?” Elena asked.

"Same. I should have returned years ago.”

“Why didn’t you if you don’t mind me asking-”

"Rebekah probaby told you about my wife passing."

"She told us something - this must have been really so hard. I can’t even imagine it.”

“Cristobal was five years old - same as I when my parents were killed.” Miguel said taking a sip of the wine. He was clearly shook.

“I’m sorry - I didn’t want to - go there.“

“No - it is fine. I was lucky to have had the love and such great siblings, even thought I am adopted, but they have never made me feel like I’m not their real brother. What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

Elena now told him about Jeremy and Jenna. as well as her parent's tragic accident.

"Jeremy was in his senior year, I was just finishing college. Our aunt Jenna came to live with us for a year.  Well, she lived with Jeremy. I was in the city. I miss them. Haven't been to my parent's house since Jeremy left to college."

"Memories." Miguel then said.

"Yeah- and Stefan being stabbed- just made me think how crazy life is. Everything can just end in a minute."

Then they both got quiet and Elena felt that the conversation went into a dead end street.

The waitress came up to them asking if they wanted anything more. Miguel declined as he was very conscious as to how much he drank. Elena declined as well. It seemed it was the end of the evening that wasn't going all too well. He offered to drive her home. Elena accepted.

"It's up and coming area. I plan on selling it and buying something closer to the Park."

As they arrived, he got out to see her to the door of her building.

"Thanks," she said, "this is me- fifth floor-ahm- thanks for the drink."

"Thank you." Miguel said dearly.

“What for -  it was  - you had a long day and I talked about me - sorry”

“It is fine. I loved listening to you talking” Miguel said.

“You did?”

“I did. You know -haven’t done this in a very long time - I -”

Strange awkwardness suddenly arose. And then there was this static encirling them from nowhere, that crackling in the air, a strange magical force field. Elena felt her face heat, and could hear her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Now or never. She stepped forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, slipping a faint good night.

His heart seized when she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and almost by accident, he turned into her silky caress, their lips so close he could smell the hint of cherry on her lips.They froze in the same split second and his pulse thudded slow and hard as she beamed her eyes at him.

Miguel’s full lips were only inches from hers. She could feel his warm breath brushing over her skin.Slowly his head now lowered toward hers.Then his lips found hers. He buried his hands in her hair and pulled her closer.His mouth moved over hers, tasting her fully. His lips soft but firm. She opened to him, and he slipped the hot tip of his tongue between her lips. Her body dissolved into his, shuddering slightly, letting a soft muffled moan out as he deepened the kiss.

So open your eyes and see The way our horizons meet And all of the lights will lead Into the night with me And I know these scars will bleed But both of our hearts believe