#her abuse is what made Agatha into who she is in the present | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gardenofkore · 4 years ago

Photo

“Sicily’s women have always been shadowy figures, crouched quietly in doorways or gazing down the crowded streets from balustraded or shuttered windows. For most of the medieval period they have left no direct record of themselves, since, with a few exceptions, they could neither read nor write - and even the possession of literacy, for those few lucky enough to enjoy it, did not give one the right to act or speak independently. As a consequence, very few records survive to shed light on their activities, and virtually none of the records we have present the women in their own voices. In the intensely conservative society of Sicily, women lived their lives under tight constraints; the traditional roles that society gave them gravely limited their freedom to act and ours to behold. Local customs, in general, were designed to isolate and protect women from the outside world, to keep them safely ensconced in their fathers’ homes until they could be safely and just as absolutely ensconced in their husbands’ homes, or, for the devout and dowry-less, dedicated to God in a nunnery. Not until the Vespers era - an era inaugurated with a rebellion sparked by an Angevin outrage against a native woman - do Sicily’s women come into view with any meaningful detail of focus. Our view of them is still partial and imperfect, given the limitations of even this improved documentation. But the extant evidence holds a few surprises.The most visible figures belong of course to the aristocracy. After 1282, and as a result of it, Sicily’s queens played important roles in society. The Catalan dynasty placed the bulk of its claim to the throne on its marriage link with Constance, the last of the Hohenstaufens. Consequently, the right to inherit title and property through the female line was well established. Frederick’s and James’s father, although he had conquered the realm and had received the acclamation of the Communitas Sicilie, consistently emphasized his right to rule through his marriage to Constance; and Frederick too, as we saw earlier, asserted his inheritance of Constance’s patrimony, rather than his election by parliament, as the chief legitimation of his kingship. As queen, Constance began the practice of sitting in the MRC and taking her place in the king’s inner circle of advisers. Extant records show her working to reconcile the church to the new dynasty, to foster greater unity of action among Sicily’s contending factions and regions, and to educate the new ruling caste to Sicilian customs. When Peter left the island in order to tend to matters in Catalonia, Constance headed the lieutenancy council that governed the realm in his absence; and she continued to advise the throne during James’s reign. As late as 1296 her aid was still sought by those who wanted to influence decisions at court, although the extent of her influence by that time had clearly waned.Frederick’s wife Eleanor likewise was a member of the council and exerted a fair share of influence. As with Constance, this influence had more to do with economics than ideology. As independent ruler of the camera reginale, the queen controlled a large segment of the vital Val di Noto, the most important city in which was Siracusa, with a steady population of nearly 8,000 throughout the reign. Adding the other sites that made up the apanage, she ruled a population of some 20,000 individuals. Her camera was the site of two of the most important trade fairs - at Siracusa, beginning on the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, and at Lentini, at the Feast of the Ascension - and represented as well a significant venue for wine, grain, and salt exports. Siracusa itself, in fact, held a monopoly on all exports from the confines of the city northward through all the coastal territory of the Gulf of Augusta. So important had the city become as a trading center, especially for the eastern and southern trade routes connecting Sicily with Greece, Egypt, and Malta, that the Siracusan salma was made the standard measure for all agricultural produce in the eastern half of the kingdom. In 1299 the government awarded the city a toll franchise that freed its produce of the inland duties levied upon other domestic trade; the franchise was to be lost, however, if the land under the city’s control was alienated or enfeoffed. This resulted in a rather static social structure, since land seldom changed hands. In later years, when the queen wanted to reward anyone or felt the need to make additional grants in order to purchase loyalty, she circumnavigated the prohibition of alienating the land by granting instead various rights (pasturage, herbage, water access, etc.) over the land, but not the land itself. The general strength of the commercial economy, however, made Siracusa, and the entire camera, for that matter, an attractive site for the thousands who fled the decay and poverty of the Val di Mazara. It was the sole region in the kingdom that experienced an increase in its population, in absolute numbers, during Frederick’s reign.Eleanor held full powers of criminal and civil jurisdiction over the district, and, through her hired agents, administered an independent machinery of tax collection. Few records survive from her administration. But what evidence we have indicates that she took her responsibilities seriously, even though she did not always choose well in appointing her officials. A personal favorite whom she introduced at court in 1307 and to whom she entrusted some minor diplomatic errands, Pere Ferrandis de Vergua, proved to be a flatterer and opportunist, a corrupt official who wooed and wedded a series of wealthy widows and young heiresses. On Eleanor’s recommendation, the MRC appointed Pere Ferrandis royal tax collector for Caltavuturo, where his flagrant abuse of his position led to vehement popular protests and ultimately to his impeachment; and when Pere later was found to have forged a number of documents - most notably his first wife’s will, arranging a bequest of 2,000.00.00 to himself - he was banished from the realm. Ultimately, he conspired to murder Frederick, whom he blamed for his failure to win the position in society that he felt he deserved.Eleanor was intensely pious. From the day of her arrival in Sicily - she married Frederick as a stipulation in the Caltabellotta treaty - she threw her considerable energy into rebuilding thekingdom's shattered churches and monasteries, and to raising new houses, hospitals, and evangelical schools. She funded the construction of Castrogiovanni's duomo in 1307, according totradition, by selling the entire collection of her royal jewels. She generously endowed any number of religious houses, within her camera and without. In the area around Paterno, for example, shegranted lands, curial rights, and cash to the monastery of S. Maria di Licodia, in return for the monks' prayers on behalf of the royal family. The gift was prescient, in its way, since Frederick died inPaterno while en route to Castrogiovanni. Her advocacy for religious houses continued well after their founding and endowment. Especially in the case of nunneries, Eleanor remained involved in their daily lives by observing elections to abbacies, the recruitment of nuns, the regularity of their worship, and their treatment of relics. She visited nunneries throughout the realm, often with her children in tow, and regularly participated in their worship, showing an early preference for Franciscan houses.Above everything else, she seems to have considered it her fundamental responsibility to promote religious observance and moral reform. Although overt, specific evidence about her relationship with the evangelical movement is lacking, a number of clues survive that show her to have been an enthusiast for the Spirituals. We have seen already that she took seriously Arnau deVilanova's injunction that she and her handmaidens should perform public rituals in every duomo and hospital in every city they visited, dressed as personifications of Faith and Hope, "so that inthis way the people may have a vision [like that] of the Mother of God entering a place of misery to comfort those who are there." It was probably in such garb that she led the procession of the relics of St. Agatha around the confines of Catania, during the eruption of Mount Etna. She not only held vernacular readings of the Scriptures on Sundays and feast days, but she further commissioned a vernacular translation of the Dialogues of Gregory the Great, for the edification of the royal children, one of the few substantial texts in Sicilian dialect that survives from Frederick's reign. Even in a mundane duty like appointing a new bailiff to preside over her territory at Paterno her concern for the spiritual life of the community dominated all other considerations. When she appointed Ruggero Gala to be bailiff, in 1311, at the height of Sicily's flirtation with Arnau's prophesies of the kingdom's apocalyptic role, she specified that his first and foremost duty was "that he should take diligent care, if he should find anyone blaspheming against God, the Blessed Virgin, or the saints, or anyone speaking ill of the Royal Majesty, that he should take no sureties [i.e. promises to appear in court as summoned] from them, but should immediately seize their persons and take them captive to the justiciar of the province." Under Sicilian law, most accused criminals had the right to post bail and remain free until their trial; but the passionate atmosphere of the evangelical realm would permit no such freedom to those who were even rumored to be guilty of blasphemy. In lock-step with Arnau's teachings and the Ordinationes generates, the queen directed her bailiffs also to arrest anyone caught playing at dice or cards. But Eleanor, for as much as she helped to establish a general atmosphere of family concern and reformist piety, was merely one woman, and hardly representative of the majority.”

Clifford R. Backman, The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily. Politics, religion, and economy in the reign of Frederick III, 1296-1337, p. 285-290.

#history #women #history of women #women in history #historical women #aragonese-spanish sicily #Constance II of Sicily #eleanor of naples #myedit #historyedit #people of sicily #women of sicily #frederick iii of sicily

73 notes · View notes

scarlet--wiccan · 4 years ago

Note

(1/?) The MCU is going on a specific direction and might touch Wanda's history of mental illness. Maybe talk about that when you have the time? Wanda was going on a nice direction before all that happened.

Whew! Sorry it’s taken me so long to answer this— I have several super-long message chains like this one in my inbox and they’re hard to parse through and harder still to write a real answer for. I’m gonna try through a couple of these today.

Well, I think you hit all the important points here-- the optics of a mixed-raced family of first- and second- gen Holocaust survivors committing mass acts of terrorism, becoming rulers of a fascist, supremacist regime, and then, finally, committing pseudo-genocide, are, you know, not great. These are complicated characters whose representation can easily swing in either really positive or really, really negative directions, but this goes beyond the pale for me, especially given the proximity to 9/11.

The portrayal of Wanda's mental illness during this time, while not wholly unsympathetic, is wildly inaccurate and generally played as a horror motif. I'm not an expert on schizophrenia, but I think we can all agree that it's high time we moved past exploiting sick and disabled people's experiences for cheap scares. It's especially frustrating because Wanda, as a character, does have ground for poignant stories about mental illness-- she's had numerous traumatic experiences, starting with generational trauma and a lifetime of violent discrimination, and ending, at that point, with the deaths of her young children and the abrupt dissolution of her marriage. Her mental health should be addressed, but not in a way that demonizes illness or characterizes sick people as villains. One thing I appreciate about Robinson's Scarlet Witch is that it represents her mental illness in a very human, matter of fact manner and gives her the power to take control of her own wellness. She has realistic symptoms and pursues realistic treatments, instead of, you know, making hallucination constructs and getting mind-probed by Charles fucking Xavier.

Wanda is simultaneously infantilized and vilified in these stories-- she's denied agency at every turn, and yet, Wolverine and the other "heroes" of this saga view her with unbridled contempt, and most of them are immediately ready to murder her in the name of justice, even before the "no more mutants" spell was cast. You wondered how Bendis was able to inspire such a long lasting hatred of Wanda, and I think the simple answer is that almost every character in House of M hates Wanda. The characters you root for, the characters whose perspectives dictate the tone of the story, direct palpable fury towards her, and even those who aren't out for her blood don't extend any actual empathy towards her-- most are ambivalent to her wellbeing, while Xavier and Strange are incredibly paternalistic.

The final spell, "no more mutants", has baffled me for years. You're spot-on in saying that Wanda here represents a self-hating minority, but it's really hard for me to understand how she could have reached that point. It's not consistent with her previous characterization, nor is it thematically connected to the factors which led to her breakdown. Bendis places the onus of her condition on Erik, alleging that he abandoned and abused his children in his fanatic commitment to the mutant cause, which, besides being a willful misinterpretation of canon, has nothing to do with Wanda's current circumstance-- she's like this because Agatha Harkness altered her memories, because the Avengers continuously gaslit her, and becaue Mephisto killed her kids in the first place. It has nothing to do with Magneto, and Wanda's breakdown has nothing to do with mutant politics. She and Pietro were raised in a loving family until their adoptive parents were killed by racists. Erik didn't knowingly abandon them, and while he did mistreat them during the Brotherhood days, it wasn't parental abuse because he wasn't a father figure to them-- neither party had any idea they were related. Bendis is evoking specific forms of trauma that never actually happened, while ignoring the ones that did, and the effects of the spell itself are vague and seemingly random.

~~~~~

Young Avengers does call back to Wanda's circumstances in Disassembled and HoM, but it doesn't execute the concept of reality-warping in the same way. The driving force in YA is the spell which Billy casts, and Loki tampers with, in the first issue. It is a spell which distorts reality, but it has specific parameters, and neither party is characterized as "crazy" the way Wanda was. The spell was intended to bend space and time so that Billy could pull Teddy's mom from the past, before she was killed, into the present-- it's not dissimilar from how Wanda "retroactively reincarnated" her kids. Due to Loki's interference, however, the spell was hijacked by an interdimensional parasite called Mother. The Mother virus appears primarily as a construct of Teddy's mom, but as her influence over the Earth-616 dimension grows, she's able to create constructs of other dead parents, and even mind-control living adults. All of the ways in which reality is being warped hinge on the specific conditions under which Mother was summoned, and while it is Billy's magic that's fueling these constructs and distortions, they aren't symptoms of psychosis-- Billy doesn't lose control of his magic because he's losing his mind, he loses control because he's too young and inexperienced to protect himself from predatory forces. Those forces do take advantage of his depression and anxiety, but his condition is never the cause.

Loki's magic is wrapped up in the spell, too, but rather than conjuring dead parents, it emerges as a construct of their former best friend, Leah. Loki, in Young Avengers, is a mashup of two personae-- the reincarnated child Loki, and Ikol, a phantom of their past life who is carrying out the previous Loki's evil will even though their heart isn't in it. Ikol has mostly overshadowed Loki, who has been reduced to a ghost that torments Ikol by acting as a constant reminder of their guilt. Ikol is haunted by their past, but it's important that this haunting is a nuanced metaphor and not literal hallucination, as Wanda's condition was in HoM. Because Loki's power is part of the spell, Kid Loki's ghost is able to hijack the reality distortions to summon the construct of Leah, who, in turn, is able to summon the Young Avengers' other exes, the same way that Mother, in the form of Teddy's dead mom, can summon other dead parents.

Loki does raise the question of whether or not Billy might be subconsciously influencing Teddy with his powers, but this is clearly illustrated as a manipulation tactic and disproven several times. Loki's original goal in summoning Mother was to draw out Billy's full magical potential so that they could steal his power for themselves. Driving a wedge between Billy and Teddy, and causing Billy to question his own sanity, were devices to make Billy more susceptible to having his power stolen, and they worked-- Billy is not able to divest his magic from the spell and banish Mother from Earth-616 until he overcomes his self-doubt and start exercising mindfulness. Loki, in turn, is not able to divest their power from the spell and banish Leah and the other exes until they own up to their guilt and admit everything they've done. Both characters are experiencing symptoms of exacerbated mental illness-- Billy's depression and suicidal ideation, Loki's disassociation-- but their mental illness is not the source of their magic, but a challenge which makes it harder for them to live as their fully realized selves... just as it would be for any normal person.

I know that was a long-winded explanation, but I wanted to illustrate what sets Gillen's take on "reality warping" apart from Bendis's. It's based on clearly though-out ideas of how magic works and what defines "reality" in a world populated by parallel universes and living myth-forms. Gillen affords Loki and Billy a degree of sympathy without denying them agency, and Loki is held accountable for their decisions without being painted as a total monster. Bendis, meanwhile, characterizes Wanda's magic as delusion made real, and completely vilifies her for her illness in spite of the fact that she's given no control over her actions.

#bee text #Wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #house of m #Young Avengers #robintext

77 notes · View notes

themainframes · 3 years ago

Text

POST PLEASANT HILL.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during the last month. We highly emphasize ‘understanding’ as it is likely that forgiveness will not be found for a long while. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you choose to ask for a retrospective forgiveness instead of permission. The fallout from Pleasant Hill has been expansive, which should not come as a surprise to anyone. In the last two week reports have been published by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Government regarding Pleasant Hill. Due to varying access levels we are unable to release them all to the public, but can present a synthesized version. Please see below.

001. PERSONNEL.

Director Maria Hill has been under investigation for negligence, abuse of power and failure to comply with government regulations and orders. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Board of Oversight Affairs, S.W.O.R.D.’s Committee of Internal Review and the U.S. National Security Counsel have all been conferring as the Trustee Alliance and came to the consensus that Director Hill will not lose her title but all administrative decisions will have to be approved by the three councils. Hill contested the ruling, but it is to remain in effect for the next twelve months before being reevaluated.

Other personnel associated with Pleasant Hill have also been subject to investigation and trial. Head scientist Dr. Erik Selvig has been cleared of criminal charges along with Dr. Kavita Rao and Dr. Randall Jessup. All research conducted for Project KOBIK has been confiscated and will be reviewed and distributed. Dr’s Rao and Jessup will continue to contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dr. Selvig is expected to resume independent study.

Pleasant Hill Administrators Sharon Hill (Agent 13) and Barbara Morse (Agent 19/Mockingbird) were placed on leave while their cases were reviewed. Due to her primary affiliation being the C.I.A., Agent Carter was pardoned by the government but they maintain that they had no involvement with the situation. She is expected to continue her actions as the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the C.I.A. Dr. Morse, primarily a Mighty Avenger now, was pardoned on the grounds that her actions as a whistleblower for the Avengers acted as a turning point that led to the dissolution of Pleasant Hills. Morse has gone under oath that she will continue as an Avenger but report to S.H.I.E.L.D. when called for assignment. There will be no infractions to her record or change in rank.

On-Site Specialists and embedded agents have been vetted and cleared by the Committees. Agents Avril Kincaid and Daisy Johnson (Quake) were both called in to testify along with five others. Although culpable in participation, actions within the town during the day the border fell have been regarded as exemplary in preventing additional deaths. Agent Kincaid will continue to contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. while Johnson will be declared inactive and return to duty with the Ultimates.

The Wyngarde Sisters (Martinique & Regan) were both apprehended and returned to Krakoa. Because the mutant nation is a sovereign one, the Trustees had no say in their trial or assessment. S.H.I.E.L.D., however, sent a lawyer on their behalf that explained that their actions were sanctioned by the government. Krakoa has confirmed that Mastermind and Lady Mastermind will be subjected to disciplinary actions.

OO2. INMATES.

As it stands, 90% of the inmates have once again been apprehended and distributed between the Raft and Ravencroft Institute of the Criminally Insane. Some have been placed on wanted lists, some have returned to monitored areas and some are acting independently. Statuses are as follows:

Agatha Harkness, Karla Sofen (Moonstone) and Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) all escaped the town and have not been seen since. They are currently on S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D. and the U.S. Government’s wanted list. Please call in any sightings of them.

Cain Marko (Juggernaut), Elektra Natchios, Felicia Hardy (Black Cat) and Wilson Fisk (King Pin) all left Westview independently and the government is not currently seeking to arrest them once more. Their actions prior to Pleasant Hill were not severe enough to warrant internment, and while we will occasionally observe their behavior we apologize for their arrests.

We also would be remiss if we did not extend a sincere apology to Roger Gocking (Porcupine), While investigating Pleasant Hill, Roger’s history as a former felon was flagged and he was mistakenly placed into Pleasant Hill. Claims have been made that he was turned into a literal porcupine to stop him from exposing the operation, but S.H.I.E.L.D. denies the accusations. They will privately be settling the matter with Jessica Drew (Spider Woman) and the Avengers.

Following Ripley Ryan (Star)’s departure of Pleasant Hill, the Council has been unable to reach a unanimous decision on how to proceed. Ryan is still listed as a high level threat and a rostered member of the Thunderbolts but it has not been determined if restorations need to be made or if time needs to be removed from her probation. For more on the Thunderbolts under Section 003.

003. THUNDERBOLTS.

AIM’s taskforce the Thunderbolts were some of the earliest inmates inserted into the town. The six members -- Anthony Masters (Taskmaster), Georges Batroc (the Leaper), Helmut Zemo (Baron Zemo), John Walker (U.S. Agent), Melissa Gold (Songbird), Ripley Ryan (Star) and Yelena Belova (White Widow) -- have all been approached separately about how to move forward. In exchange for lighter sentences, Masters, Batroc and Walker have agreed to work with the Thunderbolts again on a probationary level. As mentioned above, Ryan is still a rostered member of the team but has refused to sign any paperwork thus far. Belova, meanwhile, has had her record expunged in a deal with the C.I.A., similar to the one made with the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. Despite this, she has elected to work with the Thunderbolts under the agreement that she is able to break contract and leave at her own discretion.

After the staged rebellion in Pleasant Hill, the Trustees were divided in how to move forward with Zemo. While Wakanda still wishes for him to be in their prison for the murder of King T’Chaka during the U.N. Bombing, it was narrowly agreed upon that Zemo will either have to work with the Thunderbolts under a handler or be sent to the Raft. The selected handler for the team is Melissa Gold, who contracts directly with S.H.I.E.L.D. Pre Pleasant Hill, Gold was offered a lighter sentence pending her ability to go undercover and resume her former relationship with Zemo. As an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gold was instructed to pretend as if her personality had been rewritten so that she could monitor the inmates on a closer level. Her ability to do so, along with her help in removing a fragment of the Mind Stone from Zemo’s possession has increased her rank and qualified her for a handler position.

We have high hopes for what the Thunderbolts can do as a rehabilitated unit working in tandem with A.I.M. on a probationary basis. Any member who fails to uphold their contract will be interred in the Raft for a time and a half of their original sentence.

004. AIM.

The agency has passed under various leadership over the years, but is currently being run by Scientist Supreme Monica Rappaccini. As it stands, the Alliance is unsure about how to interact with them in the long run. It would be beneficial to make peace, but we are hesitant that all motives may not be properly expressed. Allowing them to handle the Thunderbolts team with S.H.I.E.L.D. / C.I.A. liaison Sharon Carter overseeing it is a hopeful step in the right direction. Classified documents will not be shared between the agencies, and S.W.O.R.D. / S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to work on a more intimate basis while allowing agents at A.I.M. outposts. The situation will be reassessed at the quarterly debriefing.

Personal apologies have also been made to Dr. Rappaccini for the arrest and imprisonment of A.I.M. members such as Carmilla Black and Jeanne Foucault without advising the agency.

005. IMPORTANT -- POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS.

It has come to our attention that there may be some changes post Pleasant Hill that had not been originally accounted for. Although the transition from inmate to resident was precise, the return to true form was not. Following the splintering of the Reality Stone, one fragment went to Baron Zemo and was used to create a device that was passed around to various inmates, effectively ‘waking them up’ from their Pleasant Hill personas. The changes later made by Star when she reclaimed the Stone counteracted -- in some instances -- what had been done.

Please be alert to any sort of physical or personality changes in inmates or absorbed Avengers. All inmates who are in custody are being subjected to biweekly sessions with our specialists and weekly doctors check-ups. The same applies for the Thunderbolts, who are on-field and under more scrutiny. So far, increased or reduced aggression has been noted in some inmates. Physical changes have been minor, but not all effected have yet to go through testing. Because Ryan’s Stone is based in Earth-616, we believe it may be a multiversal glitch that has caused these changes. At the moment we do not believe the changes to be life threatening or dangerous but should be monitored nonetheless.

006. IN CONCLUSION.

What happened in Pleasant Hill was a colossal mistake that should never have been allowed to progress for as long as it did. S.H.I.E.L.D. apologizes to all who were negatively impacted but stands by the decision to look into more creative ways to inter inmates in the long run. The inaugural group of Pleasant Hill residents consisted of thirty inmates, and 90 were ultimately removed from the town by the time everything was said and done. It is with heavy hearts that we announce that we lost the lives of ten S.H.I.E.L.D. ground agents, but are also grateful that the count stayed low considering the 184 agents assigned to the town.

Some have asked what the criteria was to be selected for Pleasant Hill and how it began. After reading S.W.O.R.D.’s research report on Westview and seeing Wanda Maximoff’s decision to leave Agatha Harkness in a friendlier ‘role’ of sorts, it was decided that the Pleasant Hill experiment would be elaborated upon. In order to minimize the risk of injury, Ryan was drugged and intubated in the town before any residents were brought on. The Database had already been established and was waiting for use, and one of its commands were to keep her comatose. The Thunderbolt’s Belova, Walker, Masters and Batroc were then sent on a rigged mission into the town, where they were apprehended and transformed into their resident roles. That took place in the beginning of May, with the following residents being Natchios, Zemo and Gold. After that, the Database proved to be functioning efficiently and more inmates were transitioned consecutively, instead of one a day during the initial experiment. Criteria was criminals who were in custody, those with active warrants or those who posed ‘potential threats to a devastating degree’. All inmates have been redistributed between Ravencroft’s Institute for the Criminally Insane, Ryker’s Island and the Raft.

Moving forward, we hope to put Pleasant Hill behind us to focus on future conflicts that may arise. The Trustee will continue to meet when need be, and classified Pleasant Hill documents will officially be sealed. Pleasant Hill, CT will be rezoned and no longer used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Please directly reach out to the Trustees for any further information or unanswered questions.

SIGNED,

A.BRAND (S.W.O.R.D. DIRECTOR), A. MACKENZIE (S.H.I.E.L.D. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR) & H. GYRICH (NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL).

#pleasant hill #final report #memo

9 notes · View notes

bazzledazzled · 4 years ago

Text

Would You Be So Kind (As To Fall In Love With Me)

Fic for @absolute-nightmare for the @coexchange!!

Description: Simon Snow doesn’t remember quite when he fell in love with Baz. Maybe it was when he first met him, running gracefully across the football field with his hair tied up. Or maybe it was when they were playing video games at a sleepover and Baz’s leg bumped against his, sending a thumping pulse through his heart. Or maybe it was this year, when Baz came out to him and Simon realized he had a chance.

They’ve been friends since the beginning of High School, but Simon longed for something more.

Tags: High School AU, Normal AU, Friends to Lovers, a bit of Punk/Pastel AU

Trigger Warnings: Minor mention of alcohol abuse and emotional abuse in one of the paragraphs

I hope you enjoy!! I decided to go with a bit of a Highschool AU for this one and it evolved into a friends to lovers fic so yeah! Enjoy :)

Read it on AO3 or read it below ->

Simon Snow and Baz Pitch were polar opposites, anyone could see that.

Anyone who spared a glance at the odd pair knew this, from Baz’s obnoxious floral shirts and well maintained hair, to Simon’s haggard appearance and leather jacket.They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, complimenting each other, like Persephone and Hades, or yin and yang. Despite everything; who they were, where they came from, and what they looked like, they still were inseparable. They matched.

Simon Snow doesn’t remember quite when he fell in love with Baz. Maybe it was when he first met him, running gracefully across the football field with his hair tied up. Or maybe it was when they were playing video games at a sleepover and Baz’s leg bumped against his, sending a thumping pulse through his heart. Or maybe it was this year, when Baz came out to him and Simon realized he had a chance.

They’ve been friends since the beginning of High School, but Simon longed for something more. He laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, his heart thrumming in his chest. He thought of Baz’s inky black hair and thought about what it might feel like to run his fingers through it. He thought about how he always smelled like something citrusy and crisp, like Earl Grey tea that made Simon wish for a soft, domestic morning with him full of soft kisses and morning tea.

And Simon hated it. No, hate wasn’t the strong enough. He loathed it. He loathed it because here was someone who was completely and utterly perfect, someone he actually had a shot with that wouldn’t care that he’s a guy and knows him inside and out, but for some reason Simon kept holding himself back. He held himself back, not daring to test the waters of their friendship and ruin what they had. He didn’t want to lose Baz as a friend, crush or not. He refused.

So Simon kept his crush bottled away deep down inside him, not daring to let it see the sunshine. He thought that maybe, if he tucked it away, he might be able to shake off these feelings. Maybe they would dissipate and he wouldn’t have to worry about it. Maybe it would work.

————

“We need to find Si a girlfriend,” Agatha says at lunch, her face screwed with determination. Simon sighs, putting down the scone he was eating.

“Ags, please tell me you’re not on this again.”

“Oh she totally is,” Penny says, waving a hand dismissively. “And she has a point. You’ve been moping about like a sad puppy lately saying you’re lonely and want a girlfriend.”

“I didn’t say I wanted a girlfriend,” Simon says, stabbing a strawberry with a fork.

“A boyfriend, then,” Penny says, not a hint of a question in her voice. Simon almost chokes.

“Pen. I don’t need a relationship.”

“Then why do you keep moaning about being single?” Agatha says with a condescending tilt in her brow. Simon huffs, averting his gaze.

“Because I want a boyfriend.”

“Aha! I knew it.” Penny grins victoriously. “Now come on. You have to have a crush on someone. Give us some ideas.”

“I don’t like anyone, Pen.”

“What about that one kid? Rhys I think it was?” Simon scrunches his nose.

“Right. Not him. What about Phillipia?”

“Oh god no.”

“Right. Hmm....” A chair beside Simon moves out and a lunch tray plops down on the table as Baz slides in next to him. He’s wearing a pink shirt with red roses on it and dark jeans that make Simon flush. He pushes his hair out of his eyes, a smile on his lips as he looks at Simon. His gaze lands on Penny and he sighs.

“What are you three up to this time?”

“Who says we’re up to something?” Agatha says, leaning over the table with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Bunce has that look in her eyes and Snow just looks lost, so obviously you’re hatching an elaborate scheme.”

“We’re trying to find someone for Simon to date,” Penny says, tapping her fingers against the table.

“Ah. Good luck with that. It would take some pretty skilled matchmakers to find someone to date Snow.”

“Hey! I could be a good boyfriend.”

“I have no doubt.” The look in Baz’s eyes is... intense. Simon has no idea how he should read it.

“Hey Baz, you’re gay right?” Agatha pipes in. Baz snorts.

“Does this have a point?”

“I mean, you’re gay and single, Simon’s single and somewhat into dudes.... you know you guys probably could....” Agatha gestured vaguely. Simon’s heart starts to beat out of his chest, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. His stomach twists dangerously and he feels like he might puke.

Fuck.

Baz rolls his eyes. “Ok, Wellbelove.” They move on to a new topic, Penny rambling about some book she read and Baz seeming completely invested in the conversation. But one thing sticks in Simon’s mind even after lunch.

Baz didn’t say no.

——————

When Simon gets to Baz’s car after school that day, Simon immediately knows what he’s going to say. It’s obvious in the way his brow scrunches in concern as Simon runs his hands through his messy curls.

“Is your lip bleeding?” Baz says, reaching out his hand towards Simon’s cheek, then pulling it back.

“It’s fine,” Simon mumbles, even though it isn’t. It’s the second time this month this has happened.

“Simon...” Baz says in that soft voice, the one he saves for when it’s just the two of them. He picks up Simon’s hand, running his thumb over Simon’s knuckles that are cracked and bleeding, rough from countless fights. They’re all over stupid things, but Simon can’t seem to stop himself. He can’t just turn away when someone corners him, calling him names. He can’t just keep walking when he sees some kid picking on another kid in the halls. And he definitely can’t stop himself when he hears people throwing homophobic comments about Baz behind his back.

“What happened?” Baz says, looking at him with the same sternness he always uses in these situations. Simon huffs.

“Just some kid. It’s not important.” But it is. Because it wasn’t just some kid. It was some kid gossiping about Baz, saying mean, hurtful things. It was some kid who, when Simon told him to stop, taunted him and called Baz his boyfriend, not realizing that that’s all Simon’s ever wanted. It was some kid who threw the first punch, not realizing that Simon has done this before, and he wasn’t scared.

Baz sighs, squeezing Simon’s hand in his. It makes his heart leap, beating so fast that he wondered if maybe this would be the moment. Maybe he’d confess to Baz, announcing his undying love, and Baz would say he felt the same way too, and then they’d kiss in the school parking lot on the hood of Baz’s expensive car, their future set from here on out.

Baz pulls his hands away, grabbing his keys from his pocket. “Get in the car, you nightmare. We’re going to the mall.” Simon groans.

“Again? You were just there yesterday.”

“Yes but the Christmas present I got for Mordelia is something she already has so I have to return it and get a new one. Please? You know you’re better than me at picking presents for her.”

“Alright, fine. But you’re buying me a pretzel.”

“Fine.”

—————

Christmas break was at the end of the week, and Simon didn’t want it to come. Well, he did, because it would mean a break from the mountains of school work he had, but he also didn’t, because it meant it would be a lot less time with his friends and a lot more time with his father, pretending they weren’t a dysfunctional family.

Simon’s father wasn’t terrible. He never hit him, but he also wasn’t the best. He was drunk a lot of the time and was always yelling about how much of a disappointment Simon was. He didn’t like that he didn’t make the football team and he hated that Simon’s grades were just barely passing. None of Simon’s victories seemed like victories to him, and Simon was just done with it. He wanted to find a way to be away from the house as much as possible during break, but he also knew that his friends had families that they needed to be with for the holidays, too.

Nonetheless, when Simon came home on Friday night to his dad drunk in the living room, mumbling incoherently, he turned right around and called Baz.

Baz picked up on the second ring.

“Hey is everything ok?”

“Do you want to go out for dinner,” Simon says in a rush. Baz coughs.

“Um—“

“I mean— not out— I mean, yes, I just-” Simon huffs. “Can we hang out tonight? I know it's the last minute and all that but I just... I don’t want to go home.” Baz doesn’t hesitate.

“I’ll be at your house in five.”

————

This, in Baz’s opinion, was one of the worst parts of being gay. Yes, there were the homophobes and the bullies and his not at all accepting father, but he could deal with that. He could tune them out until all that was left was white noise.

But this, this was something Baz couldn’t ignore. How was he supposed to handle a crush on his best friend? If he asked Simon out directly, it could backfire on him and he’d ruin the friendship they spent four years building up. But if he didn’t say anything, he obsessed over his crush, picking apart every little detail of his interactions with Simon wondering if maybe, maybe Simon might feel the same towards him.

So when Simon called him at 5pm, asking if he wanted to go out to dinner, Baz was left wondering how to interpret it. It was probably just the same old “I’m lonely and I need someone to hang out with.” But if that were the case, why didn’t Simon call Agatha or Penny? He was much closer to them. Or why not suggest a sleepover with everyone? Or invite everyone to dinner? The more and more they hung out alone, the more Baz drove himself crazy wondering.

Maybe he was blowing it out of proportion, but it still didn’t stop his beating heart as he pulled into Simon’s driveway. Simon climbed in, his curls wild and free and his blue eyes piercing through the darkness. He smiled his warm smile at Baz, a smile that was full of dimples and sunshine and made Baz's heart do belly flops.

“Where to?” Baz asks, putting the car in reverse. Simon’s eyes light up.

“iHop.”

————————

Simon drowned his fifth pancake in maple syrup and butter. He asked for more butter a while ago and they brought him a plate full of the stuff. He slathered it on his golden pancakes, laying down a thick layer of white saturated fat.

It was absolutely disgusting.

When Baz became friends with Simon at the beginning of freshman year, he learned to look away when Simon was eating. He was a little messy and lacked more than a few table manners, but it wasn’t terrible. None of Simon’s eating habits were awful, save for the unholy slathering of butter. Baz didn’t understand it, nor did he want to.

“I think there’s more butter and syrup on that pancake than actual pancake.” Simon swallows his bite, grinning toothily at Baz.

“It’s delicious though.”

“Disgusting.” Yet Baz still couldn’t help but think about how beautiful Simon’s dopey grin was and the way his cheeks turned red.

“You wanna try a bit?” Simon asks, holding up a fork with a bit of pancake on it. Syrup slowly dropped from it, golden brown like Simon’s curls. Baz wrinkled his nose.

“I think I’ll skip on that, thanks.” Simon shrugs, continuing to shovel food in his mouth. Baz ordered some eggs, but Simon ended up eating more of them than he did. Baz never had much of an appetite, but Simon’s seemed never-ending.

“You excited for Christmas?” Simon asks, looking up at Baz with his plain blue eyes. Baz snorts.

“Not particularly, but I’ll get by.” Simon frowns.

“Your dad?” Baz runs a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, but what else is new.” Simon reaches out across the table, taking Baz’s hand in a comforting manner. Baz gulps.

“Guess we both god shitty fathers, huh?” Baz offers a weak smile.

“Guess so.” Simon bites his lip, as if thinking. His eyes spark in the way they do when he gets an idea or is about to make an impulse decision.

“Hey we should try to hang out over break! Get away from family and stuff, you know?” Baz smiles.

“Yeah.” Simon taps his fingers against the wooden table.

“How do you feel about going to see a movie on Monday?”

——————

It’s not a date.

Obviously it’s not a date. There will never be a universe where Simon Snow asks Baz Pitch out on a date other than in Baz’s dreams.

So why was Baz stressing over his outfit for the past hour? He honestly had no idea.

Nothing he tried on seemed to work. Some stuff looked like he was trying too hard, others looked like he wasn’t trying hard enough. It was honestly too much work considering that they were just friends going to see a movie together in the dark where they won’t be able to see each other anyway so theoretically what they wear doesn’t even matter, but Baz was Baz and he had to be extra about everything.

Eventually he settled on a light grey button down and a pair of jeans. It wasn’t one of his best outfits, but it was casual enough for him that it didn’t seem like he was trying too hard. Even though he spent an hour on his hair alone.

The drive over to Simon’s house was shorter than Baz would’ve liked. He didn’t have enough time to organize his thoughts before he was in the driveway, watching as Simon locked the door behind him and bounded down the front steps of his house, his hair bouncing off his forehead. He was wearing a worn grey sweater and tattered jeans. He looked slightly like a disaster, but that didn’t stop Baz’s heart from pounding. In fact, he found it almost endearing.

That didn’t mean he didn’t make fun of him, though.

“Snow your sweater sleeves have holes in them for god's sake,” Baz says as Simon shuts the car door behind him. Simon smiles back at him.

“It’s comfy though.” Baz rolls his eyes, a hint of a smile on his face. They lapse into a comfortable silence as Baz pulls out of the driveway and onto the street. Simon fiddles with the radio, turning the dial until he finds a song he likes. Some American song starts playing and a guitar solo fills the car. Simon starts to mumble along to the lyrics, bobbing his head and tapping his fingers against his legs. He smiles, getting more and more into it. Baz flashes him a look as he bursts into chorus, singing at the top of his lungs. Baz laughs, shaking his head. The song finishes and Simon grins, his eyes wild and bright.

This goes on for a few more songs, with Simon obviously trying to get Baz to join in on his shenanigans. Baz refuses, but can’t seem to help himself once Bohemian Rhapsody starts playing. Simon’s smile only seems to get more dazzling.

They make it to the movie theater, already buzzing and laughing. Simon skips ahead of Baz, the sun catching in his bronze curls as he turns to him, almost creating a sort of halo around him.

Their hands brush as they head to the ticket line and Baz wonders if he might be dreaming.

_____________

So Love, Simon may have not been the best movie to go see on Simon’s not-date with Baz. For starters, Baz started crying halfway through.

In retrospect, Simon should’ve expected this outcome, even though he didn’t realize Baz was a crier. The entire plot of the movie is something that resonated with so many people, especially people like Baz and… well, he guesses himself, even though he’s not really sure what he is.

Simon never knows how to deal with someone who’s crying. Back when he used to date Agatha, there would be times where she’d have a breakdown over something and everytime Simon felt like he was making the situation worse instead of helping. He’s not cut out for this.

Tentatively, he reaches out to Baz, taking his hand. They’re rougher and boneier than Simon’s, and a lot longer. He blushes as Baz looks over at him. Baz squeezes his hand and Simon feels his heart stutter in his chest, faltering for a moment as their eyes connect.

They don’t let go for the rest of the movie.

________________

“Pen. I have an issue.”

________________

“Ags….. we have a slight problem.”

_________________

“What is it Si? Is it that math test? I told you you have it down you just need to breathe and remember what we worked on.”

_______________

“Since when do you not have a problem, Baz? You’re literally a bigger Drama Queen than me.”

_______________

“No Pen…. it’s not that it’s just….”

_______________

“This is a real problem, Agatha, listen—“

————————-

“I kind of, maybe, sort of, possibly—“

————————

“I may or may not have—“

______________

“Have a crush on Baz.”

_______________

“Fallen in love with Simon.”

______________

Agatha huffs, hanging up the phone after listening to a 30 minute rant on Baz’s part about how perfect Simon’s hair is and the specific shade of blue his eyes are. Honestly .

Immediately, the phone rings again. Grunting, Agatha picks it up, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Baz I swear to god if I hear one more word about Simon holding your hand I will end you.”

“So he did call you?”

“Penny!”

“Let me guess. You just got off the phone with Baz and his emo bullshit about how Simon will never love him.”

“How did you know?” Penny sighs.

“Because. I just got off of the phone with Simon and his emo bullshit about how Baz will never see him as anything other than a friend.”

“They’re idiots, aren’t they?”

“Yep.” There’s a moment of silence.

“Are we going to intervene?”

“Of course we are.”

________________

All things considered, Baz knew the love letter was a bad idea. He knew the unspoken rule about love letters: if you weren’t planning on sending them, you shouldn’t write them.

But they were a great way to get out frustrations. It was a way for Baz to use his pent up emotion towards something productive and fantasize about telling Simon how he truly felt.

Simon was never meant to read it.

__________________

Was it wrong? Possibly. Was it needed? Most definitely.

Valentine’s day is this Friday, and both Penny and Agatha are sick and tired of Simon and Baz’s complaining, Simon a lot more than Baz. They just didn’t seem to be able to stop with their lovesick moping and at this point it was ridiculous. Neither of them were courageous enough to make the first move, so it was left to Penny and Agatha to make it happen.

When Agatha saw the love letter, she knew exactly what to do.

___________________

Friday was one of the gloomiest days of the week. It was raining, the sky was cloudy, and Simon woke up late and barely had time to run out to Baz’s car to make it to school. Baz threw a fit about it, but Simon couldn’t see why it mattered, considering they still made it there half an hour before school started. Baz complained about how the rain made his hair frizz up as he desperately tried to slick it back again with no avail. Simon liked it better this way, falling loosely around his face in waves, but he didn’t tell Baz that.

When they arrived, they found that the halls were decorated with bright red and pink hearts and couples stood close together, whispering things in each other’s ears with smiles on their faces as everyone was swept up into the euphoria of Valentines Day. Boyfriends gave their girlfriends roses and cheesy heart shaped boxes filled with chocolate. The hallways were a mess of teenage hormones and whispers of happily ever afters.

Baz seemed to be in a particularly sour mood today, and Simon didn’t blame him. Valentine’s day was just another one of those made up holidays that encouraged consumerism and made single people feel like shit (at least that’s what Baz had said on multiple occasions).

Simon and Baz did all the things they usually did in the morning before school. They dropped off Baz’s violin in the orchestra room, they dropped the books Baz finished off at the library, and met up with Penny and Agatha. Agatha gave them all heart shaped lollipops and little handwritten cards that made Simon tear up a little and give her a big hug. Baz rolled his eyes, but he had a small smile on his face as he whispered a curt, “thank you” to Agatha.

The bell rang. The overhead speakers played some cheesy love songs from the early 2000s, when love songs were in their prime. Baz rolled his eyes and made some sort of snarky remark about the music that made everyone laugh. They walked to class and parted ways, Simon and Penny heading for their math class and Baz and Agatha going towards English. They listened to the monotonous morning announcements and Penny gave Simon a look when he played on his phone instead of paying attention.

Sighing, Simon pulled out his math textbook, grunting at the weight of it. Most teachers didn’t even issue textbooks to the students, let alone used them. At this point, most of them were out of date and teachers found the internet to be a lot more useful. But not Ms. Ortiz. She refused to use the internet and did everything the old fashioned way: textbooks and a white board. A student tried to talk her into using the smart board, claiming that it would be a lot easier to do notes with, but she refused, saying they didn’t have time to fuss with projectors and calibrations.

Simon opened up his textbook to the section they were currently working on. He already had the page marked since he and Baz were working on it last night. It was honestly a miracle Simon passed any of his classes before Baz came along. He was such a calm and patient teacher, not caring how many times Simon messed up. It’s funny, because Simon thought he would be the opposite, but he wasn’t. It’s no wonder he wanted to get a teaching degree when he got out of high school.

Penny taps Simon’s shoulder.

“What now, Pen?” She holds out a white envelope with his name written on it in neat, elegant cursive.

“This fell out of your bag.” Simon frowns, taking it from her hesitantly. He hasn’t seen it before, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it was some letter from his teacher addressed to his father that he shoved to the bottom of his bookbag. His bag was always a disaster of crumpled papers that Penny and Baz teased him relentlessly for. They insisted he organize it, but Simon didn’t really see the point. It was just going to become a mess again.

“Thanks.” Curiously, Simon unfolds the letter, wondering what it might be. He doesn’t remember receiving it at all, so he has no idea what he should expect.

Immediately, he recognizes Baz’s handwriting:

Simon,

I hate you. I hate the way you make me feel, the way you make my heart beat out of my chest and the way you smile at me in a way that makes me feel special. I hate how you’re always there when I need you and will do everything you can to help someone in need. I hate how you have this stupid hero’s complex where you feel like you need to protect everyone in this goddamn school. I hate how you try to hide your pain from me, putting on a brave face. I want to reach out to you, to comfort you, to let you know that it’s ok and you have people who love and care for you; that you aren’t alone.

I don’t know what even drove us to befriend each other Freshman year. We were from completely different universes, but somehow you chipped away at my walls until they crumbled into nothing, and I hate you for it. I hate what the sight of you does to me and I know you will never feel the same.

Simon Snow, you beautiful disaster. How could you be so cruel to make me fall in love with you?

Penny’s looking up at Simon with a curious glance, acting like she isn’t interested when she very much is. Simon doesn’t say anything, just grins widely as he folds the note back up and sets it under his textbook. Penny raises her eyebrow. It’s a skill Simon knows she’s picked up from Baz, but she refuses to admit it.

“You look like Christmas came early. You feeling alright, Simon?”

“Wonderful.”

___________________

Simon corners Baz in the hallway at the end of the day as he’s heading to his car. He bounds up to him, looking like a ray of sunshine as he smiles brightly. Something has him in an outrageously good mood and Baz has no idea what that could be.

Baz, on the other hand, isn’t feeling as good. His teachers assigned him an outrageous amount of homework and he got a low mark on one of his quizzes, even though he knew the material and studied before the test. Baz Pitch was not one for failure, and he felt very embarrassed when Agatha pointed it out to him.

On top of all that, his guilty pleasure love letter to Simon was missing. He hasn’t seen it in two days and he has no idea where it could be, or if it’s in someone else’s hands. Thank god he didn’t sign it. It’s better if nobody knows about his silly crush on Simon.

“Baz,” Simon breathes, his cheeks dusting with red as he stands in front of Baz, looking up through his wild curls. Baz can barely stop his own blush that rises into his cheeks.

“Snow. Need a ride?” Simon looks around.

“Yeah um….” He runs a hand through his curls. “Yeah.”

They walk out to Baz’s car in silence. Usually, Baz is fine with silence between them. It’s always a comforting silence that doesn’t really have a need to be filled, but something about this silence was different. It was thicker, full of a sort of tension Baz couldn’t quite place. Simon seemed to be anxious about something, as if he were trying to find a way to put it into words.

Simon Snow is shit with words. He’s gotten better over the years, sure. English class did wonders on him, but he did seem to have a hard time annunciating his feelings in a way Baz could understand. After four years of friendship, Baz is proud to say he can usually interpret Simon’s mutterings, but it wasn’t always like that. Middle school was awful for the both of them and Baz was always frustrated with Simon’s incapability to string together sentences. He was short tempered, and it took him a while to finally give Simon a chance to get out what he needed to say.

So he did the same now. He didn’t say anything, didn’t pressure him, didn’t force him to say anything. He let the silence stretch on, letting Simon fill it on his own terms when he was ready

They climb into the car and just as Baz is about to put it in reverse, Simon puts his hands over Baz’s, stopping him from leaving. Baz looks up at him, grey eyes meeting blue. There’s a moment of tension, then Simon pulls his hands away.

“Baz, I—“ Simon stops, furrowing his brow.

“Go on, Snow.”

“It’s just…. I guess…. I just… Ugh.” Simon pulls at his curls in frustration, his face getting redder by the minute.

“It’s ok. Calm down. Take your time.” Simon takes a deep breath.

“It’s just…. I saw your letter.” Baz freezes, going stiff all over.

“What letter?”

“The one you wrote to me? And slipped into my bag?”

Oh no.

_____________

“Shit.” Baz knocks his head against the steering wheel, groaning.

“Look, Simon I'm sorry I—“

“I feel the same.”

“What?” Simon gulps.

“I… I like you too.” Baz scoffs.

“No you don’t,” he says, leaning back in his seat and brushing his charcoal locks out of his eyes. Simon lays a gentle hand on his arm.

“Yes I do, Baz.” Silence fills the car. Simon feels like he can’t breathe as each moment stretches on, the only audible sounds being their heartbeats and breaths.

“I—“ Simon says, averting his gaze as he coughs awkwardly, seeming very uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, it must’ve been a mistake I—“ suddenly, so quickly it happens between one blink and the next, Baz grabs his shirt and pulls Simon to him, planting a firm kiss on his lips. Almost as quickly as he leaned in, Baz pulls away.

But Simon doesn’t let him. He puts his hands on either side of Baz’s face, kissing him with years of pining and desperation. He feels Baz sigh against his lips, bringing his hands up to rest on Simon’s broad shoulders, not daring to move them. Simon threads his fingers through Baz’s hair, marveling at how soft it is. He feels like he’s floating, his heart beating as fast as it can, on the verge of exploding. He doesn’t really mind though. Because he’s kissing Baz. I’m kissing Baz.

Simon pulls away, a grin on his face. His face is so open in that moment, so vulnerable. Baz feels a small smile that’s unbearably soft pull at his own lips.

“I like this version of you, Baz.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I like it when we aren’t friends.”

“Wow that’s really nice—“

“I wanna be your boyfriend,” Simon says, a wide grin on his face. Baz sucks in a breath, his grey eyes searching Simon’s.

“Yes,” he says breathily. Simon grins and leans in for another kiss.

----

“Welbelove this was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“What ever could you be talking about, my dearest Basilton?” she asks innocently. Baz huffs.

“You stole my letter! And gave it to Simon!”

“Oh that? It sounds more of a Penny plot to me.”

“Wellbelove.”

“Don’t get mad at me, Basil. You got the boy, didn’t you?” Baz can practically hear her wiggling her eyebrows at him over the phone. He’s sitting in his car in Simon’s driveway as Simon walks up to his doorstep. He turns around at the last moment, grinning brightly and waving back at Baz. Baz waves back.

“I hate you more than you even know, Wellbelove.”

“Thought so,” she says, hanging up on him. Baz can’t help the smile that crosses his lips.

#snowbaz #simon snow #baz pitch #carry on #wayward son #any way the wind blows #snowbaz fanfiction #fanfiction #candy writes #carry on exchange #high school au #normal au #punk/pastel au #simon x baz #baz x simon #rainbow rowell #awtwb

70 notes · View notes

alolanrain · 5 years ago

Note

Do you have any ideas for another mini fic to do? I would love some ideas

kinda got carried away. the first few are pretty angsty.

I just realized a very angst thing about Bastardhusbandshipping (Lugia/Tapu Koko) and the time setting of where Ash figures out BOTH of them were his dads in Alola.

Instead of being happy or amazed, like the two Gods thought, Ash gets extremely angry tears start pouring down from his eyes. He starts ranting at the both that they, especially Lugia, had so much time to tell him. Since Lugia, To Ash’s acknowledgment since Mewtwo erased his memories from their first encounter, was the first God Ash has met. That Lugia didn’t even stay to talk to him besides thanking Ash and then leaving.

Lugia, and Tapu Koko, has all the time in the world since then to chose when to talk to him about being their fucking kid. But they chose now of all time and place!? They, or at least Lugia, could have cleared up so much stuff. And with that actually help Ash and prepare him for what was going to come. Now that’s all gone and in the past.

Ash leaves the two Gods gaping on the shore and rushes off back to the shack where Kukui and Burnet is, where his really family is. Ash chooses to ignore the two Gods and try’s to forget that whole mess as much as he can.

The two on the other hand have a heart-to-heart and start trying to make it up to Ash. He soon comes in to school with little presents waiting on top of his desk, to everyone else’s surprise, he just weakly sneers and pushes it into his back pack. Ash had tried throwing some stuff away but it just kept popping back up on his desk.

If Ash decides to forgive them or not is your choice!

——————

I’d like to see Ash get angry at Iris when she kept calling him a kid. Not like his usual explosive anger, but the calm quite rage that chills everyone. She wasn’t expecting it, neither was Cilan, but Ash made it very clear to her that Iris is verbally abusing Ash at this point with how often he tells her to stop only for Iris to continue calling him a Kid.

——————

A random Legendary idly comments on why its usually just Ash and his friends saving the day, aren’t there more Champions to do so?

Ash comments around the lines that their busy and him and his group finished the job so it’s all over now.

The Legendary once again prod and pokes at the topic because they have their own Champion. Ash is just a young teen, even if he’s the fated Legendary.

Ash soon gets peeved and starts laminating how the Champions are busy, but it held a sarcastic tone to it. But he can’t stop there. Ash picks up speed and he’s now back on his feet and shouting while waving his arms over the place, about how the Champions expected Ash to Handel every miss-hap. How Ash is supposed to jump from region to region because three of them had some kind of evil organization trying to take over the world. And that they don’t fucking help.

The Legendary lets Ash rant and rave, the kid needs it badly and the Legendary soon finds out that nearly no one is a cemented factor in helping Ash with anything like this. Hell, the kids Aura is lashing out and he’s known about it for around 4 years now and no one has offered to help/get help for Ash?

Ash soon starts crying, it’s quickly turning from dry anger to wet anger, because he still fucking cares about everyone. He still cares about Lance eating regularly, about Diantha getting her breaks because her schedule is so busy, how Alder keeps hitting on Cynthia and how that can wear people down quickly-even if Cynthia has been saying no for years.

But none of them share the same concern about Ash. He’s always the one to start the idle talk between pages of work and work calls. He’s the one offering to pick up slack where he can if it makes their day a little easier, he’s always the one to care. Never them, they leave him in the dark a lot of the time because he’s still a “young” trainer, even after they watched him die saving their Regions. After everything that Ash has done for them.

The Legendary gently shows some kid of affection (it depends on what Legendary you use because their all pretty diverse) before flying him back to his hotel/house and not leaving until Ash goes inside and to bed because that kid really needs some extra love and affection.

————————

Agatha has a small garden behind the castle, something that’s easy to take care of and her bones don’t hurt as much from doing to many tasks.

Ash, one day, ask’s to accompany her to her garden. Agatha has a few patches of weeds she can’t pull from the ground, so she allows it since Ash is such a spry fellow.

Soon she shoves a pair of gardening gloves into his hands and the two soon goes at it. Agatha likes her quite and it seems Ash doesn’t want to speak up at all during this time, nothing the older women will comment on either. And the two enjoy the sunny day outside.

———————

Ash hangs out with Lana and Mallow, just an extra pair of hands if Harper and Sarah get to full since their growing up pretty fast. both little girls are pestering Ash if he’s Lana’s boyfriend yet. Ash sends a teasing look over to Lana and Mallow, who were curled up together on another couch working on school work, Mallow is the one to send back a glare before gently kissing the side of Lana’s head.

Ash rolls his eyes and states that he isn’t, but they should ask Mallow if SHE is. he cackles as Mallow sent him a betrayed look as Harper and Sarah come bounding over the living room to them.

—————————

Ash 👏 Teaching 👏 Gladion 👏 And 👏 Lillie 👏 How 👏 To 👏 Play 👏 Acoustic 👏 Guitar 👏

—————————

HAU 👏 TEACHING 👏 ASH 👏 HOW 👏 TO 👏 PLAY 👏 THE 👏 UKULELE 👏

-------------------------

Ash being Dawns go-to Fashion model when she wants to try her hand at making boy clothes and its just so much more easier with working with Ash because he’s so bluntly honest about everything.

-------------------------

Lance, or Drake, accidentally finding out Ash’s ‘Emergency Sleep Button.’ and that’s by scratching at Ash’s hair and rubbing his scalp.

Lance was doing it as more of a praise at the moment in time because Ash made it through three whole League events without tapping out and going back to the hotel. so he reached out and carded his hand’s into Ash’s hair, it was only around four in the afternoon, yet Lance watched in amazement as Ash’s shoulders dropped and he slumped into Lance’s side. dead asleep to the world.

Pikachu also has the same Button.

--------------------------

ASH AND GARY BEING THE LEAGUE MEMERS LIKE THEIR M E N T TO BE AND QUOTING VINES UNTIL THEIR BOTH SOBBING FROM LAUGHTER!!!!!

----------------------

tired Ash switching through so many languages that no one can understand his mumbling as he continues to work on school work or League work

134 notes · View notes

edensgalore · 4 years ago

Photo

— edensgalore presents. character intro • children of the great empire ( info below )

DON’T REBLOG UNLESS YOU WERE PART OF EDENSHQ

trigger warning mentions. torture, child abuse, death

:// small about

the children of the great empire ( cotge ) are a group of people that were raised within the garden as nothing more than an experiment/lab rats. being either left at the garden’s entrance or born within it, themselves. these people were treated not better an animal in a cage. with one immortal ( ares / alive ), two mortals ( agatha / alive & astoria / deceased ) and two a.i ( atlas / active & astra / active in 20s ), the group was something kept a secret for many years. and as rumor has it -- is nothing but a myth.

with the only three humans ( agatha / ares / astoria ) being the sole interest of cosima for the experiments. they were probed and tortured at a young age, for the sole purpose of trying to see what results would come from children born with the serum in their blood that had not yet triggered their immortality gene. with the first a.i ( atlas ) being part of the group, to see how a robot would mimic emotions of its peers and how they would behave. and with the second a.i ( astra ) activated when the humans of this group reached adulthood and forced to join the group to fool its members.

the children were part of what is known cerberus project ; the secret experiment cosima has been working on for centuries now on the children born with the serum but not with the triggered gene of immortality. when ivan finds out about this project, he takes it upon himself to save and protect the kids and with the help of tamsin and cara he manages it to get two of them out of there. rescuing agatha and astoria when they were twelves. atlas purposely left being because ivan knew of the a.i’s true identity, and not having to time to rescue ares because otherwise cosima would’ve caught them.

:// cerberus project

dead of the one. astoria died tragically at the hand of who they considered family, agatha. who after sufferings night terrors, woke up from a nightmare and unwillingly used their acquired abilities; killing astoria in that moment.

the experiment. throughout the years cosima has performed experiments on these forgotten kids. hoping she can find a way to trigger their immortality gene before reaching adulthood, but the experiment have ended in the death of many. many while still children, others while in their teens. they never manage to reach their twenties.

the experiment ii. what made this group of kids so particular was not only that two of three managed to survive, but also these probing and torture they were subjected to triggered abilities in some of them. comes as a surprise that ares was able to endure a second doses of the serum and it trigger his immortality.

the a.i’s. they were placed in the group to see how they would behave and see the other children’s reaction to it. atlas being the first one at the time, the a.i was unaware of its own nature. but managed to defy the orders given at the time and feel something. when passed into an older version of its program, the a.i was granted atla’s 1st, memories but feelings were blocked. they were still able to defy orders and break through the barrier, and old feelings resurfaced. astra being the second a.i, she was placed on the group as a replacement for astoria. and while they are aware of their own nature -- they are to lie and pretend to be a clone instead, to try and gain the trust of the rest of the group.

:// children of the great empire

eg. name — a.1b2rt / birth name — agatha barlow abilities. heart manipulation, heat vision, psychokinesis, atmokinesis about. was born a stillborn on the day of her father’s death at the garden. brought back by teressa silva. she was tortured more than the other kids as a punishment for her father’s betrayal to the garden. eg. name — ar.43gs / birth name — ares riggs abilities. seismokinesis, ability absorption about. given up to the garden when only being a few weeks old. his mother gave him up for an exchange at a life within eden without being persecuted for breaking the rules. eg. name — a.31t / birth name — astoria abilities. telekinesis about. birthed within the garden, astoria was the product of nova and talon. two people who willingly volunteered for creating kids for the sole purpose of being experimented on. they were rescued alongside aggie at the age of twelve. but when they were fourteen, while trying to console agatha after a nightmare, they were accidentally killed by her. eg. name — a.s.t.r.a / birth name — astra abilities. none about. placed as a replacement for astoria in the group. the only a.i aware of its identity and volunteered to see how the humans would react to seeing them. but much like their previous a.i, astra starts sympathizing with the others and wondering about their own reason for agreeing to join the group. eg. name — a.t.l.a.s / birth name — atlas abilities. none about. created in order to see how they would behave alongside others and how the kids would react to having an a.i there, they manage to defy every order given to them and always fight back.

:// links - tags

graphic inspo - credit

cotge musing tags - tumblr

board for the coge - pinterest

board for the cerberus project - pinterest

#edens.galore #children of the great empire #agatha barlow #ares riggs #astoria #astra #atlas #Info Dump #**#DON'T REBLOG UNLESS YOU WERE PART OF EDENSHQ

6 notes · View notes

kaibutsushidousha · 4 years ago

Note

What eight Servants you want to see added to the series (one of each class counting all the extras as one)?

Sorry for the delay. I had answers ready for quite a few of the classes but the ones I didn’t were real tough picks.

Saber: Momotarou

Momotarou is up there with Kintarou and Urashima Tarou as Japan’s most popular children’s folklore character. Kintarou is already present in FGO as Sakata Kintoki and Urashima is at least referenced with Ryuugu being an area in Agartha, but there’s no mention of Momotarou yet. And how would he mesh with Nasuverse lore? Momotarou is a super powerful boy born from a peach. A fruit person from Japan.

[Lostbelt 3 spoilers] Yu Meiren is a tianxian, an immortal being functionally identical to a True Ancestor. And she often references the fact she was born from the Fusang Tree in Japan. Implying tianxian, and maybe even actual True Ancenstors are also fruit people from Japan. I want Momotarou as a True Ancestor.

I actually already wrote a sheet for this one.

Archer: Lampião

Fate/ currently has a grand total of 0 Brazilian heroes in its Servant roster and that’s definitely a thing I want changed (Lostbelt 7, please...). At this point I think I’d be ok with absolutely any Brazilian hero, but if you asked which I want the most, my answer would easily be Lampião. Though my biggest fear is that they design him without his glasses.

I still haven’t written my own sheet for Lampião yet, but I have it complete in my head for maybe over an year. The glasses are a Noble Phantasm and he gushes about each others glasses with Sigurd.

Lancer: Odin

I’ll admit I picked this one only to fill all Classes and don’t actually have any real ideas for a Lancer. Sorry. At least we have a lot of implications for a canon Odin taking a super important role in FGO soon.

(Grand) Rider: Santa Claus

Grand Servants are designed to counter Beasts. I is a magic formula, so Grand Caster is the mage who can fix it. II is life, so Grand Assassin is death. Both versions of III use overpowered mental attacks that affect any rational being, so Grand Berserker is not rational. V is a fox, so Grand Archer is a hunter. VI is being hunted by Arthur, who is fine candidate for Grand Saber. VII erased everything on Earth, so Grand Lancer is the builder of civilization.

By process of elimination, Grand Rider should be someone who can handle IV, Fou. Fou is the Beast of Comparision, a being who thrives and grows from competition. He gets agitated when challenged by others, but I can only remember 3 instances of him getting aggressive with someone completely unprovoked. Against Merlin, against Napoleon, and against Jinako (once). That’s the kingmaker, a dude literally made of hopes and dreams, and the remover of obstacles, respectively. Three huge facilitators for mankind. Beings who exist to let humanity dream for no real cost.

Jinako’s case is the most interesting because Fou immediately stops being violent once he sees Jinako’s lazy, unhelpful personality. It’s like Fou can tell she won’t be an obstacle to strife and fair competition. That’s the bit that makes me feel really confident about my read on Fou.

Anyways, we established that Fou’s natural enemies are the facilitators, and who is the biggest facilitator of them all? Yes, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas himself. The Rider grand enough to run his sled through the entire world on a single night, distributing free dreams for the good children of humanity. I want him to tag along with all the meme Santa Servants from the Christmas events to dunk on Fou if he turns evil.

Caster: Toriyama Sekien

Toriyama Sekien is a Japanese artist famous for publishing a series of artbooks titled Gazu Hyakki Yagyou. Youkais used to formless monsters, vaguely described, with their true appearance being defined by the listener’s fears. This changed when Sekien published his Gazu Hyakki Yagyou, which was sort of a Pokédex where he published his illustrations of an youkai, along with its legends and description. All images you know of youkais are based on the designs Sekien created for his Pokédex.

The first volume of his series contained all the famous and popular youkais. The second volume also contained many famous, but a few very obscure ones. And then the third and fourth are filled with very few verifiably obscure youkais and most of them so obscure that they had no known sources aside from GHY itself. Because of this, Toriyama is rumored to have given up on researching obscure youkai by his 3rd artbook and started making his own youkai up for money.

Now let’s talk Type-Moon lore. In Shimousa there’s an explanation for the different types of oni and one of the categories there is onis from stories. Demonic beings who only came to exist because humanity believe they existed. This ties in very nicely to the idea that Sekien was making youkai up to fill all the slots in his Pokédex. By the way, in Osakabehime’s mats, her source is not listed as “Japanese mythology”, but as the second volume of Gazu Hyakki Yagyou, which implies Higashide also subscribes to the idea Sekien is creating youkais in-universe and Osakabehime was potentially Sekien’s first OC.

Assassin: Agatha Christie

I just think writer Servants outside of the Caster class are neat, and want Fate/ to turn the topic of my research paper into my next waifu. I have cool ideas for her Noble Phantasms, but I won’t comment on them here because I want to get her Servant sheet posted soon.

Berserker: Gilgamesh

Another pack filler like Odin, sorry. We already Gilgamesh before his journey to the netherworld as Archer and after it as Caster, so I just think a nice new take on Gil would be making him Mad Enhanced into believing he’s still stuck in the netherworld. It’s the one point of his life where he completely cast away his pride, and struggled to the point of crawling and eating dirt to survive. A constantly panicky and pragmatic Gilgamesh would be a nice new side of Gilgamesh to see, with an amazing contrast with his three other forms.

Extra Class (Avenger): Kohaku

It’s no secret that Kohaku is my favorite fictional character ever and I wouldn’t hesitate to whale for her ifwhen we get a Tsukihime event. She could work as an Assassin, but I picked Avenger instead because I’m an emotional masochist, and love her for how she makes me suffer. Kohaku is a tortured empath who operated a revenge plan, but through all of that she could never bring herself to truly hate her abusers because she understand better than anyone that Tsukihime is a tragedy where absolutely everyone is a victim. So her Oblivion Correction would just make her relive the worst moments of her life, trying to force upon her a hatred that doesn’t fit anywhere in her empathic heart. Avenger Kohaku is not even made a character yet, and she’s already on the verge of making me cry.

On alternate take, Kohaku technically participated in a Grail War with Okita on Koha-Ace, so she theoretically should qualify as a vessel for a Pseudo-Servant. I’d place her as a good vessel for Prometheus. They both remembered mostly as tricksters, and accepted to be subjects of scheduled torture to protect someone they cared for and allow them to grow up free and healthily.

#type moon

8 notes · View notes

blackasmidnightcats · 5 years ago

Text

QfG Rants and Remakes part 5

Big thanks to both @agathasarmy and @yarasquad for sharing their ideas with me and believing that I could actually make a coherent rant without being too swallowed up by my emotions and hopefully I'll be able to do the same here.

P.S. Imma change the title of the next Rants and Remakes cause it's definitely not focusing on QfG anymore and it's gonna focus of AWWP so yeah...there's that to look forward too.

Chaddick & Yara + Tagatha interlude

Note: This post was originally gonna be titled "Chaddick & Yara + Mourning the Departed" and would have turned out as how it is explained below but as I was writing about Chaddick I realized that I needed to talk about something concerning Tagatha and realized that this post would have been too long for all three so I gonna move the "Mourning of Departed" in its own post. Hope you guys understand. Tagatha has a strong pull with me.

Imma actually gonna outline this cause I need to organize my thoughts and at least with this I could remember the direction that I would be heading.

First part's definitely going to talk about how Chaddick and Yara's death is bs

Then imma explain why them staying alive would have impacted the TCY storyline a lot more meaningfully (p.s. this is where the Tagatha interlude will be found)

And last (and this has been moved to its own post so stay tuned for it), I would also like to nitpick Soman's obvious lack of thought when it comes to the characters that have departed (mainly Callis and Lady Lesso and August Sader) and how it should have affected the characters (mainly Sophie and Agatha)

How Chaddick and Yara could have helped the storyline better

WARNING: I realized while writing this that I kinda made Chaddick and Yara more flawed than they are writen because I have to think about their character growth and they can't have that without having any flaws. So expect some more drama with these two than needed as I share my thoughts on how their characters could have went. They get better in the end believe me.

So I think that everyone in the fandom is one with the idea that Chaddick's death was one of the MOST worst decisions that Soman made.

As @agathasarmy said it once, Chaddick's death is more frustrating than sad because of how out of nowhere it is.

Via @agathasarmy:

but… Chaddick??? dying??? IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SERIES????

IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE, AND THE ONLY WAY IT MAKE SENSE IS COS SOMAN OBVIOUSLY DID IT TO INTRODUCE RHIAN AND THATS THE SHITTIEST THING ABOUT IT

HE REDUCED CHADDICK’S DEATH AS A PLOT DOOR WITHOUT PROPERLY SUBSTANTIATING CHADDICK’S CHARACTER FIRST SO INSTEAD OF US TRULY MOURNING HIS LIFE WE’RE JUST LEFT WITH THIS HOLLOW FEELING OF WHAT HE COULD’VE BEEN AS AN INTEGRAL CHARACTER TO THE PLOT

THIS

Chaddick's death felt hollow because it was a PLOT DEVICE. It didn't (or at least Soman didn't) conscider Chaddick much of a character but a means and once this happens some deaths can be very very hollow.

Like his POV chapter was very hard to read all because especially once you find out that he's dead by the end of it (SHAME SOMAN, SHAME) because his story and plot had so much potential. We weren't able to properly feel sad about his lost because we didn't get to know him better.

It just feels tragic. So much potential lost, all because Soman wanted Tedros to feel vulnerable because he lost his close friend.

WHICH SOMAN DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO DO

I explained already why this is bull and I'm gonna explain later what could have happened for Chaddick's character.

But in summary on why Soman didn't need to do it: EXPECTATIONS

Chaddick and Tedros would have been stressed out with all the expectations and comparison with Arthur and Lancelot. One wrong move could have broke them apart easily.

But Soman could have also not wanted to deal with Chaddick against his Sophie obssession so there could be that too.

SHAME SOMAN

Now, Yara.

Our little Soft Girl

She should not have died.

She really shouldn't have

W h y ?

Because her being alive would have impacted the story more than her death ever did. Just like Chaddick.

And if the problem was what she could have affected in the storyline in TLEA, then she could have been on the sides like. . . as Tristan from time to time or something.

Her being alive would have not affected or change TLEA at all. Like if more important characters like the Coven and the League can fade into the background then so could she.

But I really don't imagine her being in the school for New Evil with Aric as Dean. No, maybe Yuba could have hidden her with the League and she could have accompanied Princess Uma when they were getting Tedros and Agatha and then accompanied the Leuge or something.

Really it would have been that simple. C'mon.

Plus Kiko has been reduced to wreck after that. At least, with Yara being alive she could have fixed herself a bit more.

Okay

So in summary again: CHADDICK AND YARA SHOULD NOT HAVE DIED AND SHAME ON SOMAN FOR KILLING THEM OFF

Now, let's get to the juicier part, what could these two have contributed to the TCY storyline.

On Chaddick

It's pretty obvious what Chaddick's role should have been. He should have been important to the plot because his role would have been about breaking the comparison between the Past and the Present (see Soman, it could have been integrated into your canon plot) between him, Tedros, and Agatha to Lancelot, Arthur, and Gwen.

I'm pretty sure that Camelot has its eyes on these three.

It's pretty freaking convenient that they all have a predecessor to be compared to. And I'm pretty sure that it's not just Camelot who notices the pattern. I mean the whole freaking Woods read about this affair.

So Chaddick, along with Tedros and Agatha, should have been the ones that break this chain. It could have symbolized that Camelot was entering into a new, better era after a similar relationship broke it.

Like, a King, his beloved Queen and his most trusted Knight brought hope but ended in a Tragedy.

Now, another King, his beloved Queen and his most trusted Knight are skeptically judged for having the same pattern and they instead bring the Glory that first trio didn't

With Tedros, Agatha, and Chaddick united with each other bringing Camelot out of its traumatic experience with Tedros's parents, Camelot finally accepting that these three are not the same as Arthur, Gwen, and Lance and fully supporting them DESPITE the fear, would have been a much stronger message of that 'the past doesn't always repeat itself.'

Because with Rhian being known and most propably remembered as Tedros's most trusted Knight and betraying him in the end, it's like a copy of what Lance technically did to Arthur.

It just further proved that Camelot's King would always be betrayed by the ones they trust most.

Sadly for Arthur, he was betrayed by both Gwen and Lance and they left him alone.

While Tedros still has Agatha but without Chaddick the lesson simply is not learned.

Chaddick was integral to this formula because Camelot would have had to face yet another propable tragedy for their beloved King in the hands of the people he loves. With Tedros, Agatha, and Chaddick, complete, proving that they could do better despite having just a strong a bond as what Arthur and co had and Camelot accepting and trsuting this, the previous wounds would be replaced with new Hope.

Because even if that whole affair happened and ruined the Kingdom, at least they have proof that it's not always gonna happen that way.

And that's why Rhian being remembered as Tedros's Knight hurts this idea. Cause he betrayed him too.

Anyway, hopefully I made my point with this legacy thing.

Plus Chaddick and Arthur's Round Table training him. WHY SOMAN WHY?!?!?!

And now, imma explain what I think should have happened with Chaddick and how his character development and his role should have played out.

Because Chaddick is a pretty well rounded character, his POV chapter proves that he's brave, and is willing to die for his friends and what's right, and there isn't really much flaws to him aside from that he can sometimes make the most worst decisions despite being pretty wise.

I honestly cannot tell if he is stupid sometimes or Soman just does this to him cause PLOT.

Fandom I need help with this. Give me some opinions.

Like. . . he's wise enough to know what was right, examples being warning Tedros about Sophie and the first to listen to Agatha in AWWP, but also dumb or ignorant enough to bully Agatha in Book 1 and that VERY IMPORTANT THING ABOUT completely ABUSING Tedros is AWWP.

Like I'm kinda confused with him.

Well maybe we can say that he's a bit ignorant and maybe was raised with privilege so that's why he bullied Agatha in Book 1 and kinda wisened up in Book 2 about her.

But I am not excusing his attitude towards Tedros in AWWP because that was messed up. Well, AWWP was messed up so there is that but if we have to acknowledge that mess and have some closure then I vote for it to come from Chaddick and Yara.

Like maybe the reason why Chaddick is more wise now is because of that very experience. Maybe he could still be a bit guilty about it and that kinda messes with his mind cause he still thinks that Tedros is still the same boy those years ago in their second year and Rhian uses this to his advantage.

Actually, thinking about it this makes so much sense.

Like instead of AGATHA having the trust issues (thought I wouldn't completely vanish it, just not at the same level as she does in canon) it's CHADDICK that has them. Cause he's always kinda gets haunted by what happened in AWWP.

I mean Tedros replaced him with ARIC of all people when he failed to retrieve Agatha. There has to be some animosity between them since. I can imagine that Chaddick kinda felt like him and Tedros could never be as close as when they were during their first year. And he would totally understand it if Tedros never really forgave him for what happened and was at peace with it even if he didn't have enough guts to find a closure for it. He'd respect his friend first and foremost.

But then comes Tedros, all fine and inviting him to be his Knight like that would mess Chaddick up.

He propably couldn't believe it at first and maybe even kindly refused the offer at first but then he sees the heart break in Tedros's face and Chaddick realizes that Tedros really wanted this.

Tedros still sees Chaddick as his closest friend despite what happened in AWWP. And maybe after some thinking, Chaddick realizes that he still wants to have the bond with Tedros like what they had in Book 1. So he accepts.

But of course, they've changed and Chaddick still gets eaten by guilt because I think that he's the kind of person that knows that he did something wrong and wants to repent for it.

So instead of that wise friend that Tedros had in Book 1, Chaddick can't trust his judgement about Tedros because he's scared he'd go too far. So he kinda just agrees to Tedros's ideas and doesn't really give advice. Tedros kinda notices this and tries to talk to Chaddick about it but Chaddick would be all formal to him. Tedros, I don't really know, would think that it would be for his sake with the comparison with Arthur and Lance and all. So he kinda just goes along with it.

It's messy right now guys, I know, I'm kinda butchering Chaddick's character here but I promise it gets better and in my mind he'd be like this for only Book 4. He'd be Wise Chaddick again right after. Just give me a chance to explain.

So they have this kind of miscommunication thing that Canon Tagatha had in QfG instead and that would have made so much more sense and here's why;

Warning: this is officially where the Tagatha interlude starts so if you wanna skip it (why though???) find the sign that states it's the end. It's gonna be in pink too.

The fact that Tagatha was having a miscommunication failure was kinda off with me because 1) they've been over this in AWWP and TLEA. In TLEA Tedros has absolutely no problem with pushing Agatha to share more when she wouldn't and 2) he could easily read her like a book, especially when it counts. Like he could get her favorite food wrong but he always seemed to know what Agatha was having trouble with and was there to help her out and is not afraid to call her out on it (i.e. the Cinderella thing, he was on point there)

Imma provide some examples of Tedros totally getting Agatha when it counts;

AND THIS

AND THIS TOO

WAIT THERE IS MORE (The Tagatha Moment)

AND LET US NOT FORGET

THIS IS WHY TLEA TAGATHA WILL ALWAYS BE BEST TAGATHA.

I get that Agatha's insecure about herself and maybe she was kinda influenced with the Excalibur thing (but I highly doubt it though) but it's no reason for her to get to the conclusion she did at the end of QfG.

I mean girl, you were always thinking that Tedros would be a Great King in TLEA and that's why you've been so insecure about yourself. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT???

Someone call me out on this PLEASE. I'm hurting myself by judging her too hard.

I can imagine that she would be sceptical with Tedros's ideas and kinda doubting him about it (you guys have no idea how much it hurts typing this) but I can also imagine that she would never doubt that Tedros's heart is in the right place even if she thinks that the way he gets there isn't always the best.

Like we have literal proof that Tedros gets Agatha almost like Sophie does and the best thing is that I'm sure that Tedros would think of the best in mind.

The mess in QfG makes no sense because they should be over this miscommunication bs and it should not have been a thing.

And if it was because of the stress with Excalibur and his responsibilities as King that made Tedros suddenly not get Agatha then WTF Soman!?!?!? I did not ask for this. They were literally about to die in TLEA and yet they could still joke and tease each other and have these cute little scenes with the other.

Instead I got Rhian's b*tch ass being Tedros's therapists when he knows sh*t about this boy and Agatha doubting Tedros like he did something horrible. (Well he did for trusting Rhian but i digress)

I could have had more of these cute Tagatha scenes instead. Like, is it too much to ask for these two to just show their love for each other in other ways than "I will save you" and "You're the best thing ever and I don't want to lose you for this horrible thing that I did or say" like give me small softer moments anytime.

Tedros gently teasing Agatha when she's being difficult and Agatha being totally trying not to show that she's smitten over it.

Agatha trying to be romantic at the most outrageous moments and Tedros being like "?????" but totally finding it cute.

Other character just not getting these two when they do and they are just as confused.

These are the kind of scenes I wanted from them. And if I have to use Chaddick to get it then so be it. (I'm sorry about this, I'm mostly projecting at this point and these really affecting my personal opinions on this matter but I'll try to tone it down a bit so that it's still coherent)

Note: this is the official end of the Tagatha interlude but i'm not keeping any promises that it'll be the last

Anyways, Chaddick and Tedros, they have more reasons with having communication problems because;

They have not been together for a very long time and they've both propably changed since

AWWP. So far, the two of them have had horrible experiences as the last thing that they remember about each other.

As I explained, I headcanon that Chaddick has a somewhat formed a sort of PSTD with it and is very scared that he's gonna mess it up.

I'm not even going to try to explain the PSTD thing cause I feel like I'm not gonna do it justice but I hope you get what I mean.

Chaddick must have become more unsure of himself after AWWP and he must still be trying to fit this new Tedros with the old one that he used to hang out with in Book 1. It would have been a good comparison to show that Tedros has indeed change and grown since then.

Like Chaddick kinda feels like he needs to intervene when Tedros shares a very outrageous suggestion but doesn't know how and kinda ends up in a mess.

Basically imagine Tagatha's problems in QfG and apply to Tedros and Chaddick instead.

And Chaddick would have been suspiscious about Rhian from the beginning. He's a smart savy guy afterall.

So Rhian kinda exploits this and gets the two boys against each other. Because say that Tedros and Chaddick have this big fight propably like the one when Agatha comments that Tedros was being a horrible king but Chaddick's the one that said it instead. Say that this happens around the middle of the Book and it's the final straw between them because they haven't been properly communicating and all the pressure on them. Rhian could easily worm his way to Tedros's side and replace Chaddick nicely. Cause unlile Chaddick, Rhian would make Tedros believe that HE'S the one that believes in him the most.

So they kinda fall apart and Chaddick and Tedros are trying to understand where it all went wrong.

Agatha would try to understand each side and get them to better terms again but she can't do it alone plus a-hole Rhian is butting in.

I imagine that, for me, the logical person that Chaddick might approach on his dilema with Tedros might be Ravan.

Cause the two of them basically think the same way and are usually calm and wise. The only difference would be that Chaddick's more active while Ravan's more passive and choses to observe before making a move. So he calms Chaddick down when he's being too impatient.

Chaddick and Agatha would be talking of course. And I don't know why but I imagine that they're more numb to all the gossip about the three of them especially around each other because they're both sort of level headed and wise then when they're with Tedros individually.

And I imagine this is where the Tagatha drama happens. Only after Rhian cause I wanna be clear that without him, Tagatha would have been fine. He also tries to break them up by saying that Agatha sides with Chaddick and that she doesn't have much faith in Tedros too.

Agatha's going to deny this of course (because it's all bs from Rhian) but Tedros has been too stressed and vulnerable that he sorta starts to believe it and Agatha gets frustrated that Tedros is choosing to believe Rhian when she's known him longer and after everything that they've been through.

But Tedros isn't fully under Rhian's spell. I would have put several times when they would doubt each other especially when Rhian talks crap about Agatha and Chaddick and it would be beserk button for Tedros so Rhian doesn't really go there.

Now Chaddick would be having his little personal battle with himself and Ravan and Agatha would be there to support him and give some advice.

The real kicker would have been when Rhian is adored by Camelot as Tedros's Treasured Knight, someone better than Lancelot and Chaddick kinda has a heartbreaking moment because HE'S supposed to be the one that was known as Tedros's Treasured Knight not this stranger. Not this stranger that stole everything from him especially his best friend.

Agatha hears about this and reflects the time when she gave up her own position as Tedros's queen in TLEA and remembers that Tedros knows her and all her monsters and has been the light to help her fight them.

So she and Chaddick have this talk and she tries to concinve him that Tedros wouldn't want for Chaddick to just give up on him like that. Chaddick thinks about it but is still not completely convinced but Agatha reminds him that Tedros CHOOSE HIM to be his Knight and Liege and they both have to fight for it.

It's Ravan who finally manages to get Chaddick to gear when he asks Chaddick if he's going to regret anything he should choose to either regret letting Tedros go and not fighting for their friendship or make a complete idiot of himself but fight for their friendship instead.

So Chaddick does the latter but everything is too late and the Rhian thing happens as I explained in the first Rants and Remakes post and Chaddick gets tossed into jail with Tedros.

It's in book 5 that I imagine their relationship actually starts to heal itself and they both try to get through everything. I haven't thought of all the kinks out yet but I imagine a lot of fights and Chaddick just kinda shouting what he thinks before he startsvthe regret it and Tedros being this physic and just getting Chaddick too like how he does Agatha.

Again, I haven't thought of everything yet but I'll share it when I do

Now let's move on to Yara

On Yara

Yara would have been more influencial alive then dead and I already explained why how she could have been handled in TLEA cause where I really see exploiting her is in the storyline of TCY.

With the Balance vs Chaos in mind as well as the Lady of the Lake villainess plotline, Yara could have been the answer to this.

She'd be a living reminder of everything that all the characters went through in AWWP and how horribly toxic it is to everyone. Especially those like Yara who lives in the between.

Like with the Lady plotline she would have promoted ultimate purity for both Good and Evil and doesn't believe that each side could be able to understand each other so she thinks that she's promoting Balance that way and that letting each side corrupt the other is Chaos.

She would have believed that Yara is an abomination to the Balance because she is the embodiment of the idea that you can choose some charcteristic from two sides and still be yourself.

Plus with Yara alive the other characters would be forced to rethink their ideals and how to approach this new possibility and reflect on the old ways that have been hurting the ones that are similar to her.

I imagine that Yara's gonna have an internal struggle with this like she's still trying to understand it herself and as she tries to understand it the more that the other characters do as well.

I haven't actually thought out her actual detailed storyline just yet and even though I wanna say more I know that I might butcher her character as I go on but I definitely know her importance to the possible story.

As I explained before, if in TSY was Good VS Evil and that the TCY was about Good AND Evil and how both sides need each other to grow and develop and that the importance of the School still teaching Good and Evil in its most purest form is so that they'd all have a guideline to go by but the curriculum has become more flexible with their beliefs OF Good and Evil and that every student just have shades of grey but choses to go by these either of the two and can still be a Hero or a Villain then Yara could have been the right person to show that it doesn't matter if your not completely on one side and was given the characteristics of the other, it matters what values you choose to follow despite it and how tou choose to use it to help everyone else for the better.

Cause it's canon already that it doesn't matter what they are, it's what they do that counts.

NGL I'm not completely satisfied with how I explained Chaddick and Yara I feel like I didn't do them justice here and I will definitely get back to this when I have organized and fleshed out my thoughts on them

Anyways, if you guys would like to add your own thoughts to this post pls do.

#tedros #agatha #sge #sfgae #tsfgae #the school for good and evil #school for good and evil #soman chainani #chaddick of foxwood #chaddick #yara of avalon towers #tristan of avalon towers #tagatha #agatha of woods beyond #agatha of camelot #tedros of camelot #I personally feel like this was messy and not as detailed as the rest #sorry guys but gonna do them justice #once i've fixed my thoughts m

45 notes · View notes

flutteringphalanges · 4 years ago

Photo

Mirabile Visu

Summary: Sister Agatha Van Helsing discovers she’s in over her head when a competitive game of chess ultimately results in her becoming pregnant with the child of her worst enemy, Count Dracula. Now tied by a bond deeper than blood, the two must learn to coexist and adapt in a world that could be potentially hostile towards their offspring. Parenthood has never looked so batty.

Characters: Dracula/Agatha Van Helsing

Chapter: 10 (Part Two)/?

Read on FFN and AO3

A/N: Thank you all for your kind words and ongoing support! It means the world! I hope you enjoy! I don’t want to say too much because this chapter is, well...you’ll see. Feedback is greatly loved and appreciated! -Jen

Chapter Ten (Part Two)

The Jonathan Harker Foundation

Present Time

Sorina had seen countless action movies throughout her lifetime, yet none had exactly prepared her for the situation she faced now. Within moments, several guards had found their way to their location and the halfling found herself being knocked backwards as Agatha pushed her out of the path of a loaded rifle. She stumbled, catching herself as her eyes fell on her mother, the vampire slamming the armed man into the wall.

"Go!"

It was her mother's voice that pulled the young woman from her haze. Sorina blinked, resembling a deer in the headlights as Agatha shoved two more soldiers aside. It took Jack grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her down the hall to completely snap back into reality. Gunshots sounded, but it was too unclear whether they belonged to Zoe or the Foundation. As they reached one of the doors, they were greeted by another member of the facility's security, this one burlier than the others.

"Jack, watch out!"

She had just enough time to duck as the former graduate student swung the bat, hitting the man's weapon hard. It was a short lived victory, Sorina watching in horror as the guard swung his gun, striking Jack's side as if he had been weilding a baton. There was a crunch and the young man let out a yelp of pain, gripping what she could only assume were cracked ribs.

Sorina had never understood the expression of "seeing red". But now, after witnessing the attack on him, she launched herself towards Jack's assailant. Grasping his shoulders, they crashed onto the ground. It only took a brief struggle before the halfling's foot made contact with his chin. She kicked. Hard. Once. Twice. When the man didn't move, she stepped backwards, breathing heavy and body trembling.

"Sunny?"

"Jack!" Sorina turned to the young man who moved towards her, trying to hide the wince of pain he made with each step. "Jack, I'm so sorry, are-"

"Are you okay?!"

She almost laughed at his question. At his concern as his worried eyes searched her face for any signs of discomfort. He, after all, had been the one injured. Not her. And yet here he was, only caring about her well being.

"I'm okay," she assured him. "I just...didn't think I had that energy in me." Sorina's eyes fell to Jack's hand and the area it so gingerly touched.

"I'll be fine," he said with a weak smile. "I've dealt with worse." Even though she wasn't

convinced, he nodded towards the door. "C'mon," he urged. "Let's go save your dad."

XXX

Zoe stood with her back facing the direction Jack and Sorina ran from, her gun pointed towards one of the men pinned against the wall. She'd never had official training when it came to firearms, maybe a day's worth of explanation and demonstration on how to use it properly. But she knew well enough how to unlock the safety and pull the trigger.

"Left side of the chest," Agatha grunted, nodding towards the mercenary. "Over the logo, it's a weak point."

She hesitated. The scientist couldn't help but do so. But when she caught the man reaching for his stake, she fired. The figure immediately stopped struggling and slumped forward. Agatha cast him aside as if he were a rag doll. For a nun and someone whose life was dedicated to compassion, to saving others, the vampire was far from showing it now.

"You okay?"

There was concern in the vampire's tone as Agatha knocked another guard out of the way just as they fired a bullet, the missile just missing its target-Zoe. The woman panted, nodding as nausea twisted within her. It wasn't the fact that she most likely killed someone. No. It was more so that it had been ages since her body had used this much energy. Abuse.

"Just need to catch my breath," she nodded, leaning against the wall. Her legs threatened to collapse, but she knew she couldn't allow them. Mind over matter. In the distance, she could hear the pounding of more feet. "Can you handle them alone?"

"Go help Sorina and Jack," the vampire stated as if to answer the question. "You know this place better than me."

Zoe nodded, turning on her heels and running down the hallway. It didn't take long to find the other two, Jack desperately trying to fiddle with the keypad as Sorina watched anxiously. She tried not to look at the body by her feet. Unsure if the man was alive or not. Had Sorina done that?

"I can't bloody get in," the young man sighed, smacking the numbers with his hand.

"Try 1897," the scientist suggested.

1897. If The Foundation was stupid enough to use "Dracula" as the WiFi password, than surely they would use the year that the idea for this place came to be. When Jack typed in the numbers, the square lit up a bright green and the steel doors slid open. Zoe smirked as both Sorina and Jack turned to her, grinning ear to ear.

"The Foundation may be ruthless," Zoe commented. "But when it comes to the simple things, they sure let their guard down."

Jack did his best to stand up straighter, trying to ignore the panging ache in his side. His fingers tightened around his bat and he found himself leaning against it for support. "And to think you insisted on having me hired here," he teased, attempting to light the mood as he met his mentor's stare. "I wonder if that market by my flat is still hiring."

"Oh shove off," the woman said, rolling her eyes. "You and I both know you don't regret a thing." And he followed her gaze to where Sorina stood, momentarily preoccupied with pulling her hair back.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "You're right about that."

XXX

Dracula had been pacing the length of his confinement for hours now, looking for the smallest weak point that would allow him to break free. To rescue Agatha. To kill each and every person in this facility. To destroy Bloxham. But try as he might, his luck had seemed to bottom. His stare bore into the concert ground as he heard the entrance open, sharp fingernails digging into his palms. He could only assume it was the guards who, for some reason, had hurried left the room to deal with an apparent greater issue.

"You do realize," he growled. "You cannot contain me forever and once you slip up-"

"Dad!"

His previous fumes of anger were extinguished by the familiar sound of his daughter's voice. Dracula looked up so quickly, he nearly gave himself whiplash. Though he noted both Zoe's and Jack's presence in the room, his attention fell on Sorina. Emotions. Confused. Pride. Concern. It was almost comical how fast his expression changed.

"Sorina," he began. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're going to get you out," the halfing said, hurrying over to examine the prison. "Mum's out there handling the guards. We don't have a lot of time."

"Jack," Zoe said, catching the young man's eye. "See if you can find an override switch. Without a keycard, we can't have direct access, but like I said before. The Foundation is known for its unique designs."

"While I applaud your efforts-and really, I most certainly do, I implore you to escape," Dracula insisted, frowning as Sorina's hands danced against the glass like a tree frog's sticky toes. "You and your mother leave. I'll find a way out."

"No," Sorina said, her eyes not even meeting his as she continued her relentless search. "I'm not going to lose you guys. Not again."

"I would listen to your father if I were you." The voice echoed, cold, almost sneering as the clicking sound of heels filled the room. "Well, unfortunately, leaving is no longer an option. Such a terrible situation you've put me in."

Bloxham.

Sorina turned, her back against her father's cage as the doctor entered casually inside. A glint of metal caught her eye, and it didn't take a scientist to know it was a revolver. The woman seemed to notice her gaze and peered down, lips curved into smirk.

"Oh this?" The way she said it, the way the words leaked false innocence like venom, made Sorina's skin crawl. "You can never have too much protection."

"Let them go, Dr. Bloxham."

Zoe stood near Sorina, her grip on her own gun tightening. The woman moved closer to her niece, and the halfling soon realized that she was trying to get between them. A distraction. Bloxham cocked her head a frowned, letting out a long sigh.

"You were such a good scientist, Dr. Van Helsing," the middle aged woman exclaimed. "Even with that freak of a niece you have. To actually think at one point, I respected you," Bloxham pointed the gun at Zoe. "But I guess that cancer got to your brain. What a valuable mind to-"

BAM!

Jack struck the control panel hard with his bat, momentarily distracting Bloxham. Zoe, seizing the moment, knocked the woman backwards. Her disorientation didn't last long, and soon Zoe found herself thrust downwards. The handgun clattered to the ground, and Bloxham kicked it away with her foot. The scientist stood over the other woman, her eyes leering at her in a false sense of a victory. But before even Zoe could react, Sorina threw herself between them, both women hitting the wall hard.

"Why do you have to make things so difficult?" Bloxham hissed, blood dribbling from her temple. "It's not like you even cared in the first place."

There was another bang as Jack struck the device again, only this time, it began to spark. Out of the corner of her eye, Sorina noticed the slightest of slits in the doorway of her father's cage. She needed to keep Bloxham talking. Keep her preoccupied.

"They're my parents," she growled. "I never stopped loving them. I thought they were dead."

"And you came here in some ridiculous, valiant effort with the hopes of saving them?" Bloxham inquired. "I suppose it makes sense. Except," She reached over her head and for the first time, to her horror, Sorina saw the latch that opened the ceiling. "I think you might want to rethink your goal."

"Sorina!"

The halfling couldn't identify who was screaming her name as her eyes fixated on the opening above. It was as if time slowed down, a bright, white light cascading down and engulfing her very person. She wasn't sure what to expect. Pain. Agony. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And she couldn't help but grin, laugh as she gazed up at the sun for the first time. Her eyes met her father's and Dracula appeared just as mesmerized. How were they not dead?

"Huh," Bloxham muttered. "Not exactly what I was expecting." Her mouth had twitched into a small frown and Sorina, still enamored by the sun, failed to notice the woman's attention on her. "Well, I suppose there's always another way."

Without another word, the woman pointed the gun straight at Sorina and fired.

#Dracula #Dracula 2020 #Dracula on Netflix #Agatha Van Helsing #Dragatha #Dracula x Agatha #Mirabile Visu

10 notes · View notes

arecomicsevengood · 5 years ago

Text

Watching Movies In Self-Isolation, Part Two

L’Assassin Habite Au Rue 21 (1942), dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot. Clouzot is better known for directing The Wages Of Fear (the movie William Friedkin remade as Sorcerer) and Diabolique, but this is the first movie he directed. It’s a pretty effective comedy, as well as an Agatha Christie style murder-mystery thriller. It’s really cool to watch these things that feel like they are just “movies,” before a bunch of genre conventions got built up and put in place. This one’s also eighty minutes long, super-short. The premise of the movie is there’s a serial killer on the loose, leaving a business card on every dead body. A dude passes along to the police that he found a stash of the business cards in the attic of a boarding house, so the killer must live there. A police officer goes undercover as a priest moving into the boarding house to investigate the residents. His wife, an aspiring singer, has made a bet with him she can solve the crime first, and in doing so become a celebrity that will be hired to perform places, so she also moves into the boarding house, partly to annoy him. The stuff at the boarding house is basically the film’s second act, while the first and third act are more typical murder-mystery stuff, although the tone of comedy is maintained throughout, despite all the cold-blooded murders.

All These Women (1964), dir. Ingmar Bergman. Kind of dumb sex comedy directed by Ingmar Bergman, but with gorgeous Sven Nykvist cinematography, bright jewel-toned pastels, and sort of theatrical staging in spots seeming to foreshadow Parajanov’s The Color Of Pomegranates or eighties Greenaway stuff. About a critic who visits the palatial estate of a famous cellist to write a biography of him only to find a harem of women; the whole thing unfolding from the cellist’s funeral a few days later. The winking humor is both music-hall bawdy but in a way that feels self-aware or “meta” in the context of a sixties film.

The Touch (1971), dir. Ingmar Bergman. Bergman’s one of my favorites, many of his canonized classics resonate deeply with me, but he was also astonishingly prolific, with a bunch of movies of his blurring together in my mind, and even more that I didn’t know existed, like this English-language one, starring Elliott Gould. Gould’s another favorite of mine, being in a bunch of great movies in the sixties and seventies, but damn, he’s unlikable here. Unlikable characters “hit different” in older material because I’m not sure if you’re supposed to sympathize with them according to the sexist cultural attitudes of the day. Here he’s “the other man” Liv Ullman is cheating on Max Von Sydow (RIP) with, but he’s pretty emotionally abusive, just a shit to her, extremely demanding of her in a relationship he did nothing to earn, though it does feel like the movie is kind of treating him as a romantic lead.

The Anderson Tapes (1971), dir. Sidney Lumet. This is heist movie, starring Sean Connery as a dude fresh out of prison, planning to rob his girlfriend’s apartment building, costarring Christopher Walken in his first film role. It contains all the plot beats of a typical heist thing, all the satisfying “getting the gang together, planning things out in advance, chaotic elements interfere” stuff but also a totally superfluous bit of framing about like constant surveillance, video monitoring and audio tape. All this dystopian police-state stuff seems, implicitly, like it would make a crime impossible to execute, the criminals are monitored every step of the way, by assorted agencies. But then the punchline, after everyone’s arrested for reasons having nothing to do with that, is that all this recording is illegal and all the tapes should be erased as the high-profile nature of the case makes it likely the monitoring agencies will get caught. Sidney Lumet directs a good thriller, even though I don’t find Connery (or Dyan Cannon, who plays the girlfriend) particularly compelling.

The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (1933), dir. Fritz Lang. I watched this years ago, after reading Matt Fraction praise it, particularly how skillful the transitions between scenes were, and I really enjoyed it, but didn’t remember much about it and was excited to rewatch it. It’s got a lot going for it: An exceedingly elaborate criminal plot whose only goal is to wreak chaos, low-level criminals caught up in something they’re morally unprepared to reckon with, a charismatic police detective interviewing a bunch of weirdos, Fritz Lang following up M by continuing to be a master of film and sound editing very early stitching it all together. The Mabuse character was previously the star of a silent film I haven’t watched, and here he’s mute, which is a clever choice I didn’t register until writing it out just now. He’s gone completely insane, but is nonetheless writing a journal filled with elaborate crime plots, and his psychologist is completely insane and following these directions, in a commentary on the rise of Nazism in Germany at the time.

House By The River (1950), dir. Fritz Lang. I watched this in the pre-Quarantine days, but it totally rules. Again, it feels sordid in part because of how old it is and my assumption you’re meant to identify on some level with the completely loathsome protagonist’s sexual desire and anger at getting turned down. It’s so creepy, he’s listening to the sound of his maid showering at one point. All the characters seem very fun to play, they’re all pretty cartoonish. This guy murder his maid, and then gets the idea that he should write a book about the murder when someone explains the idea of “writing what you know” to him, and he is then surprised when his wife reads the book and puts together that it’s a murder confession, saying something like “Really? I thought I disguised it pretty well.” The film functions as a dark comedy because every character is completely mortifying. Lang’s work becoming less ambitious and more reduced in budget during his time working in America is pretty sad but this movie feels legit deranged.

Midsommar (2019), Ari Aster. Heard good things about Hereditary, but haven’t watched it yet, having been put off by the plot summary of Aster’s preceding short film, about a kid who rapes his dad. This is like a longer version of The Wicker Man, basically, starring Florence Pugh, who I had heard was like the new actress everyone’s enamored with, but didn’t think was that compelling in this. A bunch of Americans go to a Swedish village, one of them (played by Chidi from The Good Place) has studied their anthropology extensively, but all are unprepared for the fact that their whole culture seems to revolve around human sacrifice and having sex with outsiders so they don’t become totally inbred. There’s a monstrously deformed, cognitively impaired child who’s been bred specifically so his abstract splashings of paint can be interpreted as culture-defining profound lore, which I took away as being comparable to the role Joe Biden plays within the death cult of the DNC.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2019), dir. Bi Gan. This got a lot of acclaim, but I am almost certain the main reason I watched it is because the director made a list of his favorite movies and included Masaaki Yuasa’s anime series Kemonozume on it. Does a sort of bisected narrative thing, where half of the movie is this sort of fragmented crime thing, a little hard to follow, and then you get the title card, and then the second half is this pretty dreamlike atmospheric piece done in a single shot, with a moving camera. I’m not the sort to jerk off over long shots, although I appreciate the large amount of technical pre-planning that goes into pulling them off. The second part is pretty compelling though, enveloping, I guess it was in 3-D at certain theatrical screenings? I’m a little unclear on how my fucked-up eyes can deal with 3-D these days and I was never that into it. The first half is easy to turn off and walk away from, the second half isn’t but I’m unsure on how much it amounts to beyond its atmosphere.

Black Sun (1964), dir. Koreyoshi Kurahara. This one’s about a Japanese Jazz fan and dirtbag squatter who meets a black American soldier who’s gone crazy and AWOL. He loves him because he loves Jazz and all Black people, but the soldier is pretty crazy and can’t understand him anyway. Jazz is, or was, huge in Japan and this is a cooler depiction of that fandom than you get in Murakami novels but it’s a fairly uncomfortable watch, I guess because the black dude seems so crazy it feels a little racist to an American audience? Maybe he wasn’t being directed that well because there would be a language barrier but it’s weird.

Honestly the thing to watch from sixties Japan on The Criterion Channel is Black Lizard (1962), dir. Umetsugu Inoue, which I watched shortly after Trump’s election in 2016, when all the Criterion stuff was still on Hulu, and it cheered me up considerably in those dark days. It feels a little like The Abominable Dr. Phibes, but with a couple musical numbers, and is about a master detective who thinks crime is super-cool and wishes there was a criminal who would challenge his intellect. Then the Black Lizard kidnaps someone. It’s a lot of fun, with a tone that feels close to camp but is so knowing and smart it feels more genuinely strange and precise. One of those things you get fairly often where the Japanese outsider’s take on American genre stuff gets what it’s about more deeply and so feels like it’s operating on a higher level. I really love this movie.

I had this larger point I wanted to make about just feeling repulsed by genre stuff that self-consciously attempts to mimic its canonical influences and that might not be all the way present in this post. Still, something that really should be implicit when talking about movies from the past is that they are not superhero movies, and how repulsed I am by that particular genre’s domination of cinema right now, and how much of cinema has a history of something far looser and more freewheeling in its ideas of how to make work that appealed to a broad audience, and how much weird formal playfulness can be understood intuitively by an audience without being offputting, and the sort of spirit of formal interrogation connects the films I like to the comics I like (as well as the books I like, and the visual art I like), this sense of doing something that can only be done within that medium even as certain other aspects translate.

3 notes · View notes

miladylocksley · 5 years ago

Text

Carry On | Pride and Prejudice

Ok so I may be completely way off or too slow not to have realized this before, but Carry On and Pride and Prejudice parallels???

Let’s start with enemies to lovers.

“We were enemies.” “You were the centre of my universe,” I say. “Everything else spun around you.”

(Carry On, 506)

“Lizzie,” said he, “what are you doing? Are you out of your senses, to be accepting this man? Have you not always hated him?”

(Pride and Prejudice, 272)

Baz and Simon are already on opposite sides before they even meet on account of magical politics. The Old Families vs. the Mage.

Magicians don’t have kings and queens, but the Pitches are the nearest thing we have to a royal family—they probably would have crowned themselves at some point if they’d ever expected anyone to challenge their authority.

(Carry On, 82)

They want Watford to go back to the way it used to be—a place for only the most rich and the most powerful.

(Carry On, 83)

Which then grew into a difference of status on account of Baz’s ability to excel at magic and Simon’s struggle to catch up.

What did he say to Agatha? What did he promise? Maybe he didn’t have to say anything. Maybe he just had to be himself. Smarter than I am. Better looking. Wealthier. Fucking horsier—he could go to all her events and wear the right suit and the right shoes. He’d know which necktie went with which month of the year. If he weren’t a vampire, Baz’d be bloody perfect.

(Carry On, 145)

Lizzie and Darcy were again established as opposites purely based on social class.

but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year.

(Pride and Prejudice, 8)

And later on, on their snap judgment of each other solely based on their first impressions.

His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again.

(Pride and Prejudice, 8)

She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.

(Pride and Prejudice, 9)

Similarly, Baz rejects Simon when they first meet.

I stumbled forward and looked around, and Baz was walking towards me. Looking so cool. Like he was coming my way because he wanted to, not because there was a mystical magnet in his gut. The magic doesn’t stop until you and your new roommate shake hands—I held my hand out to Baz immediately. But he just stood there for as long as he could stand it.

(Carry On, 167)

From then on, they are kept apart by external forces bigger than themselves.

“What if,” he says, stepping closer, “ I help you find out who killed your mum, then you help me fight the Humdrum, and we just forget about the rest?” “ ‘The rest,’ ” I say, turning around. “Way to oversimplify a decade of corruption and abuse of power.” “Are you talking about the Mage?” “Yes.” He looks pained. “I wish you wouldn’t.” “How can I not talk about the Mage when I’m talking to the Mage’s Heir?” “Is that how you think of me?” “Isn’t that how you think of yourself? Oh, right. I forgot—you don’t think at all.” Simon groans and rakes his hair. “Jesus Christ. Do you ever not go for the lowest blow? Like, do you ever think, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say the most cruel thing just now’?” “I’m trying to be efficient.” He leans against the shelf where I’ve set the whiteboard. “It’s vicious.” “You should talk, Snow. You always go for the kill shot.” “When I’m fighting. We’re not fighting.” “We’re always fighting,” I say, going back to the board.

(Carry On, 362)

“It’s not that I don’t prefer this. It’s that . . .” I sigh. “I can’t even imagine it. My family objects to everything the Mage stands for.”

(Carry On, 364)

In the case of Lizzie and Darcy, it is the latter’s lack of tact that causes the most trouble but, much like Baz in the example above, Darcy is portraying—though clumsily—just what and whom stands in their way. They come from different worlds.

His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.

(Pride and Prejudice, 138)

“I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a design of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character?”

(Pride and Prejudice, 139)

We’re now moving on to one half of the couple and their secret crush.

And when I felt myself slipping too far, I held on to the one thing I’m always sure of— Blue eyes. Bronze curls. The fact that Simon Snow is the most powerful magician alive. That nothing can hurt him, not even me. That Simon Snow is alive. And I’m hopelessly in love with him.

(Carry On, 176)

Occupied in observing Mr Bingley’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness. Of this was she perfectly unaware; to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.

(Pride and Prejudice, 17-18)

A crush which not only becomes much more, unbeknownst to the other party, but which is left unspoken for so long it becomes unbearable.

“For a long time,” I say. “Hmmm?” he opens one eye. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. Almost since we met . . .” Snow closes his eyes again and smiles like he’s trying not to. I smile, too, only because he isn’t watching. “I thought it was going to kill me.”

(Carry On, 356)

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 138)

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 275)

Though both Baz and Darcy start by trying their utmost to completely deny having any romantic inclination.

“If I’d known it was this easy to get rid of you,” Baz called after me, “I would’ve let you catch up with me weeks ago!”

(Carry On, 106)

I hated the sight of him—I hated what the sight of him did to me.

(Carry On, 180)

He began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention.

(Pride and Prejudice, 43)

The whole situation does not look to be improving anytime soon for Baz and Darcy when it comes to any hope of reciprocation because Simon and Lizzie—at least in the beginning—never forgive, never forget.

Ebb nods and pets the goat. “To think you used to be at each other’s throats.” “We’re still at each other’s throats.” She looks up at me doubtfully. She has narrow blue eyes, bright blue--brighter somehow because her face is so dirty. “Ebb,” I insist, “he tried to kill me.” “Not successfully.” She shrugs. “Not recently.” “He’s tried to kill me three times! That I know of! It doesn’t actually matter whether it worked.” “It matters a bit,” she says. “‘Sides, how old was he the first time, eleven? Twelve? That hardly counts.” “It counts with me,” I say. “Does it.” I huff. “Yes. Ebb. It does. He hated me before he even met me.” “Exactly,” she says. “Exactly!” “I’m just saying--been a long time since I had to spell you two apart.”

(Carry On, 90-91)

“Another time, Lizzie,” said her mother, “I would not dance with him, if I were you.” “I believe, ma’am, I may safely promise you never to dance with him.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 15)

I mean duh, ‘cause they keep being dicks.

I cannot put down the numerous examples of Baz trying to hurt Simon over the years, whether physically through a monster or a magical recording device or with his unforgiving tongue (yes, the double entendre was on purpose), which has understandably rendered Simon paranoid.

I step out of Niall’s way. “If he’s planning something, I’ll find out,” I say. “I always do.”

(Carry On, 84)

Darcy keeps being rude or just legit ignoring Lizzie (’cause denial), so how he ever thought she might welcome his addresses is beyond me. Lizzie only meets any attempt at civility with suspicion.

Mr. Darcy, with grave propriety, requested to be allowed the honour of her hand, but in vain. Elizabeth was determined; nor did Sir William at all shake her purpose by his attempt at persuasion. “You excel so much in the dance, Miss Eliza, that it is cruel to deny me the happiness of seeing you; and though this gentleman dislikes the amusement in general, he can have no objection, I am sure, to oblige us for one half-hour.” “Mr. Darcy is all politeness,” said Elizabeth, smiling.

(Pride and Prejudice, 20)

Thankfully, Simon and Lizzie begin to see their respective love interests in a whole new light.

Baz’s mouth is colder than Agatha’s. Because he’s a boy, I think, and then: No, because he’s a monster. He’s not a monster. He’s just a villain. He’s not a villain. He’s just a boy. I’m kissing a boy. I’m kissing Baz.

(Carry On, 343)

There was certainly at this moment, in Elizabeth’s mind, a more gentle sensation towards the original than she had ever felt in the height of their acquaintance. The commendation bestowed on him by Mrs Reynolds was of no trifling nature. What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people’s happiness were in his guardianship!—how much of pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow!—how much of good or evil must be done by him! Every idea that had been brought forward by the housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she stood before the canvas on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before; she remembered its warmth, and softened its impropriety of expression.

(Pride and Prejudice, 180)

But they still do not know when their feelings began to change.

The looking at Baz and thinking about the way his hair falls in a lazy wave over his forehead . . . Yeah, nope. I’ve thought about that before.

(Carry On, 351)

“Why did I kiss you?” “Yeah.” “I guess I wanted to,” I say, shrugging. “Since when?” I shrug again, and it pisses him off.

(Carry On, 353)

“Will you tell me how long you have loved him?” “It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 270)

But there is not doubt; they are each other’s perfect match.

“I’m not the Humdrum,” I repeat, when I get the chance. “I’d know if I were.” “What you are is a fucking tragedy, Simon Snow. You literally couldn’t be a bigger mess.” He tries to kiss me, but I hold back—“And you like that?” “I love it,” he says. “Why?” “Because we match.”

(Carry On, 420)

“What do I not owe you? You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 267)

“It is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 270)

“Well, my dear,” said he, when he ceased speaking, “I have no more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 273)

BONUS

How did it take you so long to figure it out?

“Baz,” I say. “My roommate.” “The dead one? With the pretty eyes?” “Yes.”

(Carry On, 99)

“And do not you think him a very handsome gentleman, ma’am?” “Yes, very handsome.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 177)

I’m a mess, but I’m the mess that you wanted™

“His hair is a mess, and his face is flushed, and he looks like he might go off right there, without any provocation.

[…]

All the blood I’ve got in me rises to my ears and cheeks.”

(Carry On, 290-291)

Mr. Darcy said very little, and Mr. Hurst nothing at all. The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy, which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the occasion’s justifying her coming so far alone.

(Pride and Prejudice, 25)

Trying—and failing—to be subtle

“It was just flirting,” Baz says. “It’s not like I tried to feed her to a chimera.”

(Carry On, 277)

Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, “You cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment. You cannot have been always at Longbourn.”

(Pride and Prejudice, 131)

They’re all such disasters

When the figure steps forward, I recognize him at once. Tall. Black hair swept back from his forehead. Lips curled up in a sneer . . . I know that face as well as my own. Baz.

(Carry On, 150)

They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was his appearance that it was impossible to avoid his sight. Their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of each were overspread with the deepest blush. He absolutely started, and for a moment seemed immovable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself, advanced towards the party, and spoke to Elizabeth, if not in terms of perfect composure, at least of perfect civility.

(Pride and Prejudice, 180)

Carry On : St Martin’s Griffin (Paperback) Pride and Prejudice : The Modern Library Classics (Paperback)

#snowbaz #carry on #rainbow rowell #pride and prejudice #jane austen

31 notes · View notes

ofgrveyards · 5 years ago

Text

Hey angels, I’m Faye, and I’m extremely excited to be apart of this group with you all! I’m 22, I use she/her pronouns, and I’m in the EST timezone. This intro is....a whole ass mess and it’s too long, but I’m throwing it @ you anyways! My discord’s fuck ya chicken strips !#2658 if anyone would prefer to plot there!

─ *✧ [ DANIELLE CAMPBELL. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ] little hollow welcomes you, JOSEPHINE HAMILTON. an/a TWENTY-FOUR ( 500 ) year old known for being a PARAMEDIC, have you settled in yet ? i’m sure as a VAMPIRE you’ll have no problem fitting in but your COMPASSIONATE + RECKLESS personality might have something different to say. residents have described you as candles burning in the dark, daydreaming about a different life, & open windows at night, i wonder what that means ? [ faye. 22. est. she/her. ]

PAST,

Born in 1519 to a seamstress and a blacksmith, Josephine Hamilton’s early life was spent indoors, shielded from the death and decay that played such a prominent role in London’s history.

Her mother, Agatha, was taken by the plague when she was just 10 years old, leaving her with just her father and younger brother.

The next fourteen years of her life were spent fighting tooth and nail to build a better life for herself and her aforementioned brother. Their father, Joseph, spent more time drinking than providing for his two children, and as a result, became quite belligerent and abusive.

This was, in part, because of his children’s magical abilities passed down from their mother’s side, to which he refused to attempt to understand and instead forced them to suppress.

Just before Jo’s twenty-fourth birthday, the stress of containing her powers combined with her fear of her father becomes too much and she blows, quite literally. The windows in their flat explode and the entire block is lit aflame shortly thereafter, leaving nothing but ashes in her wake.

After deciding to leave their father to fend for himself in the burning building, she grabs her brother, any belongings they can easily carry, and sets off into the night.

With no surviving relatives in the immediate area and little to no money to their name, they begin their commute to France to visit their mother’s great aunt.

While waiting to catch a boat in Folkstone, Josephine has another episode, resulting in flooding in the town surrounding the docks. This is where she meets the vampire who turns her, who takes pity on the woman’s declining mental stability and lack of bodily control.

That very same vampire, who takes herself and her brother into their home, helps her acclimate to life as a vampire for a few years. This time is spent learning how to feed, control her urges, present as a human in public, and how to compel.

The final of the four is not something she often used, as she found it to be manipulative to the point of losing what was left of her humanity. She also refused to force feed, and other than her first year, has only ever fed on consenting parties or through other means.

Her brother is turned by them a few years after her, as she refused to be the one to do it to her own flesh and blood. Once he was acclimated to life as a vampire, they set off on their own and travel around London aimlessly.

In her spare time, Jo studied everything she could get her hands on to become a doctor. But as it was a profession society deemed unfit for women at the time, she had to wait.

She went from hospital to hospital working as an aid to patients, biding her time. Eventually, in 1862, when learning about a school in Boston for Women to be professionally trained in the medical field as a physician, she drops everything to head to the states.

The siblings live there from 1863-1874, during which she also attends a school for nursing. Not long after, they return to England, where she works as a nurse until 1892 when women are officially allowed to practice medicine.

With the help of her brother and another doctor at the hospital she’d been living at, she opens up her own clinic in a more rural part of England. This is where she stays until the mid 1900′s, when she and her brother part ways.

Josephine then moves to the states in attempt to continue her practice without raising any red flags. She starts out in Boston where she received her training, then moves on from there, going state to state every few years.

PRESENT,

It was six years ago to date when Jo moved to Little Hollow, originally intending to open her own practice like she has in so many other cities, but she decides to postpone it when she realizes just how significant the supernatural population is in the town.

Due to the considerable fortune earned through the many facilities she’s built over the years that are still in her name, she buys herself a nice house in town with a white-picket fence and a dog. The life she lives behind closed doors may be unspeakable to most, but she does her best to be relatively normal in spite of it.

Continuing working even though she doesn’t need to is a decision that’s made due to her innate desire to continue helping people to the best of her ability. `

Becoming a Paramedic felt like the best option for her, considering she never spends very long with any of the patients, so not only are they unable to get fully acquainted with her, there’s always a change of pace.

Being so settled has become a foreign feeling, though she’s grown to thoroughly enjoy having a home, feeling like she belongs.

She’s fairly active in things around town, known to donate to charities and help the homeless. She also dips into the hospital blood supply on occasion for vampires looking to stray from feeding directly from the source.

When it comes to inter-species politics, she tries to stay out of trouble with the other supernatural people in Little Hallow, instead opting to attempt to keep the peace.

Of course, this doesn’t always go over well, considering she’s got such a big heart and wants to keep everyone happy.

PERSONALITY,

Kind, gentle, soft, dedicated, passionate, thoughtful, stubborn. She’s also enthusiastic, eager to please, and wildly ambitious; both at school/work and in her personal life.

She’s a certified Mom Friend™ and proud of it.

Would literally go to any length necessary if it means keeping those she cares about safe.

Josephine’s got to be one of the most attentive people when it comes to her friendships and loved ones. She is always taking time to spend time with them no matter how busy she may be, will stop whatever she’s doing if they are in need, and gives the best gifts. Her philosophy is that if she’s got to spend her money somewhere, it may as well be on others.

She tends to see the best in people, even those who don’t deserve a moment of her time.

Honestly??? She’s the softest vampire ever, probably much too soft to have survived as long as she has.

Is very, very protective of the less fortunate, be that financially, physically, or in minorities. She doesn’t believe in violence as the answer, but hates any prejudices people may have even more. If she sees anyone being mistreated, she definitely steps in ready for a fight.

MISC,

MBTI:

ALIGNMENT:

CHARACTER TROPES: The Idealist, Nice Girl, Running Gag, Workaholic, there are more but I’ll never get off the trope site if I keep going.

CHARACTER INFLUENCES: Leslie Knope, Kimmy Schmidt, Peggy Carter, April Kepner, Phoebe Buffay.

WANTED CONNECTIONS,

Friends, friends, all the friends.

Frienemies/ex-friends ( this is so hard for her bc she tries to see the best in people, but if they’re a hateful person, she’s not against writing them off ).

A best friend would be super cool, lord knows my girl needs someone to confide in and to turn to when things get rough.

The vampire who turns her and her brother is definitely a wc!

An old friend she’s known for centuries, someone who has seen her grow through the ages.

A neighbor, or maybe a roommate she’s asked to live with her, because the house she bought is so big and she gets lonely lmao

ex fwb maybe???

Enemy turned friend!

Yeah, idk, these are all super random and probably lowkey shitty, but I’m down for anything !!!

#blood.intro #this is so bad YIKES!!#abuse tw #parent death tw #I think that covers it but if I missed any pls don’t hesitate to lmk

4 notes · View notes