#he is able to completely justify himself and his actions bc its Right By Him and like while its not right hes so deep rooted in his beliefs

[astralmarionette]

finished rereading and annotating Great Gatsby. Daisy and Tom make me sick /non negative.

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (May 30th-July 5th)

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Narrative basically ret-cons bad behavior of someone who isn't Marinette.

Oh yay! Alya V2!

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow to know that Mouse!Mylene will be called Multimouse.

I read somewhere that her name will be Polymouse but the source was broken.

Please be a mistake back when we saw the hero names and Mylene didn’t get her own name.

I’d also like to add a bonus that either Mylene gets named that without her consent (like someone calls her that), or Mylene names herself that without any knowledge of Multimouse!Marinette at all.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Assuming Luka×Zoe actually happens, there will be no build up whatsoever. In one episode, they just happen to get trapped together somewhere, talk for like ten seconds and start dating immediately afterwards. Basically the same as Alya×Nino bc none of the ships in this show (other than Lukanette and Adrigami) had any sort of meaningful developement before happening

A relationship beyond the love square getting development??? That’s cute.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Nino is gonna realize that Alya has the fox miraculous full time now and because of that he's gonna get pissy and so somehow Alya will be outta commission and Nino will be there so Marinette will give him a miraculous, Alya will probably say something encouraging about Nino, and then HE'LL get a full time miraculous to.

The only reason I don’t feel like this won’t happen is that it doesn’t direct anywhere near as much blame onto Marinette.

Anonymous asked:

Don't need burrow to know Chat will get angry at Ladybug and maybe Rena because Rena is now a permanent hero and he'll spend the day being a dick, but he'll be forced to work with Rena and realize things are good, but he'll only apologize to Rena.

Ladybug is just used to being chopped liver I assume.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Adrigami is restored, while Lukanette isn't.

Marinette will be too busy being forced by the narrative to continue caring about Adrien.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow, Su Han will only reappear at the end of the season and then disappear again.

“Hi, Su-Ha--oh, there he goes.”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Adrien decide to confess his secret identity as Chat Noir to Nathalie. She decide to don't tell him that his father is Hawkmoth (but also decide to don't tell Gabriel that his son is Chat Noir)

God, the Agreste drama intensifies. Kill me.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette actually REJECTS Adrien after the identity reveal after it hits her all at once that HE did all the awful, questionable things Chat Noir did. This allows the Love Square Drama to continue, with Marinette being slammed for DARING to be upset/have STANDARDS - everyone claims that she's set the bar too impossibly high and is responsible for her own romantic misery, while Adrien continues being coddled by other temporary love interests while waiting for her to wise up.

Uggggggh.

I’m just waiting for Ladybug to loudly reject Chat Noir and then she falls for him soon after and bonus if Chat rubs it in her face that she’s moved on or the narrative ignores Chat’s past actions as Ladybug is all like, “WOW HE’S SO RESPECTFUL NOW.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug's continued rejections of Chat Noir are directly compared to Gabriel's shitty parenting -- both of them are denying Adrien things he wants, and these crimes against Sadrien are depicted as equally awful.  (If not weighted towards Ladybug being worse because sHe'S bReAkInG hIs WiDdLe HeArT~~~)

This one wins for making me the most upset.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: Juleka will become the tiger hero in another Julerose-centric episode, but this time Rose is akumatized (into princess fragrance again, but this time with a sentimonster so it’s DiFfErEnT). It will chronologically take place after guilt trip, but Rose’s disability will not be acknowledged, even in passing.

I swear, if I have to see a repeat akuma ONE MORE TIME!!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: The major conflict of the season will be Marinette repeating “mistakes” (this can be similar to not keeping chat 100% in the loop till he throws a fit or having a human to depend on emotionally about miraculous stuff) Bonus: The show doesn’t show the good that came out of her actions and only the bad (Not having a breakdown and etc)

Yup. Definitely Marinette’s fault that she needed to rely on someone so she didn’t have a breakdown. She should’ve buried her emotions and broke down every day instead.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: After the show runners give into another fan theory of new permanent heroes, they will quickly show why this was a mistake. Bonus if it’s the very next episode (because if Marinette did it then it has to be bad)

This already felt super likely and then you added “because if Marinette did it then it has to be bad” and now I’m just sad because it’s doubly right.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Marinette, who dreams of being a fashion designer, designs something that’s just ugly. Bonus if it’s never addressed/characters just say it’s great so the show doesn’t look bad at designing clothes

Does Ladybug count? Still can’t believe Chat Noir gets the “complex” outfit with actual thought and Ladybug gets the onesie.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that Emilie intended to use the Miraculi they'd found to 'give Adrien the world'.  This is treated as a sympathetic motive because, as Word of God constantly insists, Adrien is perfect and deserves everything he desires, regardless of how anyone else feels about it.  Thus it doesn't matter what horrific things his parents did or intended; their goals are treated as righteous, with Ladybug being Wrong to oppose them.

They just want what’s best for their son!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be a plot in which LADYBUG is accused of not caring about civilians, with Adrien/Chat Noir getting to lecture her as if HE has the moral high ground.  Or any ground to stand on.  His abysmal track record is completely ignored, retconned, or otherwise treated as inapplicable; we likely get a singular moment where he suddenly Gives A Shit about protecting one of his friends/classmates, which is treated as proof that he Always Cares About Such Matters.

Bonus if it’s Ladybug choosing not to defend/save someone who spited her/deserves it, which is “clearly worse” than Chat Noir threatening to let Paris drown in “Syren.” Ladybug is not allowed to be human and also not allowed to show people that there are consequences for their actions, proving that they/Chat can take advantage and mock her as much as they want with no repurcussions.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Sabrina and Chloe have another Friendship Breakup; when Sabrina seems poised to actually get away from her abusive 'BFF' for good, Adrien intervenes/whines at Marinette to help him fix it, because it's nOt FaAaAaIr for Chloe to be aLl AlOoOoOoNe...

Is it too late to make Adrien disappear and have it look like an accident.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: In a Shocking Twist, Cats are revealed to be cursed - the majority suffer some catastrophic fate as the Ring eventually causes their Destruction.  Only True Love can break it, making Ladybug's refusal to give in to Chat Noir's advances a literal matter of life-and-death and 'justifying' all of his behavior.  Bonus if it's retconned that *Adrien always knew this*, despite nothing in his behavior ever indicating he believed himself to be on borrowed time.  Because Angstrese.

Also bonus if this is also used as just another way to make him seem sympathetic. Double bonus if this information is brought up after Ladybug snaps at Chat Noir, and she’s told this information to make her feel guilty.

.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Adrien reveal someone his secret identity, it will be ... obviously Wayhem.

Nino: hello darkness--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Goat!Marc, Rooster!Nathaniel and even Ox!Ivan will be buffed out because not even the boys in this show are allowed to keep their own body shapes when they become superheroes.

I’m positive Ivan especially will be beefed up. The civilian models are really awkward at times and clearly not prepared to be put in onesies (it’s hard to explain and maybe someone more experienced with propotions/anatomy will be able to say it better, but their limbs don’t have a lot of “shape” to them I guess?).

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: Alya’s miraculous looks exactly the same in it’s “camouflage” mode solely so Lila can easily switch her necklace with Alya’s. (seriously why does it not change that bothers the hell out of me)

If that happens, I’d put money on Alya not getting called out on it. Good to know you put so much priority on “secrecy,” Alya.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: A kwami swap will happen again somehow. Marinette will uncharacteristically scold Adrien way more harshly than normal AGAIN to make him feel bad about himself and this will further the (Adrien melodrama depression arc) of him feeling useless/ replaced. Bonus points if Alya picks up his slack.

Honestly, I was here for the scolding in “Reflekdoll” just because there weren’t consequences for her for once.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: There will be Sad Noir galore. Its all Ladybug’s fault, naturally.

Naturally.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Episode where Sabrina gets Dog Miraculous will be Chloe-centric (or Bourgeois sisters centric)

&

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: the episode where Sabrina gets the Dog Miraculous (which seems inevitable now, ugh) will heavily feature or even focus on Chloé, despite the fact that Chloé has already had a couple of episodes focusing largely on her this season. Sabrina’s introduction as a hero will have about as much focus as Kim’s or will be jammed into the last five minutes of the episode. Bonus points if they manage to deny her a proper transformation sequence like they did Kagami.

Roger: *exists and desperately needs development on his policy that caused Sabrina to become Chloe’s slave in the first place*

show: okay but--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Under pressure, Marinette admits to Alya and/or Tikki that she doesn't mind the attention (aka constant harassment) Chat Noir gives her; parroting common claims by sexual harassers, she says it makes her feel *special* and *noticed*.  She may also insist that she still wishes he would focus on the AKUMA/their responsibilities more, but the obvious point of this scene is to 'justify' his behavior with evidence that 'she enjoys it'.

MARINETTE

PLEASE

YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be a joke about Chat Noir *copping a feel* on Ladybug after an akuma sends them into an awkward position.  Ladybug's shock and discomfort is played for laughs; bonus if he quips about her suit not leaving much to the imagination.  Adrien is in a fantastic mood afterwards, considering that to be the 'best battle yet'.  (Alternatively, another heroine is victimized and Ladybug is visibly jealous/her annoyance at Chat is treated like jealousy.)

I’m not adding this to the spreadsheet just because a scene like that is too dicey for a kid’s show (though, believe me, if it were to happen, I’m putting that on it’s own damn card), but I will say that this would 100% happen if this were an anime/aimed towards an older audience.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien tricks Alya into thinking that Chat Noir already knows Ladybug's secret identity, thusly learning that she's Marinette.  This is passed off as all MARI's fault, naturally.  If Alya apologizes at all, it's in a backhanded, "But why didn't he know this already?" sort of fashion.

It’s Marinette’s fault for telling Alya her identity in the first place.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Post-Reveal, Marinette struggles to reconcile how her crush is also her abusive slacker 'partner'.  Adrien, by contrast, accepts her as Ladybug immediately... though his words make clear that he doesn't give a shit who SHE is, just that she's Ladybug.  Naturally, this is treated as Mari needing to learn how to accept Adrien for who he is, all while insisting that his many flaws and failings aren't issues at all.

i hate it, thanks

Anonymous asked:

DNB: The RLBS is EXPLICITLY punishment for Marinette: after a mutual reveal, Adrien declares that they can't get together as civilians until she accepts him as Chat Noir.  Mari is forced to awkwardly pursue Chat as Ladybug while he strings her along/humiliates her; meanwhile, Adrien trolls her with shallow gestures to fluster her/rile up their shipper classmates, who ride her ass for not 'sealing the deal' and making their relationship official.  Alya, aware of everything, is the WORST about it.

I presume that “RLBS” is “Reverse Love BS” which... yes.

Also, that whole “she needs to accept him as Chat Noir” infuriates me because that’s been a fandom thing forever.

.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: The only reason Sabrina got Dog Miraculous is because of a scene where Chloe literally "Kick the Dog".

&

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow to know that despite Sabrina almost certainly getting a miraculous and becoming a hero, the fact that she deserves better than being abused by Chloé and is a worthwhile individual in her own right will not be addressed. Because StATuS QuO!

I just had a horrible thought that they’ll do the episode like--

Chloe treats Sabrina terribly like usual, Sabrina ditches Chloe and Chloe is miserable + takes it out on everyone else for it, then Chloe gets akumatized over it and Sabrina gets the dog (for “loyalty”), which leads to Sabrina going back to Chloe so that Chloe will direct the abuse more solely towards Sabrina because “she takes it out on others otherwise”/she’s “used to it”/”it’s her responsibility and this is the right thing to do.” This will also be presented as the “right choice” and Chloe and Sabrina’s relationship will basically not change for the sake of leaving Chloe the way she is.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Cat Noir is gonna throw a Syren-Sized fit if/when he finds out that Ladybug dares to have a support network through Alya (not a very GOOD support network, but one nonetheless).

Still waiting for the “lesson” where Ladybug is told she’s not allowed to have emotions/be vulnerable.

Oh wait, that’s the show.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir will angst and fish for sympathy points instead of apologizing for the 40th time in the series.

Every time.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Luka is gonna say that Adrien and Marinette are made for each other. This is the last appearance that he will make in the show (with exception to background/shipping fuel between him and somebody else w̶h̶o̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶e̶i̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶Z̶o̶è̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶K̶a̶g̶a̶m̶i̶).

Considering the ““““parellel”“““ episodes of “Truth” and “Lies,” I’m just ready for the same thing that happened with Kagami in “Mr. Pigeon 72.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Trixx plays pranks on Alya's family and is a little troll; he particularly loves teasing the twins, since any claims they might make about seeing a 'magical flying fox' will be passed  off as childish imaginings.  Alya blames Marinette for this more than she does Trixx.

Marineeeette, raise your “children” better!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will wind up spilling Ladybug's secret identity to Nino because 'she needs to talk to SOMEONE about this!' (and Mari CLEARLY doesn't count for anything) and trusts her boyfriend.

I would also imagine Alya going on about Marinette’s secret to Nino without explicitly telling him.

Also, this will be an episode in this season because Alya couldn’t even keep it in for ONE SEASON (”Animan” all over again).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug will be seriously injured during an akuma battle, with circumstances preventing them from winning the fight/repairing the damage with Miraculous Cure right away.  Adrien/Chat Noir attempts to exploit the situation to learn 'his lady's' secret identity.  The narrative REFUSES to call him out on this; it's entirely on Marinette to protect herself by hiding the truth despite her injuries.

Bonus because “Ladybug” seemed to imply that their almost invincible in their suits, though I imagine if they get hurt, it’ll be Chat Noir and used for angst (like in “Miraculer”).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will combine Miraculi more often to cut down on having to track down others all the time and put them in danger.  (And also because the merch guys want more stuff to base toys off of.)  She gets condemned for being a 'glory hound' and 'taught' that she needs to rely upon others more often, no matter what sort of risks that might entail (she'll get blamed for that anyway) or how they might let her down (again, always her fault).

Marinette: *tries not to burden others and instead does what the narrative has convinced her of; bearing the world’s weight alone until she breaks*

show: gOd, mArIneTtE--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir's tendency to screw around, flirt, and not read or work with his allies at all gets Rena Rouge, Vesperia or one of the other heroes hurt.  Naturally, this is played for Sadrien above all else -- if Ladybug or anyone else DARES to show any anger towards him for it, it's depicted as completely unjustified and unfair.  Bonus if the injured party insists that it's okay.

They neeeed Chat Noir to lighten the mood! He’s worth the risk!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: RLBS is kicked off by Marinette being utterly HUMILIATED by Adrien publicly rejecting her once he can't ignore her crush anymore, spurring her to give up on him 'for good'.  Adrien decides that he misses her chasing after him and starts pursuing her, with Alya and others encouraging her to accept his advances/telling her that she's crazy to reject him even after what he did.  Marinette's utter misery over the whole ordeal is treated as HILARIOUS.

It’s not like he mEaNt to embarrass you, Marinette!!!

Marinette didn’t meant to do a lot of things too but you don’t see the show giving her any slack.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir starts treating Alya/Rena Rouge with exactly as much 'respect' as he gives Ladybug -- which is to say, nothing but lip service paired with stunts like refusing to help unless she spills Ladybug's secrets.  Alya naturally blames Marinette for this.

I’m torn on whether he’d “””respect her””” as much as Ladybug or give her even more respect, probably on the premise that “Ladybug chose her,” and that somehow proves that Chat Noir is a good guy in all this (while, again, disrespecting/not trusting Ladybug/making his own decisions at every corner).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir attempts to charm Alya/Rena Rouge into sharing Ladybug's secrets with him, possibly making Nino jealous in the process.

*sees “Rocketear” trailer*

oh no...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get another 'Bad Future' episode centered on Sadrien; this time around, it features him losing the Ring, painting this popular plotline as a horrible idea because Adrien is Perfect and Never Does Anything Wrong, and should never be punished for his actions.  No matter how it happens, Marinette is blamed for it; bonus if somebody angrily tells her that SHE should have lost HER Miraculous instead.

Wouldn’t be surprised, but that would also mean making a new model of a cat hero.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that part of the reason Alix/Bunnix refuses to share any 'Spoilers' about how the future is 'meant to go' is because Marinette Suffers Incredibly in the process, and Alix knows that she'd try to find some other way... and assumes that she'd fail in the process.  This is treated as entirely valid and Marinette, if she learns that this is part why Bunnix won't tell her shit, has to accept that she's just doomed to be Fate's personal punching bag.  Sucks to be her!

It’s “meant to be.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette/Ladybug is told outright that she's a horrible person for not respecting Chat Noir's feelings for her.  Bonus points if it's Alya, citing Mari's crush on Adrien as proof that she should know how it feels to constantly fail at getting your crush's attention.  (Alternately, Adrien venting to her about how *unfair* it is that Ladybug's so cruel to her partner, unaware of the dramatic irony.)  Triple-7 Jackpot of Shit if this contributes to the RLBS becoming a thing.

UGGGGGH.

And of course Chat Noir wouldn’t get the same treament and it’ll be like, “WELL ADRIEN DOESN’T kNoW sO--”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Instead of Lila, Chloe is revealed to be the next holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. This shows Chloe as "irredeemable" while successfully writing Lila out of the show.

Meanwhile, the writers’ script is frantically scribbled on with red marker.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Reveal that post about Lila being future Hawkmoth was Red Herring (or in this case orange herring)

Dumb herring.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need a burrow;

By the end of the series, Gabriel will have a redemption arc to feel sympathy for him :o

guys he’s so sad don’t you see--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien's inability to choose between the 'love of his life' and the abusive shitbag excuse of a sire who'd just smacked him like a ping-pong ball foreshadows that he will ultimate choose Gabriel after learning that he's Hawk/Shadowmoth.  This will be entirely blamed on Marinette not being able to keep him by her side because 'she didn't love/cherish/appreciate him enough'!

After “Guiltrip” and the whole, “I don’t say this enough--” line, I’d buy it and now I’m sad.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The RLBS is kicked off by Chat Noir switching sides and joining Hawk/Shadowmoth.  Ladybug is forced to appeal to Chat's 'love' for her, with Alya, Tikki, and various other 'friends'/allies blaming her for his defection.  Meanwhile, Sadrien starts pursuing Marinette as an outlet for his mangst, 'unintentionally' making her more miserably conflicted in the process.

She rejected him and therefore he’s in his right to switch sides. She never even gave him a chance!!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien is a Sentimonster/was created by other Miraculous magic by the Agrestes, who desired a 'perfect/model son'.  This is used to further the narrative that his entitlement is actually a Good Thing: Adrien was not MEANT to have any wants/needs/desires of his own, but mysteriously developed them anyway.  Thus Marinette NEEDS to cater to his every whim because it's sO mIrAcUlOuS that he HAS them in the first place.  Hooray...?

His very EXISTENCE is MIRACULOUS, Marinette!!!

Also, Astruc will act like this was amazingly foreshadowed in “Ladybug” where Ladybug comments on Sentibug’s perfection.and with Astruc always called Adrien perfect (either on his own or through other characters).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Another Shocking Familial Connection is revealed: Felix is not Adrien's cousin, but Gabriel and Emilie's original son, whom they shunted off on her sister and replaced with the 'perfect' Adrien.  50-50 split on whether this is used to excuse all of Felix's shitty behavior or if he's demonized further -- 'See, THIS is why they replaced him!  ANYONE would choose the Perfect Adrien over someone like THAT!'

Why not both????

It’s like the Chloe-Zoe situation but male.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: After learning that Rena Rouge has become Ladybug's confidant, Chat Noir outright REFUSES to help at a critical moment, sneering about how 'you ladies CLEARLY don't need me'.  As with everything else, the blame for his latest stunt is laid neatly at Marinette's feet, because Adrien is never EVER responsible for his own actions.

They’ll probably blame Marinette because Ladybug “didn’t tell him right away.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Circumstances force Adrien to be Mr. Bug again (since they already have the models).  Much is milked from how HAAAAAAAARRRRD his temporary responsibilities are on him, and he reiterates afterwards how happy he is that he doesn't have to deal with that all the time.  No actual sympathy for Ladybug's situation is displayed, though stans treat it as such; what we're actually SHOWN is that Adrien only cares about the burden when HE'S the one stuck carrying it.

As per usual, no one cares about Marinette’s problems until it directly affects THEM, and then they’ll go back to not caring.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: With all of the other abusive behavior Adrien has shown towards Ladybug, it's only a matter of time before we get a 'Why did you make me hit you?' moment.  No akuma influence; just him physically lashing out at her because he's an entitled little shit upset over not getting his way, followed by the inevitable bleating about how bad HE feels and how he'll 'never do it again'.  Naturally, this is presented as though Marinette 'deserved it' and must accept his apology.

Show, don’t do this to me, I swear--

I’d be surprised if this did happen, but more because it’s like wow the lack of self-awareness is even worse than I thought.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get a Very Special Episode about sexual harassment... which not only refuses to acknowledge Adrien's behavior as such, but asserts that he would NEVER touch 'his lady' in any kind of inappropriate fashion.  Bonus: he harasses her in that very same episode to 'prove' that his behavior isn't inappropriate.

So “Felix” but worse...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: The reason why ML Writers made Zoe an actress is to justify why she managed to recognize that Lila is "Liar that lies" instantly after meeting her.

Waiting for the moment where Zoe talks to Marinette to address Marinette “acting like she’s not in love with Adrien.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Lila steals the Fox Pendant from Alya/does something that affects her *personally*.  Alya then reads Marinette the riot act, demanding to know "Why didn't you WARN ME about her?!"  (None of the times that she DID count because Alya dismissed them as her 'just being jealous', which is, of course, entirely Mari's fault.)  Bonus if we allude back to her claiming that 'good reporters do their research' and how she expected MARI to provide her her with proof of her claims.

Marinette: *thousand yard stare*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: When Lila is exposed, Marinette gets blamed for all the harm she caused with her various deceptions, since she tried to warn others and couldn't convince anyone of the truth.  Adrien 'taking the high road' is largely glossed over; if anyone finds out that HE knew too and never did anything to warn anyone, he's quickly forgiven for 'not knowing any better'.

See, Marinette, if you just hadn’t tRiEd--

And Adrien was just trying to “be nice to everyone equally” so he’s forgiven.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir outright admits that he dislikes Rena/the other heroes being around since they make him feel unnecessary.  This is treated as a perfectly reasonable and valid complaint rather than a slacker piss-moaning about being shown up by others making actual EFFORT.

*flashbacks to “You’re not trying to replace me with a turtle, are you?” after Carapace shows up LITERALLY ONCE*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get a retread of the NYC Special's Angstrian when he accidentally ('accidentally?') Cataclysms Rena/somebody else.  Bonus if the victim once again argues that THEIR experiences/trauma are FAR less important than his.  (Especially if it's Alya, Nino, Max... somebody who ALSO happens to be a character of color temporarily killed off to make the spoiled white rich brat feel sorry for himself.)

It’s an accident and also probably “Ladybug’s fault.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir skips an akuma attack/shows up late to find it was resolved without him, and mopes about how 'his lady doesn't need him anymore', requiring somebody else to massage his ego.  Bonus points if somebody (likely Ladybug) is demonized for getting annoyed at him for being late/a no-show, because HOW DARE they take defending Paris seriously?!

Well excuse us, Chat, next time we’ll just awkwardly stall for twenty minutes.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir will 'accidentally' Cataclysm one of the protective Charms so that its holder can be akumatized again.  Bonus if he does this to Alya/one of the other heroes.

Probably Chloe.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The protective charms are ultimately rendered effectively pointless when Adrien switches sides and starts using his powers to destroy them.  Naturally, Marinette is held completely responsible for his actions, because God FORBID he ever be called to account for himself.  Not when his 'partner' is around to absorb all the blame.

You didn’t make him feel loVeD, Marinette.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien pulls a Chloe with his own attempt at engineered heroics, putting the lives of others on the line to 'prove his value'.  Ladybug is completely blamed for the stunt; bonus if someone accuses her of 'not learning anything' from what happened with Chloe.

Hate it. Hate it a lot.

We already got him trying to cause/hoping for akuma, so this isn’t too far off.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gives Zoe better advice for dealing with her bullies.  His policy for handling Chloe and Lila remains the same as ever.  (In other words, only Marinette has to 'be the better person' and keep suffering at the hands of her abusers, since it maintains his preferred status quo.  But it's no skin off his nose if Zoe's situation changes/improves.)

I also imagine that Adrien would give this advice without Marinette onscreen, so Adrien won’t be called out on it.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Alya will reveal Marinette’s identity to someone (possibly Nino) and the show will then punish Marinette for trusting Alya in the first place. Bonus point if the show then says she should have trusted Adrien/Chat Noir because he would never have betrayed her trust.

I’m just remembering the fandom’s complaints and wow I hate it.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Ladybug Miraculous basically change into Poor man's version of Green Lantern's Ring

*stares at the phone in “Optigami” that somehow picks up on the kwamis’ voices* hm

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Marinette will look through the future and see one where she and Luka get together, except it’s portrayed as bad and abusive, more so if he knows her secret identity, and the only way for her to escape it is by getting with Chat Noir(and not...you know, anybody else. Or being single. Or MAKING THE RELATIONSHIP WORK!!!). Chat Noir sees it too, and gloat about in her face, since it proved that they were “meant for each other, m’lady!” Bonus points if someone calls Thomas Ass Truck out on this shit, and he either replies that it was the best thing to do, claims it doesn’t matter how Lukanette is treated/the love square ends up together because they’re “made for each other” anyway, or even tries to pass it off as “girl power”, because how could we let the female lead get with the respe—oops, I mean abusive guy over the one who treats her te—oops, I mean respectfully and like a “gentleman” would?! And then he’ll follow up by blocking them for daring to question the Ridiculous Relationship Rhombus and respect the “non-endgame” ship. Even wor—oops! I mean, better, if love square shippers use this opportunity to gloat about how “I always knew Adrien and Marinette(notice how they always place his name first?!) were perfect for each other, Luka wasn’t good enough for Marinette, take that, Lukanette shippers!” declaring it “anti-salt”.

bfgkdjfgdfg god

Also, the only problem with this idea is that it would mean making an adult model for Luka.

Bonus if another “disadvantage” to Marinette dating Luka is that Luka isn’t high class.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be told outright to 'Get over yourself' and stop bringing up valid complaints about Chat Noir's shitty behavior, as the series becomes increasingly overt with its subtext about how one of Marinette's Biggest Mistakes is having STANDARDS.

Ignoring that Luka exists, of course, and if it’s mentioned that Luka exists then cue, “OH BUT SHE DOESN’T AAAACTUALLY LOVE LUKA.”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow: SentiWiFi (Lady WiFi Sentimonster)

SentiEveryone at this point...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Nino is again robbed of screentime by Sentimonster based on him.

*sees “Sentibubbler” title and trailer*

Did--did you predict the future??

...I mean, we’ve been doing that the whole time, but damn.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will continue shoving Marinette towards Adrien, then mockingly ask 'Didn't you want to give romance a break?' or something along those lines.  Showing that not only is she fully aware of Marinette's wishes and doesn't give a damn, but implicitly blaming Marinette for her inability to stick to them, despite how SHE is the one forcing the issue.

“We all know that you WANT HIM, Marinette! Stop denying yourself!!!”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: When Marinette gets a spot of hope regarding her relationship woes, Alya leaps in to take all the credit for the apparent success.  Once the light turns out to be an incoming Drama Train that blindsides Marinette and leaves her humiliated and heartbroken, Alya insists that it's entirely MARI's fault that things went off the rails.

Waiting for a line from Alya about how she’s doing everything right and Marinette must be really hopeless if Alya’s schemes aren’t working...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya and Nino will get into a bit of Relationship Drama in order to further reinforce the series' double standards.  (Such as 'It's OK for boys to lie, but girls shouldn't have any secrets.'  Or 'Boys can hold grudges, but girls must forgive every trespass.'  Or 'Girls shouldn't told boys to impossible standards like expecting to be treated with basic human decency.')  Bonus points if Marinette gets blamed for it.

Yup.

Yup.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The subtext about Marinette not deserving a GOOD love interest is further emphasized by Kagami and Luka getting together.  Kagami comments on how she can trust Luka not to lie to her; this is the closest she gets to explaining to Marinette WHY she broke things off with Adrien in the first place.  After all, it doesn't matter if Adrien lies to Marinette; they're 'meant for each other'.

I’m still not over Kagami saying that the guy who lied to her is “made for” her only friend????

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe learns a valuable lesson about the importance of Being Herself with Luka's help, teasing the idea of the two of them getting together.

“Bonus” for Marinette saying that Zoe and Luka are made for each other.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir deliberately strings Vesperia along in a ploy to make Ladybug jealous.  Zoe is naturally heartbroken when she learns the truth.  Her pain is blamed entirely on Marinette, since Adrien can NEVER be held accountable for his own actions.

Ladybug, you should’ve seen this coming!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow (kinda?), Astruc apparently is aware that his perfect Adrien is flawed as Chat Noir (he said so on twitter), and I fear that if anyone ever asks him why the two sides of Adrien so different, he'll reveal that the cat miraculous changes the holder's personality or some shit, which will cause "Anti Adrien Salt" to explode, screaming "the salter's claims aren't valid anymore, it's not Adrien's fault, it's the miraculous!!!1!!111!!!!¡¡!¡¡¡!!!"

I feel like he denied that back when he still had a Tumblr but gosh I’m just waiting for it to be confirmed because FANON THEORIES.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gets a taste of what Marinette goes through constantly when he/Chat Noir suffers a bit of minor humiliation over his crush.  His pain and angst over this is played DEAD SERIOUS, treated as though he's suffering through the WORST THING EVER even though whatever happened pales in comparison to what Marinette has endured.  Anyone who dares so much as chuckle at what happened is villainized, since only a MONSTER would find his suffering funny.

I’m seething.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Return of Sentibug (for fanservice)

Bonus if they kill her off again. Something something “only one Ladybug” something.

neyla9 asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: So if Zoe gets sent to a new boarding school after being in Paris for a few months (there is a chance the writers will just completely ignore that this was established in Sole Crusher, in which case this probably won't happen), I predict that Zoe was brought in specifically to redeem Chloe, rubbing it in Marinette's face that she failed at redeeming Chloe, and force Marinette to give Chloe the bee miraculous back

Most likely. Apparently needed to bring someone else in to make Marinette feel worse.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien abandons/ditches his responsibilities as a hero because he's too busy sulking over his ego being bruised by some slight (real or imagined).  Marinette is naturally blamed for this.

Oh, of course!

Marinette probably had to be late for patrol so he was intentionally late for something, and then was like well you did it to me, so--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will get another tiresome 'Will she or won't she be redeemed?' arc, only to backstab/betray everyone again.  Astruc will preen and croon on social media about how gullible anyone that thinks she could ever be redeemable is.  Bonus points if Chloe's damning act that proves she's unsalvageable is something ADRIEN has done.

Meanwhile, Nino is back here absolutely collecting DUST!!!

I guess you gotta be a horrible person/make Marinette suffer to get screen time.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will discover Vesperia's secret identity and steal the Bee Miraculous, then spitefully out Zoe so that SHE can't be a heroine anymore.

Marinette is running out of teens at this point but finding new ones would mean more models.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe is used to teach Marinette that she's too harsh on others for lying, and should accept that they can be dishonest sometimes.  (Especially Adrien.)  As a natural follow-up, Marinette is blamed/punished for falling for a friend's lies -- because CLEARLY it's not Alya/Adrien/anyone else's fault if she believes their bullshit!

No one’s perfect, Marinette! People are human!!

...Except you, of course.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Despite the incident with SentiNino, Shadow Moth will *successfully* obtain a miraculous by using the same trick.  Bonus points if it's Marinette/Ladybug who falls for it... though really, she'll be blamed regardless.

Double bonus if she doesn’t fall for it but it still goes through.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: The 'Shocking Twist' of Adrien/Chat Noir betraying Team Miraculous and joining his father will be presented as though it's entirely Marinette/Ladybug's fault, with Adrien acting as though he Had No Choice and angsting about being 'forced' to betray his lady and friends.  The series never acknowledges how self-serving his motives actually are, and any call-outs he gets are treated as Wrong and Awful and Blaming Poor Innocent Victim Adrien.

“hE’s jUsT tRyinG tO sAvE hIs mOm”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: 'Borrowing' from many a Salt Fic, Marinette will thank her for 'proving who my *real* friends are'.  This entails giving Adrien, Alya and possibly others credit for always standing by her, believing in her, and various other things that they never actually did.

I’m presuming “her” means “everyone”/”the girl squad” and yup.

Better tell than show I guess.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be retconned into having 'never believed anything Lila said'.  Or at least, she will CLAIM that she never believed her.

I WILL BE SO UPSET

Also prepared for them to handwave it, like, “oh whatever, now I’m helping you since I know so it’s all good!”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow: Similarities between Luka and Zoe were only red herring. Zoe will become Kagami's new love interest (and Kagami and Zoe's dynamic will be suspiciously similar do Fanon!Marigami)

But that would imply they care enough about LGBT rep.

Though they could always pull a Voltron and slip it in at the very end.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will suffer the toll/backlash from using multiple Miraculi ONLY for the sake of making that her Latest Mistake. Her past successes are only acknowledged as a way of painting her as arrogant for assuming she could continue doing so safely.

She’ll probably be yelled at and told not to “keep doing everything herself” even though that’s what the narrative keeps telling her to do.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien discovers his father's secret identity and hides it... and this is painted as an act of incredible self-sacrifice rather than selfishness.  Rather than treating it as a betrayal of Ladybug/Team Miraculous, the series focuses on his angst and 'inner struggle', pretending there's something heroic about him refusing to expose Hawkmoth and potentially put an end to his terrorizing Paris.

:|

Deep breaths, Clarity.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Alya will get to keep her boyfriend despite her being involved with the miraculous box n stuff, unlike Marinette. Why, you ask? Easy, the bond between Luka and Mari just isn't sTrOnG eNoUgH for them to last through difficult times, like Alya and Nino do so easily.

Ignoring that Marinette and Luka only just got together and also that Marinette has it WAY different than Alya.

But no I guess. Adrien and Marinette are “made for each other” so gotta discredit Lukanette whenever. Marinette isn’t allowed to be happy, we know.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: The one time Marinette gets a break from akumas and her responsibilities all hell breaks loose and the lesson for that episode will be that Marinette and Marinette alone must carry the burden of being Ladybug and Guardian.

Marinette: *gets five minutes of sleep*

Paris: *catches on fire*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow (Can I do two at once?): "Crocoduel" will not acknowledge the Lukanette breakup at all, and the titular Akuma will just be Guitar Villain and Captain Hardrock again.

(You’re allowed two, absolutely!)

I’d like to add as well that, even if they do acknowledge the Lukanette breakup, Marinette will talk to Luka about it but then be like, “I’m not focusing on love right now and I’m too busy so I’m sorry for everything that happened,” even as everyone keeps pushing for the love square.

[mashbits]

i have many feelings and probably unpopular opinions/views on the bee duo-las nevadas conflict today so here we go, all characters mentions are c! only!

(mostly c!tubbo analysis i’m sorry)

while yes, quackity has every right to be suspicious of the outpost especially when it really was designed to spy on his country, tubbo also has every right to build there. because quackity never specified he was going to expand on that land. more so, tubbo had every right to be suspicious of las nevadas and want to see what’s going on, because he himself knows just how incredibly dangerous new things on the smp can be.

tubbo obviously wants to trust quackity and believe there’s nothing sketchy going on in las nevada’s, but there’s so much history between them that’s left some serious, albeit unnoticeable, tension against quackity (and most of the server)

he himself said that it was quackity who took part in tubbo’s execution. while many tend to just blame schlatt and techno, most people forget that quackity had so much to do with it as well. while yes, tubbo has forgiven him, who’s to say tubbo isn’t still effected by it. we all know how horrible he is when it comes to expression his emotions/trauma, and his nonchalant attitude towards his own life may come into effect as well.

as well as, while tubbo was president, it was quackity who took charge and bossed tubbo around the most. HE spoke over tubbo, and HE was the one comparing him to schlatt, their shared tormentor during the manburg arc. quackity had to have known how much that would hurt. quackity also suggested execution ranboo just before doomsday, an example of how he had no problem executing tubbo before. quackity is known to manipulate tubbo and put words into his mouth, with how much “i trust you, BUT (insert negative)” quackity threw. quackity also tried to leave l’manburg on doomsday, which obviously hurt tubbo even if he did come back. tubbo standing up to quackity when he felt entirely justified building onto an apparently unclaimed piece of land wasn’t tubbo having any negative intentions or violent thoughts, it was only a teenager who was tired of being bullied and walked all over.

tubbo has every right to be afraid of what quackity in las nevada’s could do. building a spy outpost and calling it a cookie stand is how tubbo, who’s known to go to the extremes when feeling threatened, is entirely justified. because tubbo is afraid of his own projects getting griefed, as demonstrated in the past, him making the outpost so secure is, in tubbo’s traumatized mind, entirely justified. and i agree.

quackity is in his every right to be suspicious and untrusting with the outpost, but he is in no way innocent of tricking people himself. tubbo’s river compromise was completely reasonable.

as well as, i truly believe if quackity had tried talking to the bee duo before instantly starting to build a wall against the other wall, the conflict wouldn’t have been to negative. tubbo felt threatened by the immediate distrust and assumption that they were out to harm las nevadas, when he just wanted to keep an eye out and stay close to people he’s afraid of, to avoid someone else getting hurt. quackity feeling threatened by a supposed cookie store in territory he didn’t officially claim, where the wall wasn’t even being built directly towards las nevadas, felt a bit too extreme.

also, the way quackity would say things like “i’ll ALLOW you to keep the farm” “if you’d asked permission first” and bringing up so much politics, law and terms felt like an adult undermining a child, like he didn’t actually respect tubbo as a person. i’ve noticed a pattern of certain adults treating the minors of the smp as adults who should take the blame for problems that aren’t even their own and then treating them like clueless kids who don’t know what they’re talking about when it’s convenient for them. quackity during tubbo’s presidency, while treating him like a child, put all of the pressure and decisions on him instead of owning up to his own issues. quackity just doesn’t sit right with me, he and wilbur both being extreme manipulators and picking/choosing when they want to treat one of the kids with respect feels incredibly shitty. ALSO also, the fact that quackity kept bringing up jack manifold and associating all of his actions to tubbo also feels very uncomfortable. judging a person by association is toxic and biased, especially since quackity only believed jack manifold to live in snowchester- a place that has been, and tubbo has made this very clear, somewhere that people can go to relax and live peacefully, and conflict-free. tubbo let’s anyone build and reside in snowchester not for money or profit or power, but because he knows there are people on the server who’re tired of feeling threatened. tubbo is in no way responsible for the actions of others associated with him or his home. quackity really liked forgetting that foolish and puffy lived there as well, both of which he trusts (or manipulated into joining las nevadas, moreso foolish, as i’m not too sure where puffy lies).

speaking of foolish, i am :D not okay :D bc i love foolish, he’s my sweet shark god but with how carefree he was about giving away all of snowchester secrets to quackity when tubbo clearly trusted him and welcomed him with open/warm arms, it hurted :’D if quackity finds out about michael because of foolish, and in turn something happens to michael, i will lose it-

i’m not entirely sure what quackity is planning with las nevadas, especially since he’s trying revive schlatt as well, but it isn’t anything good. tubbo has every right to be suspicious. quackity obviously believed that he would be able to take over the conversation and sound like he was in the right/being fair the entire time, and speak over tubbo like always. he tried to as well, and tried to put words into tubbo’s mouth yet again. for someone who’s so obsessed with not repeating history, he definitely loves to let it control him. i’m proud of tubbo for standing his ground.

people assume history will repeat itself, but it only will if you let it take over. quackity wanting las nevadas to not see the fate of l’manburg is going to be its downfall, because quackity didn’t actually learn from history. he’s letting it control him.

[ironmandeficiency]

that’s not how those work

pairing: fives / reader

word count: 4124

summary: you’re a witch on an outer-rim planet that gifts fives with protection crystals to keep him safe when he leaves. you forgot to tell him how protection crystals work.

warnings: implied smut, shenanigans

a/n: shitpost prompt # 13, everyone!! i’m extremely excited to write this one bc i can’t get over the idea of just chucking a big ass hunk of rose quartz at a problem and making it just, ya know, stop being a problem. this quickly became a favorite of mine and i hope y’all enjoy my first attempt at writing for fives.

the battle was rough, as all battles seemed to be, but tonight the sweet taste of victory permeated through your village. the chief opened your home to your saviors, the men with almost identical faces, and dared their jedi to tell them no when a celebration was set to be held in their honor.

there was drinking and singing and dancing unlike anything you’d ever seen, every sensation only intensified by the mirth of the soldiers. it thrummed deep in your veins and set itself to the drumming of your heartbeat. you were never going to feel this euphoria again, so you believed it highly justified that your eyes lingered on the trooper that had saved you from a blaster shot to the chest earlier that day.

you’d met him while the defense strategies were still being planned, the day the republic forces arrived. his smile blazed hotter than the sun that burned the skin of the men in the harvest fields. he had eyes that were rich and held life like the fertile soil your people grew your food in. and his laugh? you’d never heard any song as sweet.

thoughts of him have had you enraptured since day one. he told you his name was fives, pointing to the number etched onto his golden skin with a smile, and the rest was history. every waking moment that wasn’t spent with everyday responsibilities was spent with each other. you swapped stories about your families and when he shared details of his dashing exploits as a soldier, you told him of the spells you cast and their sometimes ridiculous outcomes.

magic was never a circus trick to you. you took it seriously and it gave you a sense of pride as the strongest in the village. but the way his eyes gleamed with such joy at the idea of seeing real magic, how could you say no? so you found an unsuspecting newt and changed the pattern of its spots. the grin on fives’s face while you arranged them into a five to match his temple was one you’d never forget.

these memories and more were floating through your mind as you approached where he sat by one of the many bonfires built to accommodate for the several hundred guests. he was chatting with his brothers but the moment he spotted you, he forgot what he was supposed to be saying.

you had to have him under a spell, he reasoned. there was no way just looking at someone would take his words from him that efficiently, but alas. he paused halfway through his story and now had two pairs of eyes looking over him worriedly.

they followed his line of sight and their worry dissipated as quickly as it appeared. it was just you, the woman he was just talking about, the woman he hasn’t quit talking about since the first day they set foot on your planet. jesse and kix hadn’t met you in the tenday that the five-oh-first has been stationed in your home but they might as well have known you forever with the way fives has been rambling on about you.

jesse wordlessly shoves fives off the log he was sitting on and barely hides the laugh when he sees you grin at the action. fives, on any other day, would have smacked his brother upside the head for a stunt like that. the only thing that saved jesse from his fate was the way you smiled at him and offered him your hand to help him up.

he took it gratefully and relished in the electricity that buzzed through him where your skin touched his. you began to walk with him, looping your arm through his so casually it was like you’d been doing this for decades instead of days. fives had no idea where you were leading him but he would have followed you anywhere.

the walk was comfortably silent. days had been spent pouring out stories; it was nice to just bask in his presence next to you without needing to fill it with tales of derring-do and fond memories of the dirt you walked in.

arriving at your home was a bit of a rush, if you were completely honest with yourself. normally the only reason people walked through your doors was to enlist your skills for one task or another, some menial and others dire. now, however, opening your front door felt so excitingly different with fives next to you, the starlight bouncing off him in a way that only served to deepen his eyes and smooth his skin. this visitor wasn’t here to ask something of you, not here to take from you; he was here to give, and you were going to give him everything you had in return.

the door was barely shut when your lips crashed to his and his hands found their rightful place on your hips, pulling you closer to him. he was floating away on a cloud of bliss; the fact he was in your home and holding you and being held by you had the arc trooper drifting far from reality. a soft gasp left his mouth as you worked to remove his armor without lifting a finger from where your hands cupped his face, thumb stroking the stubble of his face.

it wasn’t until you guided him to your bed that he spoke of the way you soothed him, the way you’d been able to chase the nightmares away without even trying. you offered your own confessions in return, admitting that your dreams have consisted of brown eyes and a sly grin ever since that first night, and that you’ve never met anyone as strong and loyal and comforting.

you both found solace in each other’s arms, in the way your bodies melded together with the familiarity of your own mind. there were no barriers between you and no definite point as to where the boundaries of your separate bodies were. it was nothing like you’d ever known, would never know again. love was what it was, and although it was doomed to be distant from the moment you licked eyes, you vowed to yourself as you chanted his name that you would do everything you could to protect your soldier.

when you awoke, fives had an arm wrapped around your waist, his face buried into your neck. his body was hot against yours and you would have been happy never leaving your bed if it meant that you’d get to be held like this forever. but there was work to be done if you wanted to keep him safe.

“fives,” you whispered, rolling to face him. his groan was almost adorable as he nuzzled his face into your neck in protest of your movement. “fives, i’ve got a gift for you but i have to get up to get it.” another groan emitted from his throat as he tightened his arms around you, mumbling something incoherent about not wanting you to leave.

unwrapping him from you by sheer force wouldn’t have any effect on him, and you weren’t one to use your magic so frivolously, so you relented and let him hold you for a while longer. nearly an hour had passed before he kissed your collarbone, leaving the bed on his own volition. you took advantage of his absence and walked to your altar.

precious stones were one of the most common ways for your people to show their feelings and intentions with one another. each stone carried a different meaning, and picking a stone based on color alone could get one into quite the sticky situation if they didn’t know the intentions behind it.

fives’s status as an arc trooper meant that he often found himself in the thickest areas of the fight, on the riskiest missions with the minimum amount of backup. this man needed protection, and lots of it, if you were to judge by the scars you memorized the night before. he did what needed to be done in a fight at risk of his own life and constantly had to make decisions that could cost lives if they were wrong.

his role required an unshakable confidence and although you didn’t doubt his skills for a second, a little help wouldn’t hurt. plus it would make you feel better, knowing that he carried pieces of you wherever he traveled in the galaxy.

he returned to the room just as you picked out the stones he needed, walking up to you and resting his chin on your shoulder. only a fool would think he wasn’t observing everything around him and analyzing it; the soft smile on your face as you leaned into his touch, the meticulous arrangement of the altar in front of him, the concentration on your face as you seemed to be moving the stones around to compensate for some being removed. there was a reason behind it, just as there was a reason for everything you did.

his answer was given moments later as you led him back to your bed. the first thought that went through his head was continuing from last night, but you mentioned a gift. were you giving him a stone from your personal collection?

you told him of the significance of gifting stones not long after you met him. being given a stone directly from someone’s altar was one of the strongest displays of care for another person. all the signs pointed to that being what you meant by “gift” but part of him was trying to keep from being hopeful.

moving your legs to sit criss-cross on the bed, you open your hands that contained three stones that you believed were best suited to protect fives once he left the safety of your bed. his eyes met yours in a silent question of you think i’m worthy of this gift? and it took considerable amounts of willpower to not show him how worthy he was right then and there, gift be damned.

“i know you’ll be leaving soon, and i know it’s selfish but i don’t want you to forget me during your travels. these will help keep you safe and guide you in making the best decisions you can.”

his hands wrap around the amethyst tower first, running his fingers along the smooth faces and absurdly sharp edges and point. he spends a moment admiring it before meeting your eyes, a question on his lips. “you said before that the meanings of the stones were just as important as who you give them to. what does this one mean?”

you smiled, knowing he’d remember the importance of your words despite the casual tone you used. “amethyst is known for its ability to protect against negative energies and awaken its owner’s higher consciousness. it can guide you into making wiser decisions without having your emotions overtake logic.”

he hums at that, inspecting the tower a bit more before carefully resting it on your bedside table. his eyes catch the swirls of the malachite and you notice, moving to hand it to him as you answer the question you know is waiting on the tip of his tongue.

“this is malachite. it’s widely seen providing protective luck, like keeping you from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. maker knows you need some of that.” you add the last bit as an afterthought and are thoroughly pleased at the laugh it brings from him. he follows the swirls and circle patterns as he turns the stone over in his hand, studying it to learn of the ways each part of it connects to each other. once he’s satisfied with his inspection, he sets it beside the amethyst.

“this last one is carnelian, the courage stone. it boosts the holder’s willpower. many say that it helps the holder trust their own judgement and find the confidence to do what’s right in the toughest situations.”

he doesn’t move for a long moment, which worries you. the stone is sitting in his palm and staring at him with unseen eyes.

fives can’t recall a time where he felt so cared for, so appreciated. it was clear that you had put extensive thought into the meanings, which didn’t surprise him in the least, but he was still trying to register that you did that for him. sitting there in front of him, that soft smile on your face that had him falling at your feet, it was clear that you expected nothing in return for your gift. but he still felt that he had to give something in return, to show you that he cared for you the same way you cared for him.

he left your bed speckled in lovebites and a vambrace lighter, but he was given so much more in exchange. he had your love and your protection, and that was enough for him.

weeks later he finds himself, alongside rex, jesse, and hardcase, captured by a separatist-aligned village. none of them could have told you how exactly they were captured so easily nor how they still weren’t free after three days.

they heard talk from their captors about a message sent to one of dooku’s goonies about having skywalker’s fist begging for mercy (a whole ass lie, rex hasn’t said a word to them since they were taken three days prior). soon these overheard tidbits involved a date of arrival for the people who would take them off the planet they were currently stationed on.

all four of them knew that if they left this planet, there was a large chance they wouldn’t be reuniting with the five-oh-first.

this was unacceptable and made fives desperate to break free. but how the hell was he supposed to do that?! he didn’t have anything that could cut through the ropes that bound him to his chair, and his ankles were tied to the legs of the chair so he couldn’t move his legs. the edges of his armor, if positioned in a certain manner and moved, possibly could have done something to help but it was in a convenient pile several feet away.

he shifts yet again, agitating the rope burn on his wrists from days of struggling, and hisses when he feels something pointy jab him in the thigh. in an unforeseen twist of fate, they had left his belt on. and attached to his belt was the leather pouch he kept his protection stones in.

he had an idea.

slowly but surely, he moved his fingers what little he could to grab at his kama and rotate his belt until his fingers met the leather pouch. he blindly untied the knot in the string keeping it closed and felt around for the amethyst tower.

“fives! what the kriff are you doing playin’ with your rocks?!”

“i’m gettin’ us outta here.”

twirling it in his fingers and hoping to the maker he doesn’t drop it, he begins to use the amethyst to saw through the rope. it’s long work and takes several minutes before the rope is thin enough for him to pull it apart from his wrists. it hurts like a bitch and he’s mildly concerned when he feels a damp spot in the rope. a sigh of relief escapes his lips when he regains movement in his arms, quickly bending down to free his legs and ankles.

“well kriff me with a z-6, it actually worked!”

“couldn’t you have thought about that, i don’t know, three days ago?!”

“knock it off jess, or i’ll leave your shebs here!” fives wasn’t going to leave him, everyone knew that, so the retort was taken with merely an eyeroll.

as the quartet gathered their armor and snuck out of the village, fives realized something: these protection crystals weren’t playing around.

a simple bout of surveillance, they said. they’re not going to have anyone posted at their “abandoned” outpost, they said. it’ll be in and out, they said.

they were a bunch of liars.

he was now -alongside echo and tup- running for his life through the most horribly laid-out building he’d ever been in with only vague recollections on how to get out through the darkness. the enemy voices seemed to be getting louder the farther they ran and it was infuriating. his lungs and legs told him that he was going his damndest but it still seemed like the enemy was getting the upper hand.

“the doors should be up ahead! but there’s one problem!” echo shouted over the chaos.

tup couldn’t believe his ears. “what could possibly be worse than this?!”

“even if we get to the doors, we’ll be shot before we can even open them!”

fives nodded in agreement as much as he could while in a mad sprint. that tiny detail did put a slight damper on their chances of escaping alive. but then again, echo was operating on the assumption that they had to stop to open the doors like a civilized person would. lucky for the three of them, fives could barely be considered civilized on his best days.

he brought a hand to his leather pouch and fished around for the malachite chunk with its intricate patterns and curious shape.

“what in the nine hells are you doing?! do you want to die here?!” tup shouted from beside him in frantic confusion. this was no time for fives to ogle his rock collection, they had to get out of here!

“echo! how far are we from the doors?!”

“a few hundred feet!”

“when we’re fifty feet out, turn on your lamp! i’ve got an idea!”

“this better not get us killed!”

fives would have turned on his own ages ago, but his had unfortunately been damaged on the way to the outpost (he tripped and hit his head on the trunk of one of the weirdest trees he’d ever seen, but if anyone asks he got punched). his feet pounded on the ground to the beat of his racing heart, hand loaded with what was about to be his and his brother’s saving grace.

his eyes were peeled, waiting for the moment echo’s headlamp flickered on and illuminated the doorway to the outside world. it felt like forever in those brief moments, but the moment the light flickered on it was like only seconds earlier he had fumbled for the stone.

it was divine intervention, or maybe it was the protective luck of the green stone he held in his hand. hell, it could have been some sort of protection you had put on him and the stone without him knowing. when he spotted the button that would guarantee his brothers’ safety and lobbed his malachite chunk at it, there was still part of him that doubted it would work.

but he heard a satisfying clink and a clatter, then saw the beginnings of a sunrise peek through the opening doors. echo nor tup could believe what just happened despite it happening right in front of his eyes. the sight of freedom, the closest to a guarantee for another day they’d had in hours, seemed to increase their already breakneck pace.

fives had no idea how it happened, but by some sheer force of luck (thanks malachite) he ended up kicking his stone ahead of them when they ran outside. gods he would have mourned his malachite if he had left it behind, but thankfully he didn’t have to. with the grace his training had blessed him with, he swooped down with one hand and snatched the stone from the ground without breaking his pace.

they didn’t stop running until they were on the outskirts of where they had set up camp, the trio collapsing to their knees when they heard familiar voices calling out their arrival. there was no telling how much longer they could have sprinted from that base high off the adrenaline of near death and awed disbelief, but the moment they felt the hands of brothers lifting them from the ground they were out like lights.

the first thing he registered was the near blinding pain in nearly every muscle of his body. everything was throbbing and tense, and oh how he could use a massage right about now. the second thing he noticed was the absence of his malachite in his fist. did he imagine picking it back up after opening the doors? was he going to have to explain to you how he lost one of your gifts the next time he saw you? he couldn’t think over an incessant beeping he couldn’t identify and-

“fives?... fives! hey, you’re okay, vod.” kix’s voice and comforting hand were soon bringing him back down.

“my malachite! where is it?!”

kix gave him a funny look about the fact the first thing he asks about is a rock, but obliges his brother’s question. “if you’re talking about the green one, it’s right here. looks like it got a little chip in it, though.” the relief on fives’s face perplexed the medic who was unsure as to how he would have chipped it in the first place when he was supposed to be in the middle of an op. he handed the rock to fives who familiarized himself once again with the shape of it, as if it were an old friend he was reuniting with after lost time.

“speaking of, what even happened out there? the last thing we hear from you is that the outpost was flooded with enemy forces, then next thing we know you’re all sprinting like mad men!”

“he’s a karking genius, that’s what!”

echo’s awake now and apparently cursing? as if that’s a thing he does regularly? and calling fives a genius? who was this man and what did he do with his batchmate?

without anyone egging him on, echo continues. “we’re runnin’ for our lives through th’ base, in near complete darkness, and i don’t think we’re gonna get out alive! we can’t get to the doors an’ stoppin’ to open ‘em would have gotten at least one of us shot, but then this bastard! this complete and utter bastard decides to throw one’a his rocks from his girlfriend at the button! and it works! the doors opened and we didn’t stop runnin’ till we got here!”

fives looked between kix and echo and back at kix again. “what kind of drugs did you give him?” kix’s reply was teetering between amusement and mild concern. “none, but i think he’ll be fine after some more sleep and food.”

“what’s this i hear about fives being a bastard?”

kix laughs at rex’s jab before moving to check on others that were in the medbay, knowing that he was subtly hinting that he wanted to speak to fives about the mission.

“just talked to tup,” rex began, taking a seat at the foot of fives’s cot. “he said that you wouldn’t have gotten out if it weren’t for your quick thinking but clocked out before i could get much more.”

fives chuckled at the image of tup falling asleep mid-sentence for a moment before rex continued. “based on what little he said, there was no way you were getting out of there. how did you do it?”

as he heard the story, rex was awed. this kind of thinking, the seat-of-your-pants strategies that saved the day when least expected to, it was exactly why he promoted him to arc trooper. he couldn’t help but feel a little proud. there was just one more question that’s been nagging at him since they were taken prisoner by the seppie civilians, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “what’s your deal with rocks these days?”

the grin that overtook the arc’s face was that of a lovesick loth-wolf pup.“i was given these protection crystals by a witch.” oh yes, fives’s cyare. rex remembers her well. “she didn’t tell me how to use them, but i seem to be getting the hang of it.”

before rex could give a reply, a loud bark of laughter was heard across the medbay.

“ey, what’s so funny?!”

“the way you’ve been using those crystals! that’s not how they work!” kix was now doubled over, holding his sides as if they were literally splitting. “oh stars, this shit’s priceless!”

“hey, kark it, asshole! it worked!” fives, in a brilliant moment of stupidity, decided to throw his malachite at the hysterical medic.

“oh, kriff! what was that for?!”

fives sat up and chuckled, whispering a humorous it worked! before kix was storming back to him, malachite in hand. oh shit, he was going to regret hitting kix with his rock later today, he just knew it.

[wormsound]

THOUGHTS ON NIE MINGJUE

HHHHHHHH OKAY NIE MINGJUE I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS ON NIE MINGJUE! most of them are just I LOVE HIM and he deserved BETTER and the rest of them is just kind of incoherent screaming in my brain BUT I shall try 2 make words out of them

OKAY SO tbh I don’t know when my brain decided to get on the love for da-ge train but it did and oh boy it’s not getting off any time soon. I think I watched fatal journey and vaguely considered nielan for A Bit Too Long one time and now I’m just kinda stuck here. 

I honestly didn’t really give Nie Mingjue that much thought at all until I watched fatal journey and then the thoughts came through with reckless abandon. in fatal journey you certainly see NMJ in a very different light compared to what you see in CQL. you see his raw emotion and his thought process, his tactics as a leader and first and foremost you see how he functions as an elder brother. BUT this is bearing in mind all of this is while he is heavily under the influence of Jin Guangyao’s version of the song of clarity. you see much more of how much JGY’s remix is actually changing him and how different he has become in comparison to the Nie Mingjue you see in the earlier episodes of CQL. it is much clearer that it wasn’t just enhancing the resentment of the sword spirit within him. it was enhancing every little feeling and emotion tenfold.

you see this probably the most clearly with the different way he interacts with Nie Huaisang from the start of CQL to the start of fatal journey. when you’re first introduced to NMJ in CQL you see that he is annoyed and frustrated at NHS when he finally returns from galivanting around with WWX, yet it is no more than a sharp look and a sigh, mostly coming from the worry that NHS didn’t come straight home when he said he would. when Nie Huaisang’s actions frustrate him again at the start of fatal journey (when under the influence of the JGY remix) he lashes out at NHS so much that he nearly physically hurts him. of course, he never does because he cares for him so much and not matter how much the song of clarity enhances his rage and frustration, it also enhances how much he would never want to hurt his little brother and its why he never does, because he can’t. when he’s almost completely taken over by it and kills Zonghui and the rest of the disciples, he can’t hurt Huaisang. and even when he is dying he can still fight through it when he sees his little brother. 

NMJ is fiercely protective of his loved ones and his little brother is clearly at the top of that list. I’m pretty sure that his overprotectiveness - particularly for Nie Huaisang - stemmed from his father’s death. when his father received a severe injury from taking NMJ on a night hunt and later died as a result, it left Nie Mingjue - only a teenager – with the responsibility to step up as sect leader, to raise his little brother and to carry the burden of the soul spirit and the curse of the Nie sect. all this as well is weighed down by the fact that NMJ would undoubtedly blame himself for his father’s death and the fact that he was unable to prevent it. this is what shapes him into a strong willed and determined sect leader, strict with rules and discipline. he uses the guilt he feels over his father’s death and channels in into running the Nie sect. determined to keep the Nie sect as strong as possible, he follows the same routes his father and ancestors did; running it in a military like style and continuing to allow sacrifices to be made to the sword spirit. Nie Mingjue knows what his sword spirit will eventually do to him, that he will not be around to pass it on to another generation and the fate will befall to his younger brother. so, when it comes to Nie Huaisang, all NMJ wants for him is to do well within the cultivation world, for him to be able to grow into a strong sect leader in the way he knows he himself will never live to become. he is strict with him because he wants his little brother to be able to be strong enough to never have to burden himself with the sword spirit. and it’s the knowledge that one day NHS may have to that ignites his frustration with him when Nie Huaisang shows so little interest in following in what he wants for him. because all he ever wants is for Nie Huaisang to be able to do better than he has done in his life. he wants to be able to always protect him and it kills him that he will one day be no longer able to do that. so, when Nie Mingjue is dying, when he is qi deviating, the need to protect his little brother is still there, in fact it so strong that it breaks through everything else. the need for NMJ to still be there to protect NHS is stronger than his rage and hate for JGY. in that moment, if JGY hadn’t intervened further NMJ could have most likely been pulled back from that edge. Jin Guangyao pulled every string in NMJ’s brain and increased every little thing he was feeling until he was nothing but a ball of rage and hurt and sadness and a tremendous amount of love and protection for his brother and the others he cared about. it’s why in the end, it didn’t work. JGY still had to have Xue yang cut NMJ’s head off to kill him. he never considered the other parts of Nie Mingjue he was changing when he put his little plan into action, the things that would still anchor him down and keep him human. and in the end, his cruel way of revenge and killing NMJ for his own gain ultimately backfired on him and led him to his own downfall.

what hurts so fucking much about what JGY did to NMJ is that it wouldn’t have worked it NMJ didn’t let it. obviously he had no idea what JGY was doing to him but he allowed him to be close enough for it to work. ultimately NMJ tried to work with JGY as best he could. he was devastated abt what meng yao did and that he had to banish him. he still worries about what became of him after he left and inquires after his wellbeing when he thinks he went to Jinlintai. his true distrust in JGY only starts – quite rightly so - after the events during the Sunshot campaign. and imagine how NMJ must have felt when he saw what JGY was capable of during Sunshot? NMJ saw meng yao, an outcast bullied by his peers and degraded for his parentage. so, he gave him a chance, stood up for him when everyone else was kicking him (literally) to the curb. all JGY wanted was the recognition of his father and NMJ figured he deserved the chance to get that. he built him up and gave him a strong position of power, even wrote to Jin Guangshan to persuade him to recognise his son. but then when JGY turns around and abuses that power he gives him and uses it to get away with literal murder and to crawl his way up the ranks, NMJ would’ve felt responsible for JGY actions because he was the one who enabled him to be in that position in the first place. NMJ had very strong, very rightful doubts about JGY after he killed his captain and his disciples during Sunshot, yet he cared about him in the past and he saw that some of JGY’s actions benefitted the good, and he saw how much trust LXC has in him and he allowed it to sway his gut feelings. you can see as they become sworn brothers that the distrust is still there quite strongly so I like to think that initially NMJ agreed to become sworn brothers with JGY as a way of “keeping the enemy close”. he would’ve wanted to keep a close eye on him, protect LXC if necessary, and partly because he still wanted to see if the good he once saw in him was still there. he wanted to believe that he was wrong and that JGY wasn’t lying. LXC suggested the sworn brotherhood as a way to build a bridge between NMJ and JGY, and honestly? it worked. but only on one half. and that half is Nie Mingjue, not Jin Guangyao.

in order for NMJ to let JGY play him the song of clarity in the first place, the trust he originally lost in him, he must have started to regain again over the years as his sworn brother. he would’ve seen JGY do good work and rise up the ranks, step ‘humbly’ into Jin Zixuan’s place and he would’ve seen how much trust LXC had in JGY. each little thing lessened that distrust to the extent he allowed JGY to know of how the sword spirit resentment affected him, and to trust him enough to let him try heal him. his distrust in JGY clearly never went away completely, but during those 16 years, NMJ trusted him enough to put his life in JGY’s hands and ultimately paid the price for it. 

but this is where I think Jin Guangyao went wrong. he never saw past the rage and distrust NMJ had in him at the start and instead used it as another excuse for his actions. he never considered the fact in allowing JGY to get so close that he could try kill him in such a way, that that was the very reason not to. and even if he did realise that NMJ trusted him again, he was too far in his grab for power to stop. instead, Jin Guangyao took the small amount of distrust that NMJ still had in him, and then increased it and made him feel it ten times worse over and over and over, until NMJ finally snapped with him. JGY made NMJ resentment for him ten times worse for himself to finally give him more means to justify killing him than it simply being that NMJ stood in the way when it came to his grasp for power. but in the end, all JGY was doing was sowing the seeds of his own destruction.

putting aside all the depressing plot stuff for a minute bc if I think abt it any harder for any longer I think I’m gonna combust SO I’m gonna jump back to just how much I LOVE HIM and I just DO I don’t fucking know why, I suppose I have a lil bit of a thing for tragedy and oh boy is the life of Nie Mingjue a tragedy, and I guess I have a soft spot for the “guy with a tough exterior is in reality really soft and goofy around those he loves and cares abt” trope. I guess what I also love abt him is that not many people see it. yes, he has an incredibly tough exterior that many people find it difficult to see past, but NMJ is soft, he is kind and he cares so very deeply about the people he loves. you see him so different once you go back and watch CQL from the beginning knowing the plot and having seen NMJ screaming and sobbing in his brother’s arms, his death looming ever so close on the horizon. You can see past his exterior and realise that he isn’t just Nie Huaisang’s angry older brother. you see him kind and eager and teasing with Lan Xichen and what can be first seen as anger with NHS is really just worry. and… it just makes everything just so much more heart-breaking. Because you realise what’s going to happen to him, what he is going to go through and you realise just how much he never fucking deserved it.

and now I’m very sad and feel like I should go write smthn abt him retiring with LXC and taking up beekeeping or smthn idk I just want him to be HAPPY :( 

i probs could write more but im not gonna bc yikes this got long and probably is just still a bunch of incoherent rambling if it feels like there’s stuff missing there probably is my brain has the thoughts lmao it just doesnt have the capacity to realise what they are and get them written down SO 

tldr;

NIE MINGJUE IS SOFT AND KIND AND CARES ABT EVERYONE HE LOVES SO GODDAMN MUCH AND HE REALLY FUCKING DIDN’T DESERVE WHAT HE GOT

[duckie-baby]

let's talk about s02e08: the sins of the father.

let's talk about how this could've been a pivotal point in arthur's character arc, if the writers of this show weren't fucking cowards.

let's talk about how it was completely unfair on merlin's part to lie to arthur, because arthur deserved the truth goddamnit and it wasn't merlin's place to take that away from him.

of course, this is later justified by merlin saying that he knows arthur and that he wouldn't be able to live with himself or the guilt of it if he had gone ahead and killed his father. and of course, like every other potentially life-changing event, all of this is never mentioned by the show again.

magic is damned even further in arthur's eyes, uth*r threatens everyone who knows the truth into silence, vaguely implies that he's totally chill with his son fucking his manservant as long as they're all of the same anti-magic ideals, the episode ends in all smiles.

but whew! at least arthur's been protected from the harsher sides of reality, once again! god forbid this character gains any sense of self-awareness!

my point is, if all of this was to keep arthur from killing daddykins bc it would weigh on his delicate conscience, to preserve the Goodness Of His Character As A Man And King, why the fuck should merlin have to lie to him about it?

consider, instead of:

Morgause is lying! She's an enchantress. She tricked you. That was not your mother you saw. That was an illusion. Everything...everything your mother said to you...those were Morgause's words.

we could have had something along the lines of:

What your father did was wrong, Arthur, but is this man the man you want to be? The king you want to be? Would you be able to ascend the throne even as your father's blood glistens, still fresh, on your sword? Would you be able to live with yourself if you made this decision?

if he kills his darling father anyway, honestly, Good For Him. he has every right to. uth*r went through with a dangerous spell despite knowing the risks, then commited genocide in its name whilst lying about his reason as to why.

uth*r has commited genocide.

he is not a good king or father either, as proven several times throughout the show. he deserves no mercy, no pity.

but the choice should've been arthur's to make. this scene should've been a testament to arthur's character.

if he kills daddy dearest anyways but then feels Super Guilty about it later, we know he wouldn't have made a good king. you can't head a country when you're prone to making drastic decisions without thinking them through bc you were throwing pissy fit at the time.

so if he still goes through with it, he must not been shown to regret it.

but say he does let uth*r live. maybe for whatever love remains for the man who raised him. but he renounces him as his king, as his father.

arthur starts publicly going against his policies and decisions. bc if uth*r could have been so wrong about this alone, what else is he wrong about? arthur refuses to carry out his orders if he believes it’s against the interests of the people.

raising taxes? how about No. oh, he can’t knight commoners? just Try and stop him. he learns to trust in the counsel of merlin, gwen, morgana, people who we know interact direct directly with the citizens of camelot and want what’s best for them; builds his own circle. he routinely breaks out prisoners from the dungeons he believe have been punished unjustly.

especially the people who use magic. he openly speaks out against his father and his persecution of it.

uth*r can try and stop him, alright. but there is a clear rift in the kingdom now, two distinct factions. those who believe in the king that arthur will be, and those who believe their loyalty is still to the current monarch.

and look at these people, from the execution scene from s01e01:

look at their faces (and also hnfvbdjh colin morgan and his obscene fucking cheekbones jesus christ). they don't seem to appreciate uth*r saving them from the evils of magic much. how many of them have lost their friends and family to his crusade? how many of them remember a time when magic was still allowed in camelot and the kingdom flourished?

these people will stand with arthur pendragon.

yeah. the ones who still believe in uth*r’s authority are few and far in between. and they know where they can shove it.

arthur learns. about magic, about its history, the old religion. merlin finally reveals his magic to him, so does morgana. he goes to the druids and he falls to his knees and he begs for their forgiveness. morgause begrudgingly allies herself with him, seeing his determination to right his father’s mistakes. he still struggles with the little boy within him who just wants his only parent’s approval, sometimes. but he is slowly but surely becoming his own man.

arthur becomes king long before he takes the throne. uth*r is forced to watch, a meaningless figurehead, as everything he worked to achieve comes undone at the hands of his own son. no attempts to make the viewers sympathise with him. he is angry and miserable and wasting away and there is nothing he can do about it; and it’s exactly what he fucking deserves.

and merlin? merlin finally realises kilgharrah’s word isn’t gospel. morgana is redeemed before she ever loses herself. but they must learn to trust each other again, bc merlin left her to face her fear and self-loathing alone when she needed someone more than ever (you might be cute, merlin, but not enough to get away with THAT). he finds himself taking young sorcerers who don’t know how to control their power under his wing (gilli, daegal, oh god the endless opportunities here), including mordred. MORGAUSE TEACHING MERLIN AND MORGANA MAGIC.

he and arthur are equals now, partners in destiny; the world is theirs.

and for the love of god, give me villains whose entire personality and motivations don’t boil down to I Hate Uth*r Pendragon And Also His Son.

give me kings who are afraid of camelot’s growing power, give me bandits and slave traders who realise they have no place in arthur and merlin’s albion. give me uth*r apologists scrambling to maintain their position in court, hell, give me anarchist organisations if that’s what it takes to spice things up a little.

give me the golden age of albion we were promised.

of course, all of this requires characters acknowledging and growing from their mistakes, and making their actions have lasting consequences — so i suppose it really is a bit too much to ask of the writers.

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Really long ask - Part 1: Hi, sorry for this long rant, but I just wanted to vent since I saw this latest story posted on AO3 and I am restraining myself on commenting on their story so I'm just letting my anger out here about it and other issues regarding fan-depiction of Hawks. It's vaguely related to your post on how DabiHawks or Dabi+Hawks stories make it all about Dabi and always made Hawks out to be the one who starts the problems in their relationship or is the one trying to get Dabi's

Content warning: passing mention of r*pe in a fanfiction.

LOOOONG post under the cut.

(Cont.)

Dabi's attentions when it's canon that it's the complete opposite. This latest story that came up in my feed was about Hawks "harassing" Dabi (who apparently has a backstory of r*pe) and Twice helps Dabi works out his feelings. Among the hoards of tags condemning Hawks, they decided to use "Hawks is very uncool in this fic heads up" so that's another one to add to my filters. I think I also have to block the "Dabi Needs a Hug" tags too bc he's always woobified like heck. 

I really want to read stories where Hawks interacts with Twice since they have a bond/drama with each other, but people have been adding Dabi and either making it seem like Hawks has been gaslighting Dabi in their "relationship" or with Twice. I can acknowledge stories where Hawks feels guilty for what he had to do or Twice being anger/betrayed over Hawks' actions since that is actually what happened; but I will not stand for Dabi claiming Hawks took advantage of Twice or Twice and Dabi having feelings for each other with Hawks in the way bc Dabi is a) the one who let Hawks in b) knew Twice is gullible and c) used Twice as bait. Even in the stories that are cute/causal+funny, Hawks is always the one who gets threatened with fire, harsh insults, or guilted into compliance but the seriousness of the first 2 are always brushed off and the third kinda makes me want it that Hawks doesn't have friends bc most people write him as a bad friend who only cares about his own problems (especially the ones that write Hawks like a celebrity/night club person). 

On writing Dabi, his issues always take priority over everything else, his family loves him, and the lov is always chill with him. He's usually written as the fun asshole/caretaker (bc of his big brother status or ablity to cook). Those factors aren't bad by itself, but it's extremely irritating when the writers/artists can give that level of care to Dabi, but just reduce Hawks to a meme who is a workaholic for the government/scared of punishment & not bc he really cares about the people he saves/helps. It's not like I hate the DabiHawks pairing, but the majority of the content (esp the recent ones), are frustrating to read & Hawks' character is usually written in bad out of character extremes. I am really mystified that I'm praying for canon content rather than fanmade most of the time.

Phew! After the back and forth it looks like we got to the end of that! (Or did we?! *Dun dun DUUUUN*) If not, though, feel free to keep the asks rolling. Lol Foxy and I are usually pretty happy to receive as many asks as people want to send even if it takes us a while, individually, to get to it. Now to finally address what you sent.

I find myself in a weird place when it comes to OOC fanfic because on the one hand people can write whatever they want, and I don’t really have a place to criticize them; but also when they blatantly and willingly misinterpret a character so they have grounds to bash on them it also leaves me acutely uncomfortable. I don’t think I’d call it “problematic” as much as a squick? Like, if they’re willing to blow past all the obvious proof to the contrary about their claims of a fictional character just because they hate them, then are they willing to do the same thing to a real person? Usually, those kinds of thoughts are pointlessly extreme, but we know those who unironically and/or unapologeticly call fans of the heroes “bootlickers” so... It’s like, ooc vent fics are also fine; and if you want to rewrite a character to fit the narrative scheme you’ve set up that’s cool as long as its tagged (“ooc [character]” or something) and/or just mention in the a/n that they knowingly and willingly mischaracterized them for the sake of the fic. Just. Don’t. Claim. It’s. Canon.

And speaking of canon, as much as I’m sure Horikoshi knew Hawks and Dabi were going to end up shipped I think it’s obvious that he never was going to canonically write them ending up together, yet here comes the “canon must validate my headcanon” crowd calling him a bad writer because the author had some bigger narrative goal in mind than having two pretty anime boys kissing.

And the worst part to me is, I feel there’s a distinct slice of the DabiHawks crowd missing out on some of the possibilities of this ship by intentionally mischaracterizing them. Like, the aesthetic equal/opposite draw of the ship is phenomenal as it is and I don’t even ship them, but I can see a wide range of possible fics based solely on the principle that they are canonically incompatible!

At the end of the day, Dabi is a dime-a-dozen edgelord - that pain in the butt OC that so many newbie D&D players make that they think is so deep and dark and mature, but is about as cookie-cutter as they come. It’s not that this kind of character is unsalvageable or a hopeless Gary Stu character, just that they don’t often come across as compelling in and of themselves or that they need more than just selfish hatred to carry them through a series. Two kinds of edgelords that can be done well are the “Out of the Ashes” edgelord and “I’ll Pull You Into Hell With Me” edgelord. The first kind recognizes there’s more to life than their sad backstory and getting even and thus choose to aspire to more noble causes - think Joel from The Last of Us. The second recognizes they’re actively doing wrong and come to embrace it - being more concerned with getting what they want than taking the moral high ground - think Frank Castle, aka the Punisher - and even these darker, “unsaveable” kinds of edgelord antiheroes can have redeeming qualities such as meeting and helping a young hopeful and telling them, “I know I’m on the road to hell, so if you want to save yourself you’d better not follow me.”

Dabi actually has what he needs to become the second type right now (assuming he’s Touya) and could even evolve into the first not unlike Kratos from God of War, but that potential can’t be fully recognized until you admit that he’s fundamentally self-centered and a bad person as-is. He may have the tragic backstory complete with justifiable hate at his genuinely abusive father, but rather than using that as fuel to see that never happen to anyone else like it did him - he just wants to get even. He burns people alive, knowing well he’s participating in the same destruction that his father committed to make him what he is now. He doesn’t recognize any of the merits of hero society and is only concerned with burning it to ash. He could use what happened to his family to incite compassion in his heart and take others under his wing, but instead he uses people as a mean to his own ends. He isn’t even proper grimdark - he’s just your run of the mill egotistical megalomaniac with a punk aesthetic.

And that’s still a good character in the grand scheme of things, maybe just not alone! Moreso, it’s a good villain and EVEN BETTER when you put him next to Hawks who is at his core:

Fundamentally Hopepunk!

Hopepunk is about being good and kind as an act of rebellion against a cruel and unfair world no matter how bleak it gets or how badly you’re beaten down. Despite his own cruel past, Hawks still has a heart to help others for no other reason than to help them, he constantly changes the odds to save as many people as he can when he’d be given a pass for letting the cards fall where they will, and not only is his aim to “help others” but to make sure that there’ll never be need for heroes again. He’s an active rebel against the system fighting with kindness and goodness, fervently looking and listening for the next opportunity to do good.

In agreement with you, Hawks and Twice are interesting to explore because while Twice is an optimist looking to make the world a better place, he’s still a step or two removed from Hawks’ worldview because Twice refuses to let go of the “family” he found for himself while Hawks is willing to sacrifice himself for others. That dynamic is so interesting, and it’s what made them so initially compatible and subsequently heartbreaking in canon.

And it’s such a disappointment to see this unwaveringly earnest character reduced to “shitty fratboy” so often. For a lot of people newer to his character I can understand the confusion, but there really isn’t an excuse if you’ve been reading the series, and the possibilities for fics with this canon personality are just so much more interesting to explore, especially with Dabi as his sort-of opposite.

For DabiHawks to work well, you have to recognize that something has to give in either of them. Some of the juiciest, most angsty content is when you have two characters grow close together over commonalities only to be reminded that despite everything else they share, that One Thing will always keep them from truly being able to see eye-to-eye. Either Dabi has to grow past his hatred and relearn compassion and empathy, or Hawks has to lose grip of that hopeful vision he has and fall into despair. Both options are good to explore, but both require the acknowledgement that Dabi’s view of the world is fundamentally bleak and selfish, especially compared to Hawks’. For a supposed revolutionary out to change the world for the better whose a diamond in the rough with a heart of gold, that’s not exactly on-brand; and at the end of the day the issue is that some are unwilling to admit that what they wanted Dabi to be is likely not going to happen and they love that fake version Dabi more than they love what Hawks actually stands for which is why Hawks always gets the shaft in the end.

I still personally hold a bit of a grudge against the DaiHawks ship as a whole purely because, as you said, Dabi always seems to take priority over Hawks instead of letting the two build a dynamic together. Hawks is always the one who has to give, and the torture porn some have made him go through to “make the ship work” is downright disturbing to me. Even at its height DabiHawks content completely flooded the Hawks character tags on Tumblr with some of the same problems that have persisted to this day such as emphasizing their aesthetic as opposed to their dynamic and rampant mischaracterization.

Anyway, that’s my long-winded response. What do you think, @autumn-foxfire?

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

i love anders with my whole heart but it really sucks that he was written by a fucking ableist who hated him because said writing is so uncomfortable that canon da2 anders often makes me feel uncomfortable which i suppose was her intent all along :( which sucks because he was one of my awakening faves and i do think his actions are completely justified :( i’m just gonna live in pro-anders fandom forever while constantly flipping off his shitty writer

there is some banter that i dont like (fenris/merrill), but anders is in a different place in both games. i think awakening anders is romanticized WAY too much bc fandom sees da2 anders as “evil”.

awakening anders was on his,7th? 8th? escape from the circle. he was tired. he was hopeless. he had never felt so alone. he didn’t expect to find anything. he found friends, powerful friends, and yeah he cracked jokes, mostly as his expense. maybe because he expected to lose them. because he had been through so much and nothing lasts forever. but he met the warden, got saved by them, and (possibly) made a friend from the freakin king of ferelden. and justice! someone who would become a very good friend to him. he got something he desperately needed. HOPE.

he escaped the wardens afterwards, after the joining with justice in hopes to free his love karl. and he started the free clinic. i think that this was a real healing time for him, he was able to be on his own, and do what he loves, use his magic, and free from the burdens of templars. (physically, anyway). as we already know, the people of kirkwall protected him when people were asking about him. anyway, this was a time of growth for him, pre hawke. he learned he didn't have to demean himself to make other people comfortable. he had justice, they were one now. he had someone who understood him, to comfort him, and wouldn’t tolerate bad mouthing himself. so he stopped. and he wouldn’t allow it from other people. hence, he became “evil” because he started fighting people who tried to make him feel bad about himself who brought up the fact that mages are abused, that HE was abused.

there is a lot of shit hepler got wrong, trying to make out that he is “delusional” about mages, mage rights, but when anders is talking about justice, he makes perfect sense. and his romance is one of the best in the games too. so yeah, ill always be pro anders too. all of him, while understanding that there is intended ableism, and bias against mages, and also the elf bias. its just a mess.

[lemongogo]

I am a bottle of emotions right now but something has been bothering me you know how hawks said "i don't make mistakes by getting attached" ? I have a feeling he's lying he did get attached and he knows it and he's trying to convince himself he didn't you know what i'm saying ?

aaaaaaAAAA the illegal hawks stan in me wants to believe its true but i need 2 set myself up for the very real possibility that he wont fulfill this “transformative” role that i expected of him

but YEAH i definitely get what you’re saying. especially bc i saw a suggestion (based on korean translations) that hawks uses “we” instead of “i” in reference to the “i have to kill you now” line which.implicates the commission in his line of thinking. not that it makes the situation any better or absolves hawks of his abuse  but.something to think about, i suppose. 

its just so confusing. bc he seems so remorseful in 264 but then is able to just.switch all of those feelings off at a moments notice if it means completing the task he was assigned to do. so yeah im. is this a response to try and justify the actions he’s about to take / detach himself from twice in order to prepare to kill him or is it hawks genuinely admitting that he simply cant be bothered if it means finishing his mission yknow. or is it a combination of both? 

im pushing it to the back of my mind for now in the hopes that , as the story continues in the upcoming months we’ll have  a more cohesive understanding of hawks’ actions and how to better read him

but for now i!!! hate u sir.sobs. 

its cool how these lines can be understood in a variety of ways too. because to me the “i dont get attached” comment was simply a direct dedication to the cause and in some weird way relates back to the jeanist situation. we still dont have confirmation on whether or not jeanist is actually dead (he most likely isnt) but personally the idea that he’d kill someone on his own side if it meant getting “in” with the league is kinda. 😳. interesting . all back to how he vows to corrupt himself for the sake of the mission yknow. i wonder ! i truly wonder

[camimcndcs]

the road back to us

TAGGING: KJ @itskjapa, Cami.

LOCATION: Vancouver, BC.

TIMEFRAME: November 20th, 2020.

NOTES: After four weeks of hell, KJ and Cami relieve some tension on the road to finding their way back to each other.

KJ: The ding of the elevator shook KJ out of his thoughts as the doors opened themselves to let him out, suddenly reminded that he had been making his way up for the past minute. Days on set were more intense and exhausting now that the plot had been established and the characters were thrown in the course of events -- though lately, he had been making sure to come home as late as possible in the hopes that his fiancée wouldn't be awake. Barely a week ago, he had promised himself to do whatever was necessary to change their situation, but the more she acted so uncharacteristically, the less he felt inclined to speak up. Emotions that had been bottled up for weeks now and felt on the brim of exploding at any given moment. He was angry at their lack of communication and intimacy, but also fearful that the wrong word would send them spiraling out of control and to a point where they wouldn't be able to come back from. The line had been drawn in the sand and the redhead was on the edge; praying to have the strength to hold on and not give into his impulsive nature. Something that was becoming harder as the days went on. Quietly opening the door, he swiftly moved inside and closed it behind his form -- dangling they keys on their usual hook before turning around to make his way to the bathroom. A routine he had mastered quite well lately. Except this time, the sight of Camila awake and on their couch rooted him to the spot; driving his heart to beat faster and forcing shivers running down his spine. Unfortunately, not the good kind. "Hey..." he trailed off, tongue darting out and licking the dry lips that had been apart as soon as his eyes had stumbled upon her. There was no answer and the voice in the back of his mind screamed to bolt -- certain this moment would somehow lead to a confrontation. "I'm gonna take a quick shower." He didn't leave her any chance to reply before quickly heading to the other room. Buying himself some time.

Cami: It was out of the ordinary for Camila to be up this late, but it had been a long day at home with Talia and once she'd gotten the baby to sleep she had decided to take some time for herself. Ever since their daughter had been born, life had seemed to completely shift, at first, it had seemed to shift for the better, but as the weeks went on things had taken a turn. The raven-haired girl knew that she hadn't been her true self in weeks, but she couldn't really put a name to what she was feeling. There was exhaustion, mixed in with loneliness, and some sense of needing to prove to herself that she could do this task that was supposed to come somewhat naturally to her as a woman. She hadn't really been properly taking care of herself, but life seemed to be moving a mile a minute and she was mostly focused on taking care of her daughter. At the sound of keys turning in the door into their apartment, a wave of anxiety flooded her body as she debated turning off the television and running to their room to ignore the awkwardness that would surely follow. Instead of running though, she stayed put, turning the volume up a little louder on the TV as she sat in an oversized t-shirt and underwear with a blanket covering her bare legs. Camila could feel his eyes on her as he headed towards the bathroom and she tried to muster a tired smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. As he muttered his hello, she turned her attention back to the TV, running her hands through her hair as he mentioned his next move. She nodded her head in response, but it was after he had already disappeared into the bathroom. Soon the sound of water running in their shower could be heard and she decided at that point to turn off the show she was watching and instead scroll aimlessly through her phone, wondering if anything on social media would explain why he was coming home so late, knowing some of their other friends had returned home much earlier.

KJ: The bathroom was an appreciated safe haven, but one where he couldn't overstay his welcome. There was little to no chance Camila would give up on whatever agenda she had tonight and KJ knew he had to face the music sooner or later -- even if a part of him was tempted to wait it out and attempt to escape the argument that was awaiting them. The clothes he usually put on after a shower were nowhere to be found and with a defeated sigh, he simply gave into the reality of the situation. Not only would she chew him out, but he'd be butt naked during the entire time. Tightening the towel around his waist, he shook the water from his hair with a quick motion of his hand and stepped back into the living room; brown eyes settling on every piece of furniture around. Aside from the couch where his fiancée was still sitting on. Luck definitely wasn't on his side tonight and he had given up on the idea that she could find herself flustered at the sight of him these days -- though perhaps she could find it in herself to have pity on him instead. "Still up?" he inquired after an insufferable silence, finally looking her way as he tried to gauge the expression crossing her features. The redhead had been reading her wrong for weeks now, so he couldn't even be sure if she was mad or simply tired. What he knew for certain was that she would find a way to blame it on him one way or another. "The newbies messed up a few takes-- so I had to stick around on set longer than planned. And then I decided to run home... still have to stay in shape, you know." The words flew past his lips with so much uncertainty and with a need to justify himself. Even if he knew deep down he shouldn't have to, not when she acted as if he was invisible when he was around. Could she really be upset about not having him in bed with her? Curiosity was creeping up on him despite the nervousness he was taken with. Their recent conversations still engraved in his mind.

Cami: The question he inquired after an insufferable amount of silence made her scoff, "No shit. Does it look like I'm asleep?" she questioned with a roll of her eyes. She listened as he explained why he was so late, eyebrows furrowing as he mentioned the newbies. After Lili had come over to check on her earlier in the week she'd gotten quite a earful about the newbies and how easy-going they were, especially one girl in particular who she knew had been filming with KJ. Did she have a right to be jealous? Probably not, but that didn't mean she wasn't. When he mentioned still having to stay in shape her eyes flickered over to his toned chest that was out in all of its glory. Still wet from the shower, almost glistening as if it was taunting her. "The newbies, huh? Which one messed up? Was it Alyssa?" she replied through gritted teeth. "I heard she's soooo great," she added, the amount of sass in her tone quite relevant. She knew that her response to his question about still being up had slightly pissed him off, so she was waiting to see what reaction she would get from this. Camila stood up then, revealing her bare legs, setting her phone down on their coffee table and crossing her arms in front of her chest to stand her ground for whatever would come next. Her eyes kept looking down at the ground and then back to his toned muscles. Something was stirring inside of her, but tonight would probably just end in some nasty fight that had been a long time coming and they'd fall asleep in separate rooms. She had passed the six week mark on Wednesday and her doctor had given her the okay for sex, but she didn't see that happening anytime soon unless she was giving it to herself and where was the fun in that?

KJ: Ignoring most of the things she said had become a second nature at this point, which is why KJ didn't even bother to give the sarcasm that dripped from her words any attention. Instead going forth with their conversation in hopes that it would end soon -- his expectations hadn't been high, so he wasn't truly surprised with the way she was currently acting. What caught him off guard though was the way her eyes took in his chest, something she had not done in weeks now, even when he had tried his hardest to evoke lustful thoughts on her part. He also didn't miss the way she rapidly mentioned Alyssa, one of the newbies in question, with whom he had been getting along quite well on set. He knew better than to get his hopes up regarding the matter, no matter how many signs were blinking in his direction. "What?" he asked in confusion, eyebrows furrowing while he kept his gaze set on her frame -- following her every move and unable to not stare when her bare legs came into view. The redhead smacked himself mentally when his first thought was to ponder on whether or not she was wearing underwear, but the look in her eyes when he met them again was enough to push him back onto the right track. The one that led back to their argument. "She's indeed great." he replied with a smug expression that crossed his face before he could even react, the emotions locked inside his being bubbling up uncontrollably. As if they were about to let loose in an ugly way. "What's it to you? Not like you've done any efforts to get to know them-- her." Her posture and the look in her eye were encouraging him to fight back and push in a way he had kept himself from doing so. It felt as if he had no control over his actions nor his words; the latter tumbling from his mouth without much thought. Was it jealousy? KJ couldn't be sure, but for the first time in a long while, he didn't feel as helpless or sad. She had opened a door that he intended on keeping as such.

Cami: The confusion on his face just made her angrier. What was so confusing? How was she supposed to feel when her best friend informed her that some random girl was becoming besties with her fiancé? Camila trusted him, of course she did, but did she trust some girl she didn't really know? Not really. It wasn't very feminist of her to think that way, but she couldn't help it. Of course she was jealous, but the jealously was all her own fault. "Fuck you," she spat out, rolling her eyes as he smugly informed her of how great Alyssa was. His next comment about her not making an effort to get to know any of the newbies really pissed her off because he knew that she didn't have time for that right now. "Oh, I'm so fucking sorry that I'm only on set two and a half times a week and I have to work almost nonstop and provide nutrients for our daughter, if you want to see if your pecs can provide her with milk, be my guest," she scoffed, glaring at him as she waited to get more of a rise out of him. She was pissed now. He knew that she was constantly tired and unfortunately didn't really have the time to make new friends right now. She had felt horrible about it in the beginning, but there just wasn't much she could do right now. That stirring feeling was back in her stomach as they stared each other down with pissed off expressions on their faces. Sex with KJ was amazing, but she had a feeling that angry, tension filled sex would be something completely different. As bad as she wanted it though, she wasn't going to make the first move. It had been so long, she wanted him to be the one to pounce, to show her just how badly he wanted her. A flame had been lit between them, they had never fought like this and she was eager to see what he would do next.

KJ: There it was, the one thing he had been looking for all along during the past few weeks. The spark that had been missing, the passion left in the dark -- this was more than he had ever hoped for. It obviously wasn't the circumstances he had imagined, but he would take this kind of argument over any of the others they had gotten into. Camila for once didn't look like someone who was going through the motions, looking for fights without any purpose. For once, she was animated by more than futile reasons; a rage that was fueled by the jealousy she was currently feeling. KJ had his doubts previously, but as she kept addressing him, it all became crystal clear. Since she was allowing her feelings to come forth in such way, he felt like the least he could do was reciprocate and see where that would lead them. The worries and fears he had been plagued with had dissipated as soon as she had mentioned Alyssa. She cared. She still cared and wasn't looking for a way out -- on the contrary. "What? You think you're the only one who's busy?" he scoffed, the hint of a mocking smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. The redhead wanted to push until she would break and finally give him the green light he had been waiting for like a fool. He only wished he had been confident enough to do so before this evening. They had lost time being so stupid and would never get any of those days back. "I'm killing myself out there at work-- our schedule is fucking hell." He slowly moved forward, separating little by little the distance between them. Brown eyes intently fixed onto her own with a clenched jaw. "So excuse me, if I actually take the time to make friends with people. To have some fun elsewhere-- with someone else." It was too much. A part of him was screaming to stop, but he was unable to. Instead halting his motions when he was right in front of her. "Maybe if you weren't busting my balls all day long, you wouldn't feel threatened right now."

Cami: They were getting somewhere now. After whatever unfolded tonight, they couldn't go back to tiptoeing around each other and staying quiet. Something had been reignited in them. They had both finally snapped and although they were angry, it also felt kind of good. Camila knew that there would be so much more to work through after whatever happened tonight, but she finally felt ready to admit to her problems and look for ways to solve them. She could feel more anger bubbling up inside of her as he scoffed, but the mocking smirk on his face kept that stirring feeling alive in the pit of her stomach. "Killing yourself? Oh please. I don't remember the last time I slept for more than 3 or 4 hours at a time and our daughter is sucking the life out of my tits. I'm killing myself too, mister," she spat out, her chest heaving as he stepped closer and closer to her. The eye contact they were making right now felt extra intense as she noticed his jaw was completely clenched. At his next comment her hands clenched into fists and if she hadn't been so angry she was certain she could've cried, but instead she bit her lip and unclenched her hands. Her eyebrows furrowed again and now she was really glaring at him. "Fuck you," she spat out again and before she knew it she was raising her right hand and slapping him straight across the face. She almost couldn't believe it, but he had pushed her too far, which seemed to have been his plan. Now she was left to wait for his next move. Camila wasn't sure she had ever slapped anyone except maybe a few stupid drunken boys at college parties, but it had felt good and she hoped it was the push he needed to finally make a move on her which was something she had been craving for awhile, even if she'd been in a mostly rotten mood the last four weeks.

KJ: KJ almost uttered how sorry he was for the comment he had made, pushing her didn't mean he had to be mean after all, but before he could even move a limb, the slap she bestowed upon him was like an electric shock. Painful, it left him rooted to the spot for what felt like an endless amount of time -- lips parted in surprise over the action and his chest heaving up and down. It was deserved, though the gesture itself ended up more arousing than it should have been. At least he didn't think she had done as such to get him going. Yet here it was nonetheless, a familiar feeling bubbling at the pit of his stomach and sending a jolt straight to his groin. Despite everything that had went down between them, he was very aware that the six weeks mark had been passed. Something they had both looked forward to weeks ago. It wouldn't resolve the numerous issues they had, far from it, but his entire being was burning at the simple thought of being joined with hers. Of being able to express himself in a physical way, the one thing they had been banned from partaking in and would allow their frustrations to find an outlet. Slowly, he turned his head and met her gaze again -- witnessing the surprise crossing her features along with the undeniable desire that she was reciprocating. They were back on the same wavelength tonight and the redhead felt content with so little; especially when they hadn't been able to in so long. Words weren't needed anymore, not that they led them anywhere positive anyway and without a warning, he reached out for the back of her neck and drew her forward abruptly. His mouth crashing onto hers in a bruising kiss while his hands moved just as roughly along her body and to the back of her legs -- wrapping them around his waist for the brief journey toward the couch before throwing her on the furniture and blanketing her body with his own. The towel long forgotten on the floor. He couldn't recall the last time he had felt this alive.

Cami: Watching with bated breath as the redhead slowly turned his head to meet her gaze, the surprised look on her face was evident and she hoped he wasn't going to say anything because she wasn't sure she could take it. All she wanted was his lips on hers, no more words thrown around. She felt like they had finally reached the point where words weren't needed anymore. Thankfully, he seemed to have read her mind which meant they were back on the same wavelength which made her feel good. Without a warning he reached for the back of her neck to draw her closer to him as their mouths crashed into each other. The feeling of his lips on hers brought that feeling of warmth to her stomach that she hadn't felt in weeks. His hands moved just as roughly as his lips did, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. The towel that had been wrapped around his lower half fell as he threw her down onto the couch where she landed against the cushions, sprawled out before he fell on top of her in his bare naked glory. Camila wrapped her legs back around his waist as he settled on top of her, bucking her hips as she kissed him harder than she'd ever kissed him before. In this moment she felt like she was coming up for air for the first time in a long time. Her nipples were beginning to harden underneath her shirt and she was desperate to be skin to skin with her fiancé again. Pulling away from his lips to catch her breath for a second she let out a whine. "Take these clothes off of me," she grumbled, smirking at KJ as she ran her hands through his hair, looking at him with so much lust and love in her eyes. "Please..." she whispered with a smile, bucking her hips up against him again.

KJ: It felt rather pathetic to be this turned on by a slap. The warmth radiating from her body enveloping him whole and spurring him on. Though he could count on one hand the number of times they had been intimate ever since Talia's birth -- when they had to hold themselves back since they couldn't go too far -- and his being was currently in overdrive. Submerged with the emotions that had finally shook loose and the excitement of the situation. Having Camila trapped underneath him was a rush of power that he had been deprived of for weeks. She had been the one in control and he had allowed her to walk all over him without ever fighting back. The roles were now reversed and he wasn't inclined to give her an ounce of control over their current position. His lips were restless against her own, practically mauling her with a force he had never used on his fiancée before; not even during the numerous wild times they had shared. There was no denying just how aroused she was by his actions, her body reacting to his ministrations just as it always did. The redhead dragged one of his hands along her thigh and pulled on the elastic band of the panties he was met with, only to halt his motions when she spoke -- breaking the trance he had been under. His brown eyes took in the smile crossing her lips and the sight alone was like the fuel that made the bright fire roar. How dare she? After weeks of gaslighting him, here she was acting as if she had the right to even ask for something. To look at him in such a way when she had barely been able to. It only made his anger increase along with his need to keep being in charge. Without even bothering to utter a word, KJ swiftly grabbed her hands and pulled them harshly over her head, not allowing her the pleasure to touch him more than she already had. The fingers still hooked in her panties tugged firmly on the material until it snapped in half and he disregarded the underwear as soon before settling himself between her legs. His gaze still firmly locked onto hers while he pushed forward past her tight walls -- a deep groan rumbling from his chest at the feeling of her core taking him in again for the first time in over six weeks. Though he didn't let himself enjoy the pleasurable sensations, instead maneuvering his hips back and forth as roughly as he had been ever since their lips had touched.

Cami: His response to her request was to pin her arms above her head and she looked at him with her chest heaving as he tugged firmly on the material of her panties before they snapped in half. “Fuck,” she cried out, annoyed that he wasn’t listening to her, but also so turned on by his anger and how he was taking charge. As he settled himself between her legs she let out a cry. They had both been missing out on this feeling for weeks and it was quickly approaching them. She had missed the way that he filled her up and how he always made her feel when they were in this position. KJ’s eyes were looking so deeply into hers as he finally pushed himself forward past her tight walls. The feeling hurt a little bit, but that was to be expected. She’d read that due to the breast feeding she might experience some pain with sex and a drier vagina. Thankfully the circumstances of the evening were helping her arousal, but she still cried out as he thrusted into her. Camila’s wrists were turning above her head, trapped in his own hand as she bucked her hips towards him. The redhead was thrusting into her with such intensity and at such a rough speed she felt like she could hardly breathe, but she was enjoying it fully. The raven-haired girl tried to fight back against his hand that was holding her arms above her head. “Fuck you, let me touch you,” she groaned, squirming underneath the hold he had on her. Camila could now not only feel, but also see her nipples hardening against the fabric of her shirt. She was desperate for some sort of relief, but she knew he wasn’t going to give it to her unless he wanted to. His name began to fall from her lips as she closed her eyes, completely submerging herself in the feeling of him thrusting himself in and out of her.

KJ: The more she tried to wiggle in his grip, the tighter his hold on her became -- letting her know through his actions that she wasn't going to get her way. Camila had taken control of their dynamic for far too long and it was time for him to be on top. Quite literally in that moment. Seeing her struggle and get worked up brought the kind of satisfaction he couldn't truly describe. It was nothing like he had ever felt before, a sensation he was reveling in and urged him to keep pounding into her. The sound of their skin slapping endlessly and filling the space they were in. Thankful that the walls in their apartment were thick enough that their daughter wouldn't be woken up despite the cries evoked with each thrust of his hips. Just as previously, KJ didn't bother entertaining the foul words that tumbled from her mouth with such ferocity, instead willing his body to hold onto the dominance he was exhibiting. The chances of their passionate tryst to last more than a handful of minutes were low considering the circumstances and he planned on making sure his forceful demonstration would linger on her mind. His intense gaze never faltered from her features, intending on looking right into her eyes whenever she found it in herself to open them -- having to witness just how hurt and angry he was. Mixed with the obvious lust she had awaken. His breath, heavy and shallow, was irregular and the sensation in the pit of his stomach was on the verge of taking over. Blunt nails dug in the soft flesh of her hip as he held her still, increasing the pace of his motions in order to reach the awaited release. Only then did he allow himself to embrace the tightness of her core and the feeling it provided; a sense of belonging he had sorely missed. Like finally coming home after a terribly long journey. The cries that picked up in intensity and filled his ears were swallowed by his mouth, tongue clashing against her own just as the orgasm washed over him like a tidal wave.

Cami: The dominance exuding from her fiancé's being right now was the greatest turn on for Camila. Of course she was frustrated that he wasn't listening to her or giving her exactly what she had asked for, but watching him take charge was so sexy. The sound of their skin slapping together filled her ears and it was enough to make her let out another moan. Thankfully she could be vocal without waking up their daughter. Camila knew that this tryst wasn't going to last too long, it had been a very long time since they'd been like this and she knew that soon enough they'd both be pushed over the edge. The hurt and anger mixed with a look of lust that she was met with whenever she opened her eyes to look into his own made her feel a mix of emotions. For now she was focused on the anger and lust, the hurt part would come after when they had time to talk. The raven haired girl listened as his irregular breathing took over as the sound she could hear, heavy and shallow just like her own breath in this moment. As his blunt nails dug into the soft flesh of her hips, she let out another cry as he increased the pace of his motions to reach their long-awaited release. Normally she would talk dirty to him and praise him for everything he was doing, but time was moving too fast and this was not the time or place. The next time they came together like this, he would get all of her praise. More cries fell from her lips and he swallowed them with his mouth, bestowing more bruising kisses against her lips and he dove deeper inside of her. Their tongues clashed together as they each satisfied their hunger for each other. She could feel his impending orgasm washing over him as she cried out into his mouth and felt her release also building up. That fire that had been lit inside of her was warm and ready to bring her to the edge. "I'm so close," she mumbled against his lips, bucking her hips to get herself right where she needed to be, her orgasm taking over immediately.

KJ: Just as fast as it had started, their union came to a culminating point rapidly as they both gave into the pleasure that had crashed onto them. His hips moving frantically, chasing the high that was so near before sharply bucking forward as he came inside of her — tight walls contracting around his length and nearly squeezing the life out of him. His entire frame collapsing on top of Camila when his muscles failed him; there was no strength left in that moment and the only thing he could do was give his body the time it was seeking. Face buried in the crook of her neck while KJ tried his hardest to catch his breath. The pleasure that overtook him fogged up his mind and the only thoughts that were conjured up for a handful of seconds were about the wonderful feeling of being this close to his fiancée again. But the reality of their situation was quick to rear its ugly head — leaving him with questions he wasn’t certain he wanted the answers to now that the rush of adrenaline and confidence was slowly dissipating. Just because she had been jealous and they had succumbed to their urges, it didn’t mean everything was suddenly fixed. Nor that they both wanted to move forward towards better days. Slowly, the redhead withdrew from her warmth and scooted over to her right side as humanly as possible; the couch wasn’t spacious but was able to have them both laying on top of it nonetheless. The room was quiet aside from their heavy breathing and his eyes were fixed on an invisible spot on the ceiling — all he knew was that he couldn’t go back to the way things had been lately. If Camila was to follow his lead on the matter, she would have to take the right steps in order to do. Just as he needed to as well. “We should have argued like that more often, aye.” he murmured, mustering a small smile that he couldn’t quite keep on his features. Not when there was so much uncertainty regarding their relationship.

Cami: As KJ’s entire frame collapsed on top of her after he had chased his orgasm, Camila let out a grunt and a short laugh as he buried his face into her neck. Her chest was still heaving as she came down from her own high, enjoying the feeling as he tried to catch his breath. When he slowly removed himself from her warmth and scooted himself over to her right side, their arms still some what pressed up against each other. The room grew quiet aside from their heavy breathing and she watched as his eyes stayed fixed on a spot in the ceiling. It hurt that he wasn’t able to look at her, but she understood why. She had been so horrible, ignoring him for weeks and not really giving him the time of day. She had made it so the only common ground in their relationship was their daughter. At his murmuring, she looked over at him, wanting him to look at her again. Watching as the smile on his face disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared she felt her heart break a little bit. “Mhm,” she answered quietly with a smile. Suddenly her emotions took over and she was crying. “I’m so sorry Kaje, I’m so so sorry, I’ve been horrible to you...” she spoke, tears flowing from her eyes as she crawled on top of him and rested her head on his bare chest. “I love you, I’ve been so stupid, I’m sorry,” she added, breathing in his sweaty scent and trying to calm herself down. Camila wasn’t sure what had finally cracked inside of her, but there was obviously more that needed to be said and she would say it, but she just had to get some of her thoughts out there so he knew how she was feeling. The raven-haired girl was truly so sorry and she needed him to see that and know that she was willing to get things back on track with them. She was ready to be a family again and to fix the mess she had made.

KJ: He could feel her gaze on him as he kept his own fixed on the white ceiling above them, begging without words for him to turn his head and give into her -- the way he had refused to mere moments ago when they were having sex. Gone was the dominance he had put forth, but now they both had to be confronted to something more complex than the physical act they had gotten to partake in. Feelings. As the wonderful sensations the orgasm had procured slowly but surely dissipated, all he was left with was sadness; an emotion he was quite familiar with lately. They simply couldn't stay put this way and act as if nothing had happened, which is why KJ decided to make the first move, if only for his sake. His lips parted, words on the verge of flowing when he was caught off guard by the sobs reaching his ears -- the body next to him shaking and immediately drawing his attention. A weight was lifted from his heavy heart at the words she uttered and although he wanted to be cautious and not get his hopes up as he had done in the past, he couldn't help but tightly wrap his arms around Camila when she moved on top of him. One hand coming up to the side of her face and tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Shhhh." No matter how strong he wanted to be, she had always been his weakness. His own emotions took the best of him, tears filling up his eyes and soon rolling down his cheeks when she breathed out three words he hadn't heard in what seemed like an eternity. They washed over him like the pleasure he had felt earlier; which now appeared insignificant compared to the satisfaction of knowing his other half was still in love with him. Something he had unfortunately doubted at times. "We're gonna be okay, Cami. It's alright-- we're gonna make it work. I love you." he murmured before his lips were pressed on the crown of her head, an affectionate moment he had dreamt about for weeks. Teams were always coming together to achieve their common goal. Just as they would.

[janiedean]

I feel that the sudden explosion of discourse is (partly) j*hn boyega's fault. Did he really needed to go on a rampage against sw fans? Really??? And not against the racism in the fandom (which would have been completely fair) but a /ship/???

… honestly, I kept my mouth shut about this until now bc I was out and I didn’t wanna get into discourse, but… as someone who does like the guy I’m incredibly disappointed in his behavior and in how people are reacting to it. like. first of all the entire drama could have been solved by him saying ‘I was joking but I understand why you think it’s crass sorry about it’ and leaving it there and instead he kept on… harping on fans specifically and not as a general declaration, then he went and diverted the attention going after the r/eylo crowd which whether he likes it or not has actually supported him and his attitude has opened the floodgates and like… it’s been three days, I’ve seen people wishing a minor who also brought KMT her fanbook to kill herself and tweet to her father that they hope he finds her corpse in the bathroom (???) and various other amenities and like… that’s not okay. period. he should say something already to at least distance himself from this bullshit and I’m very disappointed he’s not doing that, because whatever the fuck he was thinking, justifying going after any fans is wrong and opening the floodgates for the antis to do that because hey he did it so who cares let’s be even worse people is……. just…… yikes. very much yikes.

on top of that…. I can’t with people comparing what oscar said to what he did because oscar went off at disney during press releases and voiced his dissatisfaction with his arc and the story decisions (CONSIDERING THAT THEY MADE POE A FORMER SPACE DRUG RUNNER HE SHOULD DAMN WELL BE PISSED OFF) but he hasn’t once went off at the fans or dismissed part of the fanbase or attack specific people, while john basically… went off at single fans who were saying perfectly worded/polite criticism which means they’re put on target too, never mind again opening the floodgates re bullying a part of the fandom that has been bullied since 2015 guys let’s be fucking real, never mind that 90% of the criticism he got was from fanboys who couldn’t handle having a black lead, not from freaking rey/kylo shippers. and that’s another thing.

but the rest… I mean. people are cheering for that? going like ‘oh wow he’s such a king baby go ahead end them’?? guys that’s not being a king, he’s not even going after actual racist idiots, that’s being wildly unprofessional and making sure to piss people off. like. as much as people like it or not, re/ylo shippers paid money to see his movies and a lot of them actually like his character/support his work. the moment you sign on to sw who has one of the most toxic fandoms in existence - I mean not touching the luke vs han shit in the eighties, people basically bullied that poor kid who played anakin in episode one to the point that he quit acting and he ended up in a psychiatric facility and surely the fan reaction to that movie didn’t help not ruining his life completely and that’s not even the beginning - you know you’re in for being roasted by a bunch of assholes. and like… sorry but you sign on for that, you actually handle it pretty nicely for four years which I 100% commended him for and now he goes off on a part of fandom that wasn’t behind most of his harassing like this and I have to buy that hey bullying fans is fine? like I had to read ‘john started the year bullying assholes in this fandom how great I hope he keeps on doing it’? do we all realize what the fuck does this mean? like ffs people tore martin freeman to shreds for having been vocally angry about john/lock fans sending death threats to his wife and kids and he hadn’t exactly put the single people on spot nor made the names (and tbh he was 100% right, at that point you have all the rights to be crass) but now this behavior is okay because… it’s people shipping something you don’t like…?

sorry but a fucking fictional ship is no basis to bully anyone. idc what fucking fictional ship is it because the nature of r/eylo is not the point nor its canon status. and people cheering like this on someone for behaving unprofessionally af is… really… concerning me. because he basically went off on fans. singularly. who had… like…. done nothing specific to him because those people criticized his not exactly stellar joke on instagram, they didn’t go off on him out of nothing.

like. sorry but if you’re a public figure you should be able to handle this shit better than that. and the fact that he made… those… really bad taste comments about KMT deleting herself from social media (AND IT WAS BOTH FANBOYS AND ANTIS MAKING HER DO IT not r/eylos let’s get that straight) while KMT got the shaft in tros more than he did and got the shaft by disney as much as him if not worse is really not looking well. the fact that KMT has been dealing with this entire mess way more graciously and professionally than he’s doing also says a lot about what’s happening.

tldr: yes I agree and if he wanted to complain about racist assholes (which is 100% his right to) he had a thousand better and more professional ways to do it than this. he’s a public figure in one of the biggest franchises in existence known for its toxic fandom. this behavior is 100% not okay. and like he could have gone off on any faction in this fandom I’d stick with my opinion, it’s not just bc I like r/eylo. creators/actors should never advocate for this behavior ever and if they have issues with some fans they should just have the studio backing them up for suing which is a thing I 100% would endorse, but they shouldn’t… do this. like… sorry, but he fucked up. I like his acting, I like(d) him until three days ago, I love his character, but this was fucked up and he needs to own up to it because if we actually normalize this behavior from media creators and actors we’re fucked. like, 100% fucked. it’s nowhere near acceptable to insult like that people who don’t have your influence, who aren’t famous and who didn’t do shit to you except criticizing you for a thing that wasn’t exactly the most refined joke in existence.

(that said, if he hadn’t said it specifically re that character or if he said it with his friends messing around I wouldn’t gaf, but the way he did it was just… bad pr. very bad pr.)

ADDENDUM: as stated, i don’t agree with actors taking fans’ abuse on social media - they should absolutely feel free to block someone or press charges if it becomes bad and as stated the studio SHOULD back them up (I mean… if I had been the voltron actors/writers I’d have sued 80% of that fandom long before S5) but they shouldn’t downright go and do… this. it’s unprofessional. and if you’re a public figure you should like….. have some damned responsibility for your actions. he’s an actor in a multi-million dollars franchise, those people are no one or sure as hell they don’t have his influence or fame. it’s just nowhere near okay to do that and I’m dying on this hill. peace.

[shizekarnstein]

One thing that pisses me off in the SnK fandom is how most treat as if Marleyans are the victims in Liberio. No. Not fucking true. The only victims there are the Eldian civilians and foreign dignitaries that Marley DELIBERATELY set up for deaths. Marley knew an attack might happen but didn't minimize casualties. They MAXIMIZED the casualties for their own benefit. Tybur said it its part of their plan himself. So fuck Marley and their tyrannical empire. Those heartless assholes are no victims.

I agree with you anon. Completely.

There's this misconception going around about what really went down in Liberio. People are all too eager to point fingers at Eren (not even the SC or, strangely enough Zeke as well) and only Eren. Besides their bias regarding him, I can see why: he crushed all those people and it was horrifying. In our world legal jargon that could be considered a war crime. But still: you are totally right regarding how some ppl miss the Tybur/Magath side in all of this. It was a political plot and move they decided to implement as soon as they knew an attack was inminent. They both knew and choose to use it to further their own agendas: to lay all blame on Paradis and it's demonic leader, thus redirecting all the attention and anger of the world away from Marley. You know, the country that was invading them and forcing their citizens to join the marley military to keep invading even more countries. That's a war crime. The marleyan volunteers formed bc of that.

The kids have the gist of it

Willy and Magath knew Marley was in danger: the power of the titans they had used for almost a century to opress the rest of the world was no longer unbeatable; if they didn't change tactics Marley was going down. That's why they, egged on by Zeke, attempt to invade Paradis as soon as they could to seize it's resources. But the higher ups were not ready to accept the power of the titans was declining. And it's for that that Magath and Willy decide to take matters into their own hands.

Here they are talking about all the old and stubborn higher ups they need to remove from the picture if they want their plan to succeed. As they knew the enemy was planning an attack, what best way to get rid off the old trash than to put them directly into the line of fire? It was for the good of Marley after all.

Remember: Willy and the Tyburs were the defacto leaders of Marley. By working together they had the chance to install Magath, the one able to see where the future was gonna lead them if they didn't take action, as the higher military authority of Marley. Tybur and Magath were co conspirators.

And for that goal they were gonna use the enemy inminent attack to make their play.

They invite representatives from all over the world with the excuse of a peace treaty and a new declaration of war at the same time. Using Willys charisma and good connections, they convinced them to reunited for an important announcement in the Liberio Interminent Zone.

The world sees eldians (sans the Tyburs) as dirty blooded demons. Inviting them to Liberio, as the kids told us, is paramount to being asked to hold a meeting in a dumpster. Under the pretense of good will, they were actually knowingly leading all those foreign dignataries to their deaths. They choose to make this sacrifice, to use their biggotry and deaths as fuel to justify their crusade against the island. Willy Tybur as bait, the supposed holder of the WH, was tempting. Gathering all the military higher ups an even more tantalizing one. The stage was set already.

Once they convinced the world of their pure intentions and how Eren Jaeger and Paradis were ready to annihilate them all, once their declaration of war was heard and baptized with the willing blood of Willy and all the other witness as sacrifices, and the military purged, Magath was ready to capitalized on all of it.

Willy talks about how Marley as a nation belongs to both eldians and marleyans. The nerve of that guy. The same eldians they let be opressed and weaponized in Marleys conquest wars. The same eldians that lived cramped in ghettos and at the first signs of dissidence were tortured and turned into monsters. They same eldians that were so hated, so despised that some dude could literally feed a lil girl to the dogs without consequences. Because she and all the others were demons. The Tyburs were eldians as well, and willingly choose to not only turn a blind eye to all that, but to make it the norm. They lived grand, comfortable lifes at the cost of all their people suffering. In my eyes that's unforgiva

ble.

Were the victims Marleyans? Of course not!! Why should they be? All they needed was the world representatives and the trash of society to bleed in front of that stage. Uniting the world as a whole, even mainland eldians, against the devils of Paradis Island. Marleyan civillians suffered almost no cassualities, bc I bet there were few who would had put up with the devils stench just for a glimpse of what was happening. The only marlyans who died were military. That's what both parts were after: Willly and Magath wanting to purge them, and Eren and the SC as well.

So no, the only people who died that night were either soldiers, dignataries or eldians from Liberio whose lives all made for a pretty sacrifice in order to redirect the hatred of the whole world. No one else. And they died in part bc Magath and the Tyburs decided to use those deaths instead of preventing them.

As for if they deserved to die... my answer is no. No matter how easly swayed and bloodthristy all of those foreign guests were, I don't think they deserved to be crushed like that. It was brutal. The eldians and honorary marleyans even less. They were disposable tools, poor ppl whose lives were hell and their deaths used as fuel to Marleys new holy war. Nobody asked them if they were willing to lay down their lives as Willy desired to do with his own.

As for the military that Eren, Armin and the rest of the SC felled... those were soldiers at least. People who chose to wear those uniforms and fight. If they werent so awful Id feel pity for how Magath and Willy played them. But they were all horrible and cruel ppl so I dont give a damn. Fuck Marley.

Thanks for asking!!!

[hes-writer]

The Hate You Give

Hi hun! If you’re not too busy, could u write one where they’re are dating and she’s a latina? Like she feels insecure about her brown skin, slightly bigger chest and ass, her thick dominican accent bc the girls who were linked with him before were all white and blonde and like she tries to break up with him bc of all the hate and differences. Thanks honeyy!!💖💖 @champagnehaarry

disclaimer; I'm not latinx and I've done research as to not offend or stereotype this character to the best of my ability.

Summary: Y/N is latina and receives hate messages

Warnings: angst, fluff

——

Y/N was different. She knew that, well, she had an idea ever since she hit puberty way back when. Her chest had grown bigger than the rest of the girls and her bottom would get her catcalls when she walked down the street. She could handle it, she prided herself in being strong. She didn't mind her accent, not one bit. Sure, it was thick and her pronunciation on certain words had others asking for her to repeat what she just said maybe once or twice, but she tried to understand where they were coming from; ‘everyone has their differences,’ she thought. Her skin never really bothered her–in fact, she hadn't spared much thought about its pigment until now.

When she met Harry, all her insecurities washed away as if she was just a regular girl meeting the love of her life. The way she looked didn't matter to her because she could see in his eyes that he loved her—nobody could tell her any differently.

——-

Y/N was strong. So strong that even when the media caught the first sight of Harry and her hanging out together on their third date, she blew off the fact that one of the cameramen shouted at them, "Harry! Who's this beautiful brown lady with you?" One might say that it was a compliment, at least he called her beautiful, but she couldn't shake off the measures that person took to describe her. Couldn't have he just called her 'lady'? Y/N decides that she's making a bigger deal out of it than it actually meant.

The second time something remarkable happened—it was when Harry stopped their romantic walk to take pictures with his fans. Y/N didn't mind, she loved that Harry was so dedicated to the people that support him that he would basically give all that he can to them. He didn't have to, but he did and that made Y/N fall harder for him. One of the girls asked Y/N to take a picture, handed her their phone and posed with Harry. Y/N was surprised at the straightforward action and she knew that she could not mess this up. Not when the girl has probably been dreaming of this moment her entire life, Y/N will not be responsible for a blurry, half-assed picture. Instead, she asks the girl,

"Do you have any requests on how to take it? Portrait or landscape? Nothing below the waist or..?"

Harry admired her for being so caring, he only smiles at her for asking, being so patient that he feels giddy on the inside and he cannot wait to ask her to be his. The fan, however, furrows her brows and her face morphs into one of confusion.

"Can you repeat what you said?" Y/N repeats her statement but was only met with the same expression-–maybe with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, can you just take the picture? I don't want to be rude but your accent is so...thick, are you even from here,"

"Obviously not," the girl's friend answers for Y/N. The most obvious answer, if any. The girl beside Harry nudges her friend, eyes shifting from her and then hardening towards Harry as if warning her that she was being a bit rude.

Regardless, the friend eyes Y/N up and down with a glimmer in her eye that spoke hatred.

Y/N takes the picture anyway.

——-

As Harry and Y/N reach the door to her apartment, she couldn't help but think of the past events. It wasn't only that, it was a built up of temperament where she had been treated indifferently by people around Harry. Some fans commented under her selfie on Instagram ranging from "at least you have boobs and ass girl" to "how much fake tan does she use" —none, by the way, she was all natural. And Y/N can't help but feel a tad insecure.

Then came the news articles with the headlines, "Harry Styles Spotted With A Spicy Latina" or "Harry Snags A Girl From Down Under" which confuses her not only because they're an invasion of privacy but she wonders how her whole humanity can be diminished into such an objective headline—she had a name. Granted, she wasn't really worth knowing but regardless, it was better to be called by her name rather than a hotshot eye-catching headline.

She taps the link to one of the articles, scrolling through the lengthy piece of work, eyes squinting at the introduction where it states that Y/N was certainly a deviation away from Harry's usual hookups. Harry had taken it upon himself to make them some hot chocolate while she got changed in comfier clothes as a conclusion to their date night. She was supposed to choose the movie. Her eyes squint at the words "10 Proofs that Y/N Y/LN is a no match for Harry"

The first one on the list was Taylor Swift. Of course, how could Y/N forget about her. Skinny, blonde and pale skin, a stark contrast to her curvy figure, wavy hair and darker toned pigment. She feels a lurch in her stomach from the hit of realization.

Then came Camille Rowe—a model with similar attributes as Taylor. Completely the opposite of Y/N and she feels herself getting more sick at the knowledge being pounded into her. She didn't care about Harry's past because she only cared for who he is in the present. Seeing the women he went for before her puts a stake right through her self-esteem knowing that she would always be compared with one of them as long as she and Harry were together. Her confidence staggering each time she reads a negative comment about how her skin color made Harry stand out whereas it made her blend in the background-a sarcastic joke that wasn't very funny. Her breath hitching every time the topic of her accent came up; how fans who've met her in person make fun of her not having an understandable accent as if it was her fault that her pronunciation was too broad beyond their compare. And each time she sees a comparison of her and Harry with him and his exes, she shakes her head because she knows that literally nothing good ever comes out of that.

She knows she's strong. But why did this hurt her so much? The personal attacks being hurled at her made her feel so inferior to others and even to Harry! It was like the media was never gonna get used to the fact that she's a person of colour—continuously writing papers about their 'interracial' relationship as if it was such a huge deal when really, it was not even their business to pry or scavenge for.

"Hey love, have you chosen a movi– hey, hey what's wrong?" Harry walks through the doors of her bedroom, feet kicking the door slightly open while his hands carried two steaming mugs of foaming hot chocolate. Upon seeing her tears and slouched stance, he sets the cups down on the bedside table before sitting with her at the foot of the bed.

Y/N stares at him as he does so before wiping her eyes with the heel of her hands. "Nothing, it's nothing just.."

"You can tell me anything, you know that. Now tell me what's wrong, lovie" He wraps an arm around her figure as an action of comfort, but Y/N only sees it as a burden in her chest.

"I think we should break up, H" She looks at her sock-clad feet. Not being able to look at him in the eyes, it's her weakness.

"What? Y/N, did I do something?" Harry tilts her chin up towards his face, eyes frantically searching her red ones for a justifiable reason for her decision.

"I'm not good enough for you," Harry gasps at her confession, genuinely surprised that his girlfriend could even fathom to say those words, let alone think of them.

He denies every claim about her theory but his voice was muted by her mind repeatedly playing the things she had read a few minutes ago. Memories of her being demeaned echoing through her head.

"You're the best person I've ever been with. It doesn't matter what other people sa—"

"Yes it does, Harry! It definitely matters when I'm being constantly picked on and compared to your ex-girlfriends. Every day I read something about how I must've 'tricked' you into being with me because of how I look," Y/N cuts Harry's rant off, not caring if it hurts him because she was so so hurt. The pain had embedded itself in her, working its way up to her roots; who she was and where she came from.

"I'm not just another girl that Harry Styles dated. I'm the brown girl, the one who has the 'biggest ass' out of all of them and especially the darkest because you... you've only dated people like Taylor before and I can't live my life being put down because of how I look,"

Harry stares at her with emotion. Of course, the media was gonna pinpoint what his 'type' was. He didn't know it was hurting his love.

"Y/N, they're all bull. Whoever's writing this shit, they're only in it for the money," he begins, forcing her body to face him completely. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. They're my exes for a reason and even if I did date them, I'm with you now because I love you for who you are,"

"But it's true, isn't it? They're all so small and I'm big. They're half the size of me for god's sakes!"

"It's not true. And you know why? You're mesmerizing in your own way. I love the way your body curves, the way you look doesn't matter to me as much because you're a beautiful, genuine person inside and out," He nods along to his words. "But your body is amazing, Y/N. And you should learn to love your skin because it shows you who you are."

Y/N bored at Harry's eyes, seeing nothing but genuine kindness behind it. Her mouth gapes open having not heard such compliments from anyone as authentic as the words Harry was speaking to her.

"Harry..."

"No, Y/N. I won't sit here and listen to you put yourself down. You deserve to know how unbelievably gorgeous you are. The tabloids, the hate—they're not true and people like them need some education before they go off dragging other people who don't look like them down."

"You're right, H. I'm sorry,"

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about,"

She wipes tears from her eyes, this time they're from happiness.

——

@ynm1505

[zivitz]

I can’t reblog this post so I’m just gonna copy and paste my reply. And then I have better things to do with my brain space than respond to people who are  attempting to browbeat me into submission while simultaneously refusing to allow me to participate, explain, or elaborate on my POV. So I might be talking to myself here, but it makes me feel better. To my followers, I’m sorry for the novel.

@trashpandabarnes ( @trashpanda-barnes) wrote:

yeah, abusing and gaslighting your “daughter” whose family who burnt to the ground, whom you tried to manipulate and sacrificed AGAINST HER WILL, as she ACTIVELY EXPRESSED HER DESIRE TO FREE HERSELF FROM YOU but you threw her off the cliff’s edge because u want power, because you don’t actually care about your “daughter” but are ALL about making her tragedy of negligence and abuse ALL YOUR OWN self-vicimized manpain is totally the characteristics of a fantastique dad™, ooof i could go on and on on the Gamora thing alone but then there’s Nebula who you mistreated her whole life and constantly pit her against the only person who she felt like she could have a connection to, and never passed up a chance to insult her, saying killing her would be a “waste of parts”. Boi oh boi @zivitz never fucking have kids dude if you think saying/doing this kind of shit to your kids is still gonna get u the award of father of the year bc no matter how much u claim u love ur kids, it doesn’t fucking excuse the abuse and also never have a girlfriend if this is how you think women are to be treated in fiction/otherwise —its 2018, women deserve  better than to  be treated as plot device for a self-importance asshole’s cringey angst. Get tf outta here with your apologist attitude, dufe. Thanos shows no remorse or no acknowledgement of faults and therefore, no character growth. He is stubborn and self-absorbed and a deadass weak villian. Marvel went about wrong with constantly trying to sympathize him, he’s a purple egoistic maniac and that is not an appealing character trait and should NOT have been glamorized by marvel for edgy fanboys like you with barely one working braincell, end of.

First of all, and this must be embarrassing for you- I’m not a guy. At least, I hope it’s embarrassing, because you’re making a fuck of a lot of assumptions based on this belief and they’re all wrong.

There seems to be a lot of thought going around that I am, and I quote, “pro-Thanos”. That I defend his actions or justify them in any way. That I think he’s a swell guy who’s just a misunderstood woobie. Or something. I think you’re confusing me with the Loki fangirls, but whatever.

Thanos being both capable of love and actually loving Gamora doesn’t make him a good person. It’s pretty clear throughout the movie that Gamora is literally the only person he loves. At all. In the universe. Except for himself, that is. Just because he’s capable of loving Gamora doesn’t mean he loves Nebula- I mean, clearly he fucking hates her. He doesn’t love the Black Order. I have a hunch that they started out as his ‘children’ in terms of being under his protection, guidance, and doing his bidding, but he was taken by Gamora and she became his daughter in thought and deed as well as word.

I have never ever said he was a good father, either. He clearly was not; no good parent puts their child through that kind of pain. No good parent rips a child away from their family, kills them, forces them into a life they neither are ready for nor would have chosen. A good parent (even most bad parents) doesn’t pit children against each other. Gamora had an abusive childhood, flat out. No one’s arguing that. Thanos is a big fat child abuser. He abused her (and Nebula, and probably the Black Order) to suit his own purpose. It was bad and wrong and fucked them all up royally and none of them deserved that.

Now take a step back and get the fuck of your high horse for a minute, and look at it from Thanos’s perspective. He is the hero of his own story. That’s what we were meant to see in Infinity War. A peek at the story from his point of view. Not that we were supposed to believe he was right, not that they were saying he had a point, or that we should sympathize with him. We’re not supposed to see character growth because he’s not the hero and there is no redemption. We’re just seeing how things look from his vantage point.

He saw his world die and couldn’t stop it because no one was strong enough to do the terrible, awful thing that would have saved it.  And he saw the same things happening all over, so he decided he was the only one strong enough to do what needed to be done. And he worked hard at it. He collected his ‘children’, those he could raise and train to be strong like him and carry out his work. Carry on his work, if it lasted beyond his lifetime.

Gamora came along and was Different. In that deleted scene, he said himself he saw himself as alone and he was okay with that (he says in a voice that very much says he was Not Okay With That) because he had ‘a new vocation’. Until Gamora. He loved her. Took her under his wing, trained her, challenged her to be the best she could be. Gave her a family. Thought she, his favourite daughter, would be his heir. Wanted her to choose it, choose him, and let her leave when she didn’t instead of dragging her back and punishing her. He doesn’t really care that she’s rejecting him because he loves her regardless, but is hurt by the betrayal of her lies because she was the one person he trusted completely. He hurts her, but only as much as he has to to get what he needs. If he didn’t need to, he wouldn’t hurt her (we see this again and again- he could have killed Bruce, Groot, Cap, Wanda- and he didn’t. He just wanted them out of his way). His Vocation is more important at this point. And even then, he struggles with the decision that he must sacrifice the one person he loves and again be utterly alone- and live with the knowledge that he’s killed his child, his ‘everything’- for the sake of the Greater Good.

That’s how Thanos views himself. Is that how I view him? Not really. I mean, objectively speaking he did pretty fucking unspeakable things for what he thinks in his own incredibly misguided way is the right thing to do. Did Gamora deserve all that? Fuck, no. No one does. Did he love her during all of that, think he was doing what was best for her? Yup. Was it actually what was best for her? Fucking hell. No.

I love Gamora. I feel a great affinity for her because I grew up in an abusive household, where I was groomed and manipulated to be what my mother wanted and needed me to be. I was made in her image, to be useful to her and do what she needed and prop her up. I was her enabler for a long time. I didn’t break away from her until I was long into adulthood. And yet, I was loved. My mother thought she was doing the right thing by me. She thought she was making me into a strong person. She was doing her best to make me the best I could be by her vision. Because she loved me. She was wrong about what she was doing. She fucked me up in ways I’m still learning about.  I can see both worlds: the one my mother inhabits, and the real world.

I feel Gamora. I really, truly do. But liking Thanos, being able to see how he sees himself and yes, even feel bad for someone who’s suffering even if they’re a crazy abusive monster, doesn’t mean I have to agree with him. Doesn’t mean I think he’s justified, doesn’t make me an apologist. Doesn’t mean I love Gamora any less.

And it doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. That I support abuse, abusers, or would abuse anyone in any way. I work with very young children precisely because I was abused and no one helped me. And I want to keep that from happening to other children, to keep them from growing up like I did. It’s my own version of “There are little girls like you across the universe who are in danger. You can stay with us and help them.” You make a lot of assumptions about me, and we all know what they say about that. This is fandom, but we’re all people here. Maybe check yourself before you go shooting your mouth off about shit you know nothing about.

[nerds4lifeblog-blog]

Imaginary Essay: The Ninja Turtles’ Troubling Irresponsibility and the Inherent Dangers of National Pride

Have a suggestion for the next Imaginary Essay on gaming, anime or pop culture? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter, and don't forget to leave a grade on this one, too! Introduction In an indeterminate period circa 1992, New York City suffered one of its most disturbing acts of terrorism, when Oroku Saki (henceforth “The Shredder”) orchestrated a heist of incredible proportions, absconding with the Statue of Liberty. The act itself was perpetrated by interstellar criminal Krang of Dimension X, through the aid of a large human-like mechanical apparatus, commonly referred to as “Krang’s Android Body”. Though the theft was initially successful, the statue was later returned to its proper place by a small team of anthropomorphic mutant reptiles, known collectively and henceforth as the “Ninja Turtles” or simply “Turtles”. Despite the act of heroism being widely celebrated (particularly by an elated child who leapt energetically into the air upon its retrieval), there are a number of underlying issues that have yet to be addressed, and an argument can be made that the short-sightedness of the Ninja Turtles endangered the people of New York City, and potentially the world. Foremost, this is in no way an attempt to suggest that the Turtles acted out of a place of malice or self-gain. Theirs was a heroic venture, and their expert application of thorough ninjutsu training in conjunction with strategic consumption of pizzas ultimately proved a successful gambit. However, the ends do not necessarily justify the means, particularly when one considers the disproportionate risk taken for an inanimate (albeit treasured) landmark. Thesis Statement For years, the Ninja Turtles have been absolutely vital to the wellbeing of New Yorkers, fending off threats like the Shredder on multiple occasions, as well as a myriad of other, lesser opponents such as a transient who commands a large army of rats, or a deranged pizza chef with cannibalistic tendencies. Without their efforts, it can be assumed that crime rates would rise immensely - such statistics are consistent with figures provided by the New York Police Department, which show a sharp decline in criminal activity from 1990 onward (Langan & Durose 2004). In the instance of the Statue of Liberty incident and subsequent skirmishes that were soon to follow – and precede – this event, greater caution could have been taken to avert potential disaster. It has never been made clear what the Shredder’s motives were for this act, and he himself has never openly made a statement on the matter. Most have assumed that he sought fiscal gain, or intended to use the Statue of Liberty as a bargaining chip in a political setting. Prior to this, the largest single property crime in the nation's history, the theft of 13 pieces of art from a Boston museum, was valued by the FBI at a combined $500 million (Rothman 2015), a number that would clearly be dwarfed in this instance. It is important, however, to consider the events that immediately occurred in the aftermath of the initial theft, and one could surmise from the nature of these events that the Shredder’s true intentions were even more malicious. Shredder makes a brief television appearance following the news footage of the heist, and though he is wearing a mask that obscures his face, it is clear that he is feeling jovial, laughing at the camera, and perhaps even at the viewers at home. This goading proves effective, as the Ninja Turtles set out at approximately 3 am to retrieve the statue. This ‘strike force’ mentality that compelled them to respond hastily was done without any attempts at diplomacy, or further research conducted. It is unclear how much time the proper authorities had to react, or what their course of action may have entailed. The broadcast is detailed as the 'evening news', which would place it somewhere in the realm of 6:30pm, allowing only a few hours before the Turtles set out – in no way enough time for an appropriately considered response to such a situation. The FBI's official document stresses that their investigations are 'driven by intelligence - bits of information gathered and synthesised by the FBI and its partners' (Federal Bureau of Investigation 2013). The Ninja Turtles’ campaign continues throughout the alleyways in broad daylight (it is important to state that the anonymity of the Turtles is absolutely vital to their existence, unimpeded by the distractions of celebrity or social pressures, yet they not only forego conventional ninja techniques in their brash methodology, but also proudly brandish their initials upon their belts), before returning to the relative safety of the sewers. This leads them to the Technodrome, and it is here that the most compelling points against their actions take root. Up to this point, there has only been token resistance offered by Shredder’s forces, and the Ninja Turtles have successfully stormed his stronghold, which he has inexplicably stationed so close to their home turf. There is no evidence of security guarding the entrance, and indeed, the Turtles literally leap into the Technodrome with ease, suggesting that a door had been left open, or at the very least, unlocked. Upon reaching the Shredder’s headquarters, the Ninja Turtles are forcibly sent back in time to 250,000,000 BC. It would seem quite apparent, then, that Shredder had every intention of allowing the Turtles to reach the Technodrome, whereupon he would enact his master plan; one that they had no way of foreseeing, and were unable to prevent. With this, the Shredder had effectively dispatched of the Turtles, leaving New York City completely defenceless. Considering the blackout of 1977 led to 'violence, arson, and looting caused extensive long-term physical and functional damage to certain areas of two boroughs of the city, Brooklyn and the Bronx' (Imperato 2016), it could only be assumed what kind of chaos could have occurred had the public been made aware of this dire situation.

Potential Causations Previously, the allusion was made towards the risk, compared to the potential reward, and at this moment, it can be condensed into the simple summation: the Ninja Turtles sacrificed their wellbeing, and consequently that of the entire planet, in order to retrieve the Statue of Liberty – a statue that potentially could have been extracted through other legal methods, or by an organised SWAT team that would theoretically have the resources and know-how to locate the Shredder's enormous metallic spherical base with an eyeball, in its underground location. Now, we must begin to consider the motives of the Ninja Turtles. Were they compelled by some arbitrary sense of duty, feeling that only they could right this transgression? Were they blinded by rage upon seeing Shredder’s appearance on the television (their leader, Leonardo, going so far as to accuse him of being a ‘bloated bean bag’)? Or could it simply be a matter of civic and national pride gone too far, and being allowed to jeopardise the greater good? The Statue of Liberty is both a symbol of New York City, and the United States of America as a whole. It is a point of pride, representing their values of freedom and justice. Had it remained in Shredder’s possession, it would no doubt be an economic blow, and could potentially have a negative impact upon America’s standing on the global stage. And though these are clearly steep consequences to suffer, they are nothing in comparison to the uprise of a tyrant unlike any the world had ever seen. Had the Ninja Turtles failed at their task, how futile would their efforts have sounded, in hindsight? That Earth’s only hope for survival was banished into the folds of time in their pursuit of a statue? It is this patriotism that stymies the level-headed rationale that the Turtles should show as wardens for the city. Vermaak (2012) observes of national pride that ‘…it is subject to abuse, both by those in power, as well as those who just want to justify their actions or views, and yield it as a weapon to instil others to a perceived state of mind, where subjective wills are punted as the truth.’ Observe further: so headstrong are the Turtles in their success, they return the Statue of Liberty to its resting place in front of a crowd on live television, while piloting a blimp with their logo embellished upon it (henceforth the “Turtle Blimp”). Is this not the antithesis to the art of ninjutsu? Could this be evidence of the Turtles giving into the allure of celebrity, simply to appease their own testosterone-fueled vigour? If the widely respected teachings of Masaaki Hatsumi are to be believed, the mantra of 'don't be possessed by greed, luxury, or your ego' (Hatsumi 2004) was clearly not followed in this instance. Going beyond the code and pratices of ninjutsu, one need also reference the viability of the Turtle Blimp as a potential weapon in the ongoing conflict against the Shredder, and how its apparent misuse as a mode of transport is another error on the part of the Turtles. The Statue of Liberty weighs 225 tons (approximately 204 tonnes) in total (NYC Trip n.d.), yet the Turtle Blimp is able to carry it, seemingly unimpeded, from the distance of the Technodrome to Liberty Island. By comparison, the prototype zeppelin LMH-1, which is of a similar size to the Turtle Blimp, if not potentially slightly bigger, is capable of carrying around 23 tons (approximately 21 tonnes) of cargo (Gray 2016). For the Turtles to possess an aircraft with ten times the amount of power of comparable commercial aircraft, and to not use it as a bludgeoning tool, is an indictment on the Turtles' peripheral thinking, and perhaps their dedication as a whole. Moreover, it is deeply concerning to know that such a devastating force is in the hands of vigilante teenagers, regardless of their intentions. On that note, there is perhaps more to the phrase "vigilante teenagers" than immediately apparent, and further observation could place the responsibility upon poor parenting. The Turtles' actions are guided by their de facto guardian, Hamato Yoshi (henceforth "Splinter"), the former Shidoshi of the Foot Clan in Japan. The questionable decision to house four adolescent mutants in the New York City's underground sewer system notwithstanding, Splinter is purportedly a wise and benevolent figure. Despite this, he saw fit to send the Turtles into Shredder's trap without any form of reconnaissance undertaken whatsoever, and is even visible amongst the throng on live television during the statue's return. In a study of juvenile offenders, it was found that '...those who describe their parents as neglectful are less mature, less competent, and more troubled' (Steinberg & Blatt-Eisengart 2006). Michelangelo is often described as immature, while Raphael is deeply troubled, and prone to violent outbursts - both clear indicators of the dangerous path Splinter has taken them down. As a whole, the Ninja Turtles appear to be lacking in appropriate adult supervision. News reporter April O'Neil has been known to exploit the talents of the Turtles when necessary (albeit primarily with just cause), and in the instance of their travels through time and space, is somehow capable of materialising before them regardless of their location, urging them to fight whenever they are hesitant to progress. That is an enormous amount of pressure to place upon a group of teenagers, particularly when they are in a place and time period that is unfamiliar to them. The negative effects this can have on their psyche, as observed by Robinson (1991) include self-esteem, school interest and clinical symptoms.

Conclusion Read the full article in the link below: Read the full article

[bubonickitten]

So what do you think are anders best traits (other than him worrying about mage rights and him being a compassive healer?) I really love him and I love the way you write about him so I'm just curious.

There’s a lot I love about him :0

I mean, on a personal level, he’s a really relatable character for me, so that’s part of why I like him so much.

But I also like him as a character in general. (I’ll put this post under a cut bc it got long.) 

Him being a compassionate healer and being incredibly passionate about mage rights are huge parts of his character and they’re honestly two of the biggest things that make me like him so much. 

Like, here’s a person who was subject to systemic abuse for most of his life, who knows full well the repercussions of rebelling against the status quo, but does it anyway, because his convictions are just that strong. He knows that the Circle and the Chantry are fundamentally wrong. He’s experienced and witnessed firsthand what happens to people who fight back. Hell, when we meet him Awakening, he’s only just recently been released from a year of solitary confinement for running away - he just got out and as soon as he was able to, he ran again. If he gets caught and sent back to the Circle again, he’s going back into solitary confinement at the very least, and by the time he’s in Kirkwall, he’s also possessed by a spirit, so he’s risking just being killed outright. He’s risking everything by fighting back so openly and actively, but he does it anyway. 

And it’s not just Justice’s presence that makes him so willing to fight. Even when he was running, he was fighting back, because by constantly running away, he was refusing to submit. But in Awakening, Anders did feel like he couldn’t have any impact on the status quo - he believed that things would change eventually, he believed that the way mages are treated is inherently and fundamentally wrong and one day things would be different, but he didn’t think he’d ever see it in his lifetime, and he didn’t believe he of all people could do anything to enact change. Justice helped him realize that he could be an agent of change, but that fire and that strong sense of right and wrong were already there - it just needed to be validated and encouraged, which Justice did for him. 

And I do like that Anders needed support to be able to get to that point, bc I feel like that’s... realistic, y’know? I don’t like the idea that everyone should have to fend for themselves and not have to rely on others to stand up and fight. He couldn’t do it alone, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He hasn’t gotten much support from others throughout his life, so I like that in this instance, he had someone to lean on. (And I still wish there were more opportunities to support him more actively in DA2.)  

Like, it was difficult for Anders to admit to those feelings of powerlessness - which is entirely understandable, because in his experience, showing that kind of vulnerability could get him killed or worse (if the templars considered a mage to be weak-willed, they might not even give them a chance at the Harrowing and just make them Tranquil outright - and Anders is canonically mentally ill, which I imagine added an extra burden in terms of hiding his vulnerability). So, outwardly, he talked a big talk about only being concerned with his own freedom and pretends to be more apathetic and careless than he actually is. 

This also shows a lot in terms of his sense of humor - it’s a lot of morbid sarcasm, irreverent joking, gallows humor even - because he uses it as a shield and a coping mechanism. Ngl, I love that aspect of him, it’s one of the things that started endearing him to me in Awakening first. I play my Hawke as having a similar sense of irreverent, snarky humor, so they play well off of one another. Humor as a coping mechanism is a character trait I tend to appreciate and relate to a lot, haha. 

Anyway, I think in actuality he cares so much it hurts. It might not seem like it when we first meet him in Awakening, but I think it’s just that it’s easier and psychologically safer for him to pretend he doesn’t care than it is to admit that he does care but feels powerless to change things. It takes a lot of strength (and also support from others, which again, is something that Anders hasn’t had much of throughout most of his life) to be able to confront your own vulnerability and try to channel it into something that benefits others. 

But even in Awakening, his actions often contradicted the “I don’t care about anyone but myself” talk - if you tell him to run away in the beginning of the game, he’ll do so, but he shows back up like five minutes later because he felt like he couldn’t leave the Warden to fight the darkspawn alone (he jokes about being “bad at the whole ‘fugitive from justice’ thing”, which... turns out to be way more accurate than he may even realize in that moment). In the endgame, he’s not eager to go along with the Warden to Amaranthine, but if you do bring him, he’s one of the companions who will argue against leaving Amaranthine to burn - his instincts might tell him to run, but he cares too much about the survivors in Amaranthine to leave them to their fate. 

Not to mention, canonically, spirit healers are kinda rare. They derive a lot of their power from spirits of compassion, which means earning spirits’ trust and cooperation. A person who isn’t compassionate probably wouldn’t be able to earn that cooperation of a spirit of compassion in the first place. Not to mention his interest in being a healer in general - it’s a big part of his identity, to the point where in DA2, one of the things he worries most about is not being able to heal anymore because he’s so afraid that he or Justice will accidentally hurt one of his patients.

I think a lot of his attachment to the healer role is also tied up in his own internalized belief that he has to be a Good Mage in order to deserve freedom - it seems contradictory, it’s something that goes against his stated principles, mages shouldn’t have to prove themselves and be ‘good’ mages according to the Chantry’s fucked up doctrine to deserve freedom and life and love, but he lived in the Circle for at least half his life and he definitely internalized a lot of the hateful messages they taught about mages. Fighting against those teachings is a constant battle for him - which also ties into his occasional crises of faith, because he’s an Andrastian and all the spiritual authorities in his life have taught him that he’s a non-person, that he’s inherently sinful and cursed and deserving of subjugation because he’s a mage. 

So, he has a lot of moments of self-doubt. He has a lifetime of trauma and abuse that affect his present well-being. He has a lot of self-loathing and a lot of fear of himself (the latter esp after merging with Justice). He doesn’t see himself as worthy of love or care, even if he talks passionately about how mages deserve those things - he often doesn’t give himself the same consideration that he’s willing to give others. He has an incredibly complicated relationship with his own anger - because his anger is totally and completely justifiable, but it scares him, because he associates rage and anger with demons and loss of control. (I think a big source of the conflict btwn he and Justice is how they differ re: embracing and accepting anger. For Justice, that anger is righteous fury, it’s justified, it’s a source of passion and change. For Anders, it’s a source of fear and insecurity a lot of the time. I think a lot of their miscommunication is rooted in that fear.)

But Anders works himself half to death trying to help as many people as he can for as long as he can, and even though he’s barely making a dent in all the suffering he sees in the world, even though he’s risking everything, he just keeps going, because that’s how strongly he believes and that’s how much he cares. Every mage he helps escape the Gallows, every patient he helps in his clinic is worth it to him. That kind of perseverance in the face of hopelessness and doubt and a world set against you is really admirable to me.

And I also like how clear it is that it doesn’t come easy to him. It’s not just some inspiration porn “you can do anything you set your mind to if you just try :)” thing. He stumbles a lot. He fails a lot. He spends most of DA2 in a constant state of anxiety and desperation (esp since he really doesn’t get much support from the people closest to him, except like… Justice and Hawke, if you play Hawke in a supportive role). He’s idealistic, but he can’t help but dip into periods of hopelessness and depression and doubt - partly because he has a mood disorder, partly because that’s just… expected for someone who’s seen as much shit as he has. His life is messy and he’s tired and it shows. But even when he’s running, he’s fighting. Sometimes, survival is in itself a form of rebellion and he’s a walking example of that. He is stubborn and although sometimes it’s a negative, it also has its perks. And that passion doesn’t just manifest as rage - it’s also love, because lbh, he is a hopeless romantic (in a dorky, endearing way at times) and in his romance route he loves Hawke fiercely.  

It’s a shame that he didn’t get more positive character development in DA2 (it’s no secret how resentful I am toward the writers, he and Justice really deserved better). I headcanon him over time learning how to communicate and coexist with Justice; learning to practice self-care and be kinder to himself; more fully accepting that he has a right to be angry and he doesn’t have to prove that he’s deserving of personhood or love.

And he has a fair amount of flaws for sure - he has a tendency to project his insecurities onto others (e.g. Merrill), he’s not a good ally to other marginalized groups (e.g. elves), he sometimes lashes out at others when they don’t deserve it (which, although I understand why he behaves that way, it still isn’t fair to others who are on the receiving end), he was manipulative in the ‘Justice’ quest (I understand his motivations but despite his intentions it wasn’t acceptable behavior) - but I think he has an ability to better himself in those areas and I like to headcanon that personal growth for him. (That’s not to say I want him to be a flawless character - nobody’s perfect, and a flawless character would be pretty flat and unrealistic, but I also like when characters are allowed to have personal growth in a positive direction.)

I guess, in all, he’s an interesting, likable, and relatable character for me - I wish the writers treated him better, I have a lot of criticisms wrt how he (and Justice) were written (including how Anders was treated as a bipolar character), and I’m also willing to criticize him where it’s deserved (I have a whole tag full of meta w/ my criticisms of him) - but overall he’s one of my faves.

 Tbh the reason why DA2 is my fave game in the series (despite all of my criticisms of the writing in it, esp Act 3) is the characters. Hawke is my favorite protag and DA2 has probably my favorite companion group - like, Anders, Merrill, Fenris, Isabela, and Varric are some of my fave characters in the whole series - so the characters are ultimately what make me like that game.