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digitalagepulao · 3 months ago

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My sincere Black Myth: Wukong review

Full disclosure! This is from a recent but earnest fan of JTTW as the original novel, as well as all the social, cultural and religious layers of it. I've seen my fair share of adaptations and derivative media, from shlocky to silly to grimdark to cutesy. I'm a bachelor in visual arts, with an interest in the field of game development since high school. I am also, white and brazillian, and have talked with other jttw fans, both Chinese and not, on this game. If any of these are for some reason motive to not read further, then fair enough. Hope you have fun and continue to enjoy the game, do not let me or my opinion stop you!

Now to the review proper <3

First things first, let the obvious not remain unsaid. This game, is supremely gorgeous. In every sense of the word, and I mean this fully, it's a work of art. The sound design, the character concepts and execution, the animations, the voice acting, the visual effects, the UI design, the cinematography, the 3D scanning of actual historical artofacts and heritage sites throughout China, and everything beyond and between, are phenomenal, full stop.

This was never a debate, I'm sure, but I don't think I can in good conscience not praise them for their work. It's no news that Asian talent, not just in China either, have been often hired to supplement projects on the West, and we can all agree it's about time they got to shine in their own AAA project. My issues with the international game industry notwithstanding, I hope this brings some much needed acknowledgment and appreciation for Chinese culture and arts, both traditional and modern!

Now, from this point on, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, so proceed with caution!

(word count: +1.8k)

I also deeply enjoy their choices in arcs to revisit. Some like the Flaming Mountain arc are classic picks to adapt but still a very good match to the whole Six Senses throughline. I don't think you can do a JTTW 2 electric bogaloo without bringing up Niumowang and his family in some way (um, put a pin on that), but the other arcs like Yellowbrow or Black Wind Mountain aren't as explored imo, so it's nice to see them being given a bit of a spotlight.

(speaking of the Yellow Ridge arc, whoever made the executive decision of Lingji Bodhisattva being a Xaanxi singer is, genius!!)

I'm also kind of in love?? with Bajie's design and role in the story overall?? Gameplay wise he sticks around just enough to not feel lonely, but not too long to be a nuisance or overstay his welcome. He's no Atreus (GoW) or Ellie (TLoU) of course, but he doesn't need to be, and most importantly, he isn't trying to be, which I feel is admirable of the devs. Given the visible inspirations from the recent God of War games, it would have been easy to lean a bit too hard on it, but I'm glad they didn't overreach.

Him having a more complex love life is also a nice touch imo. It explores more his womanizer ways in an interesting way, and I appreciate it. I love when people complicate the pig! Also, the way he treats Xiaosheng (Destined One) like a nephew?? The scene on the Huaguoshan throne??? I'M GONNA CRY!!!

I think, I've run out of positive things to say.... time for the spicy takes.

I, kind of detest the premise by default. I'm not a big fan of "Superman is Dead" plots, cus it's usually either done for shock value, or taken so lightly that the weight is totally lost. I have such a love-hate situationship with the introduction cutscene because of this. On one hand, it's phenomenal cinema, and seeing Wukong stand up to the Heavenly armies in glorious 4K high fidelity graphics is delicious. On the other hand, the whole debate they are having has me going "?????", not because I don't get it but just, why?? Why did this have to be the premise?? (put another pin on that)

Also the set up and call to adventure is kind of blergh.

Now is as good a time as any to talk about the gameplay. It's, okay. If you enjoy trying to figure out the most stylish combos, or to mash buttons, then you'll definitely have fun. I was sorely disappointed that I pretty much have been going through the bosses rather easily. Chapter 1 it was mostly the struggle of learning the controls, but I never stuck to a boss for longer than seven tries (Whiteclad Noble, the snakeman that you are). Chapter 2 I only struggled on Tiger Vanguard, because I was sorely underleveled and had missed a pathway to explore before him. After that I second tried him. Chapter 3, I have and I'm not joking, gotten halfway through first or second trying every boss.

Mind you, this is not being some godtier gamer or whatever, I'm pretty average and only a recent player of soulslike games too (maybe playing Lies of P made too OP, but I sincerely doubt it lol). No, this is me saying that if you do explore the game and not rush through it, you won't struggle nearly as much as some people have and still are. Most of the final chapter bosses can be trivialized with the chapter's Obsession Realm gimmick artifact, which isn't in itself a bad thing, just feels like an odd choice personally.

Which leads me to, the level design. So far? Preeeeetty lame! It's very pretty and fancy, but so chockful of invisible walls that it feels stiffling and discourages exploration. I can never tell what is meant to be a path or just fancy scenery, and I never know when a jump will get walled or send me to my death by fall damage. When it's not being confusing, the level design is either a bunch of looping circles, or straight lines. And so far, besides a few interactables and loot, there is not much else to look at. That is, bad level design, plain and simple.

Also, the animations are glorious, but what is the point if I can't see the enemy?? That camera is my true nemesis, and I mean that. the fact that a boss can be beyond my field of vision at ANY POINT when I'm locked on and it strifes sideways, is dreadful. GameScience, FIX IT. It is also, very hard to tell what parts of a boss will damage me if I collide with them or not. The Kang-Jin Long fight was baffling on a design point of view, same for Captain Lotus-Vision. Some clearer hitboxes would be swell.

This is the point where I say my main issue with the game lies: it's very pretty, and adoringly crafted, but it lacks substance design wise. I feel like it needed to cook more, the level design polished more so I wouldn't get lost every five minutes, and clearer.... well, everything. Mechanic explanations, level progression, gimmicks, etc. It all needed to be less murky and convoluted to understand.

It also needed more meat in between bosses. I have yet to run into common enemies that give me actual trouble, so it ends up being just a jolly waltz from boss to boss. Boss rushes are fun and great, but not as the base game experience (for me at least). I had to stop one boss away from completing Chapter 1 cus I was just so exhausted. And I had been playing for like, an hour and a half?? That left a sour taste in my mouth, I'll be honest.

Okay, I'm gonna pick open those pins now.

#1 the Flaming Mountain Arc. I'm gonna be very real here chat, that was so cringe. What do you MEAN, Red Son wasn't Demon Bull King's biological son, and Princess Iron Fan was forced to drink from the Childbearing River??? And Red Son hates him????When I watched that cutscene, I had to pause and walk away for a moment, legitimately. This plotbeat is SO WILD to me, I got nothing to say. Just, why??Soooo bizarre. And that the Flaming Mountain Keeper has such a presence in Iron Fan's life is also, weird?? Not bad weird, just Weird, but that's like a nitpick more than an actual criticism. Ping Ping is fine though, I like that Bull has a daughter with Princess Fair Fox, that's cute and interesting. Wish she was in a better plot and adaptation but lol

And #2, the premise. Now we are getting to the meat of it all.

The underlying premise of the whole plot, including the true ending, is flawed by default. The premise runs on what is sometimes called as a "conspiracy theory plot", as in, "what if the gods were bad actually??". It's reddit movie theory content in very short terms, and while it had a place during the 00s grimdark years pre-Marvel, it's become quite a jaded and boring take nowadays. Now you may say that it comes from a genuine desire to show distrust and critique to insitutions and the powers than be, and I can see that.

There is a hiccup in that though.

In JTTW, Wukong is the Mind Monkey because of the religious text and subtext of the stories. Its interwoven in the whole thing, and makes it cohesive. It still offer critique and mockery to institutions, without entirely invalidating their foundations. Not only for genuine fear of prosecution, but because, shockingly, religion and belief is a major component of human society in general. But going back to my point, JTTW is *already* a critique of institutions and the power that be. Adding further layers into it feel like angst and edginess just for the sake of it, and that feels hollow to me.

To go further, this intent also clashes with their own plot. See, they bring up that Wukong's Mind, his Sixth Sense, died. Thus they need another Mind to guide his other senses and reform him, so that he may be reborn.

For one, that is such a convoluted way to do a reincarnation plot, it feels complicated just for novelty sake. Secondly, Wukong being the Mind Monkey, as I said, implies a tie to the underlying themes of the Journey as a person's path to enlightenment. If enlightenment itself is flawed because the gods are flawed/evil, then both themes are clashing. By making a "what if the gods were evil all along" plot while also going by the laws and order of said gods, then what are we even fighting against? What is the point of this whole rebellion between Erlang and Wukong??

my friend @ryin-silverfish said it best a while back, and I'm paraphrasing here (do pitch in or correct me if needed! <3), but the issue with these conspiracy narratives is the inherent anti-religion of them. They don't believe in anything, and thus they cannot properly retell the story of JTTW through a postmodern lense, because they refuse to engage with the religiosity that runs throughout the story.

It also leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because this game will likely be many people's first genuine experience with the JTTW mythos and story, and I tend to be concerned for how much this will "sour the pot" in the conversation. The novels are sadly innacessible enough as it is; the sheer size of them scare many people away, not even to mention the amount of underlying cultural context you'll miss out without proper footnotes and commentary. Most people will not engage with them directly, and certainly not most gamers.

While the narrative of someone embodying Wukong's spirit is not new in itself, I do find that it coexisting with such a poor premise and spin on it will be a sore first experience for new fans, and I can only hope that them meeting fans of the OG novels won't cause much friction in the fandom (we have enough as it is imo).

It also concerns me that, sadly, people and gamers in particular, get too swept up in the ooh-aah beauty of flashy sfx and highly detailed graphics, and fail to notice some of the underlying issues in game design. As I said, this game is a work of art, but it has flaws, and I don't think people are speaking of them enough. No, the issue is not "lack of diversity" or whatever the hell.

It runs deeper than that, and it's an issue I've come to see in recent movies as well. I'm aware it might just be different cultural expectations of the pacing and span of a story, and it may as well be! But I think if there was more care given to the bones of a media, it would bring much needed longevity and weight to these wonderful artworks.

All this said, I wanna see what acolades this game gets and see what the devs are cooking up with the DLCs (they said at one point the game was supposed to have 12 chapters and my god, that game would be TOO LONG. So glad it didn't get like that!), and further more see how this ripples in the eastern game dev scene. While this is a flawed game with a flawed story, it can be the first on a genuinely wonderful wave of new creations, not just by GameScience, and overall I'm hopeful for what might come next!

#jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #black myth: wukong #game review #black myth wukong

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neptune-scythe · 2 months ago

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I think it's so interesting that they chose to bring gerard and tommy back in the same season,

like of all the people to put in the gay realization arc, they bring in Tommy the same season they bring back gerard like why aren't we talking about this actually

which granted i don't know if they had planned gerard coming back all the way in the begining of season 7 but since there were only the 10 episodes they did probably have some idea where they were going with the season so it's very likely hey knew how it was going to end as well

and like those two character specifically

the ones who were honestly the main obstacles in both Hen and Chim's begins episodes like there's something going on there

and like Tommy wasn't even a queer character before season 7, so it wasn't even like they just grabed the only gay they had to bring back, they made him gay for that plot, which means they could have literally grabbed any other previous character or came up with a new one for the queer awakening

but it's like such an interesting juicy choice to bring those two back, especially since it's buck's first experience with both of them, like the paralells between those characters

the way Buck has to deal with the bitch ass boss a work and the come home to bitch ass boyfriend

and especially the tommy of it all like he could easily come across as ok and just like kinda sus whatevs maybe but not too big a deal but to have him there along with gerard, where he's gonna be in a situation where all of gerards flaws that tommy shares are going to be brought to light, tommy isn't going to be able to hide

and you bet your ass buck is going to notice the way tommy is never going to take his side when he complains about Gerard (like we've already seen in 8x01), or agree with him bro only has a few more "sounds like Gerard"s left him before mr. audhd puts two and two together and goes "erm who's side are you on babe" and mr. jealous lying liar who lies is going to pull some wordsmith vague shit that is very none commital and doesn't give a straight answer and mr. doesn't know when to let shit go or drop anything ever will not stop pushing until the truth comes out and tommy's true nature is revealed

and also i think good for Buck to stand up for himself in his personal life

like bro has no issue fighting back at work (obviously), but other than the Taylor break up (and, i guess natalia too but we didn't actually see that) he doesn't really think too much about it, he just wants to be loved and cherished and he just kind of goes wherever he feels that or thinks he may feel eventually and he doesni't really look at the situation objectively to see if it's really what he needs and is good for him

and even with the taylor break up, it kinda just came out of nowhere like until that one episode they were doing fine, they seemed good with each other, every time we saw them they were putting effort into the relationship and didn't really seem to be headed towards a break up, and even right before they broke up when Buck was talking about it to Eddie or whoever, it wasn't really in a way that made it seem like they were going to break up, he was just talking about how angry he was and all that and he didn't want to be mean, so even then we didn't really get to see him really looking at their relationship and coming to that conculsion it was just the one corversation with Eddie about how he needed to talk to her, and then them breaking up

but i digress the point is it'll be very good for buck to be the on the break up with Tommy. and especially over him being a racist sexist jerk to his friends, which objectively is bad and anyone should be broken up with for that but it'll force buck to think about his priorities and what's important to him and what he really wants/needs out of a relationship and why he even started dating tommy in the first place which was because he was just projecting his feelings for Eddie onto Tommy

but Buck knows he's bi now and Eddie's gonna know he's queer it's all going to fall into place

and also i think the absence if Christopher is going to play into all that as well becuase it's going to make Buck realize how important he is to him like obviously the whole tsunami was very telling of how much Buck cares for Christopher, but that was very tense life and death situation and very emotionally charged and hightened and there was also the element of not wanting to let eddie down and all that and he was depressed and sad and lonely and all that

but i digress

christopher being gone is going to force him to realize what a huge part of his life Christopher and Eddie are and how important they are to him, and why

I think contrasting his relationship with Tommy and his relationship with Eddie will be very enlightening for him and make him actually step back and objectively look at his relationship with Eddie and what exactly that means and what it is and what it's always been

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i-smoke-chapstick · 7 months ago

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Request: I'm already back for more. As l've already told you I love your interpretation of a reader with dwarfism and since you are okay with me requesting more, can I get multiple headcanons of Gotham!Rogues x Dwarf!reader with just either simply day to day headcanons or their first reaction to meeting/seeing them? Rogues including jervis(obv Imao), Jerome, Oswald, Victor fries, Zsasz, and ra's al ghul!

The plot can be the reader being similar to the Cheshire Cat or Nightcrawler when it comes to teleportation powers. They're friends with Barbara, Selina, and Tabitha. The rogues always see photos on them on the news, newspapers, and sometimes in person but if they even get caught staring, reader teleports themself and whoever they're with away, so they don't really get a chance to talk or know them.

Like last time, only write this if you're okay with it and I'll understand if you can't or just don't want too!

Thank you tons again! - anon

‘VOULEZ-VOUS,

-GOTHAM VILLIANS X READER-

⋆ Characters ↬ Jervis Tetch, Jerome Valeska, Oswald Cobblepot, Victor Fries, Victor Zsasz, Ra's Al Ghul

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; gotham villians with a cheshire cat!reader who has dwarfism!

⋆ tags/warnings. GOTHAM!villains x female reader. FLUFF! I love readers power SOSOSOSO much! Super creative <3 Also villians being whipped for reader just cuz they can. Protective Tabitha. REALLY protective Oswald. Jerome's a bit insensitive. Victor Zsasz is not immune to a pretty girls smile. Have never written for Victor Fries or Ra's, so fingers crossed their parts aren’t too bad! Ra’s and Fries parts got a little angsty

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝑉𝐼𝑆 𝑇𝐸𝑇𝐶𝐻

♫ “Across the room, your eyes are glowin' in the dark." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Oh, the man is completely enthralled with you. How could he not be? You're the missing piece to his wonderland puzzle.

Similarly to Alice, he believes your powers go hand and hand with each other. He rules the mind, while you have complete control of your body. His first thought when he see's you in the newspaper is simple.

He must have you.

He will do anything it takes to track you down. He finds himself becoming more and more entranced with the prospect of you working with him, partners in crime, connected body and soul. Of course those feelings of admiration become obsession.

Before you know it, the man is going lengths to find you; just like how he was with Alice. Hiring Jim Gordon as a bounty hunter? Mayhaps...

When he finally finds you at the siren's club, he can't help but be in awe. You're so small, so fragile, so unique. He wants to kiss your flattened cheekbones that look like pure porcelain. Your his doll.

"My dear, Y/N!" He's calling when he finds you, his teeth spread into a wide grin. He finds your eyes quickly turning to meet his gaze, glowing underneath the club's light. His shadow towers over you.

"You look ravishing, I must admi-" He goes to speak, just before you disappear from thin air. His mouth is open for a few moments, eyebrows scrunched.

Where did his precious little Cheshire Cat go?

Oh yeah, he's pouting. He's never been a fan of the disappearing act. But he doesn't mind. He's determined. He's played this game with Alice for far too long, he will not take no for an answer.

You'll find notes, gifts, flowers, dresses tailored to your sizing. All perfectly crafted from Gotham's most professional hypnotized seamstresses or florists.

Barbara is smirking when she finds the gifts, cackling about how sweet small little Y/N has a loony admirer. Tabitha's less than pleased, throwing out any bouquet she finds before you see them. Selina agrees, the guy's a freak.

It's up to you if you want to give him a chance <3 He would be the most devoted lover and partner if you decided too...if not a bit overly infatuated.

𝐽𝐸𝑅𝛰𝑀𝐸 𝑉𝐴𝐿𝐸𝑆𝐾𝐴

♫ “Nothing promised, no regrets." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Uh oh! Murderous clown on the loose, and he's also 100% fixated, just like a certain hatter.

Jerome brushes you off at first, don't get him wrong, he adores your work on the city. Nothing he loves more than seeing some horribles destroy Gotham! He's a fan, if you could call him that.

It takes him some time to warm up to the idea of being whipped. But once he is, you have him wrapped around your pretty little finger.

Similar to Jervis- he can't help himself. You're powerful. You're strange. You're a freak just like him and the rest of these bad boys in Gotham! You remind him of the circus, all different shapes and sizes of people around him. You belong with him. By his side. On his side. Maybe sitting in his lap... What?

Yeah, he's not sure where that came from either. But hey, he's not complaining! He likes to think he's a bachelor, a young beau waiting for his turn in the love game! Before he knows it, he's slicking his hair back, putting on his finest and most colorful suits, and making sure his face is stapled all the way. Then he's getting his cult to crash the Siren's club. Moment of silence for Tabitha who will have to clean it up after.

The place is a shit show, people in makeup dancing wildly and giggling manically. Tabitha, Barbra, Selina and you get tied up in the confusion. It's hard to fight back against a bunch of crazies when your expensive alcohol is being thrown at walls, and you four are simultaneously tied up together in one big rope. Barbra's throwing a bit of a hissy fit.

Everyone is quiet when Jerome enters, dressed to the nines, with a loud and boisterous,

"Hey gorgeous! I'm sure you've heard of me," He speaks, bending down to your level, invading your personal space. He goes to continue, until the four of you evaporate before him. Teleported away. He's left staring at the loose ropes, smile unchanged- but eyes widened in surprise.

Oh. Okay. So that's how it's gonna be. Alright.

Jerome loves a game of cat and mouse.

He craves attention. He loves the center stage, and he will not be ignored. No no no no.

He will not leave your club alone until you confront him. Yeah, sorry Babs and Tabs. Barbara will start urging you to just "sleep with the damn clown!" while Tabitha is trying desperately to not have you anywhere near that creep.

But the club isn't all he'll do, doll! No, he'll get his cult to do more and more mass murders and sprees across the city, each one broadcasted on live television. Each time, he looks into the camera, blood on his face, professing his undying love.

"This is for you, Y/N!" He's showcasing the violence around, "Call me!" He gestures, ending the broadcast abruptly.

Well, kind of hard to ignore a man when your club is in shambles, Barbara is going batshit insane, AND you have Jim Gordon trying to find you; just in order to stop these massacres around the city in your honor.

Once again, you should give the man a chance! He doesn't think he'd make a horrible boyfriend, y'know, if you're into gingers.

𝛰𝑆𝑊𝐴𝐿𝐷 𝐶𝛰𝐵𝐵𝐿𝐸𝑃𝛰𝑇

♫ “Take it now or leave it." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Ozzie's a bit harder to gauge, because I don't think he'd become infatuated with someone unless he got to meet them first. So for arguments sake, we are just going to say you two have meet previously on many occasions! Specifically when he's had some bad blood with Barbara and Tabitha.

At first, he detests you. He thinks you're a nuisance, and a powerful tool for the Siren's. You can escape from ANYONES grasp, and take them with you. His nose is scrunching up every time he thinks of just how he can get rid of you.

Well, if he can't get rid of you, he's well versed in manipulation. Perhaps he can convince you to join his team.

You're going about your day at the club, tending bar on a step stool, the usual. Oswald comes in, Victor trailing behind him. Tabitha and Barbara are instantly on alert.

"Hello." Oswald fixes his suit jacket, rolling his cane in his fingertips. He wears a faux smile, and Tabitha huffs.

"What can we help you with, Ozzie?" Barbara is smiling, just as fake as his. It's a weird Gotham crime boss stand-off.

"I was wondering if you, my dear," He speaks, suddenly nodding down to you, "Would like to accompany me for lunch tomorrow."

Yeah, everyone's jaws drop, including Oswald's at the silence. Oswald didn't necessarily intend for it to sound like he was trying to ask you on a date. He's flushing red under everyone's gaze, suddenly fidgeting. If you look closely, Victor's giving a lazy amused smirk in the back.

"Like hell-" Tabitha's about to answer for you, before you squint at the man.

"Sure." You scan him up and down, hesitantly. Before anyone has a chance to speak, Oswald's turning on his heel.

"Wonderful! 2:00 sharp. Don't be late." He's smiling, knowing he's got a one-up on the Siren's.

...Well, leave it Oz to have things never work out quite his way. One lunch turns into two, and two turns into three. He's forcing himself to remember why he's doing this; you are just a tool. This is all a charade!

Hard to focus though, when you two seem to enjoy one another's company. Like when you show him what it feels like to teleport, (He's closing his eyes in fear, only for it to feel like nothing.) Or when you two have a strangely intimate discussion about what it was like growing up not very normal.

He's opening up about his schoolyard bullies, about his mother. About the feeling of being taunted, teased for his nose or height. You tell him, you know the feeling.

He stares at you, eyes focused solely on you. He's enamored.

He turns viciously protective over you. Any snide comment made towards you by a henchman of his, or a frequent at the Siren's club, they are brutally stabbed to death, a bit impulsively, with a bottle shard.

When he realizes he's falling in love with you, similar to Jervis, he likes doing grand gestures to get your attention. If there's anything you desire, you'll get it. Which is why when he finds out you're avoiding him, he becomes sour.

What? Why are you leaving him? He doesn't understand. The intimacies you two have shared, did they mean nothing to you? He's hurt, he's angry, he's aggressive. He's more irritable than usual; and judging from the fact he's irritable ALL the time, it's pretty bad. If you don't explain yourself, this sadness will probably turn into anger. He already believes you two have some weird pseudo-romantic relationship, so he's taking this like a break-up. He's a vengeful ex.

Whenever he stops by the Siren's club, and sees you teleport away at the sight of him, it stings. It all comes to a head when he's breaking down in his mansion. You will have to be the one to confront him, because he'll be too busy sulking. He loves you. He doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. If you don't want to talk to him, he won't force you, even if he's going crazy trying to figure out why.

When he sees you, he's standing up in a hurry, fumbling over his words, sniffling. His blue-green eyes are puffy, and you'll have to sigh and talk to him.

Please, tell him why your avoiding him. Explain if you're insecure, if you're scared of loving. He'll be thankful for the explanation. He'll be angry on your behalf for anyone who made you believe you were unloved, whether for your dwarfism or your powers. He's promising to kill for you, tear down the city to avenge you.

"Okay, Oz, I'm not dead yet."

"Yet?!"

Cuties <3

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑆

♫ “Now is all we get." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Forgive him, he’s trying his hardest not to care, and failing miserably.

Similarly to Ozzie, I can’t see him becoming infatuated or obsessed like Jerome and Jervis so quickly, not since what happened with Nora. So, I’m imagining you’ve also met him once or twice; using your powers for the sirens, just like he and firefly have done some hitjobs for you four in the past.

He’s in love with the idea of having a family; of being accepted, of leaving this life behind. It’s made him bitter, cold; but the man will do anything for love. Anything.

And it’s hard not to notice the small woman running around on her toes in the club, parts of her body vanishing here and there. You’re gorgeous to him. Those small cheshire-like smiles you send him when he’s supposed to be working. They break his hard exterior. He doesn’t know if he loves or hates it. He loves it.

Even a small pit of jealousy fills him, whenever he sees you in the news. Or when he watches silently on the sidelines, while you talk with Barbara and Tabitha and Selina. You do it so effortlessly. How could anyone not be entranced by you?

He thinks that he’s a freak. Firefly’s a freak. Just like Jerome and Oz, he definitely finds solace in the idea you are just like him. You’re one of them; a freak. Pushed out by Gotham’s careless inhabitants, forced into this life. He remembers being driven out of town by Penguins army. He wonders if you’ve expirenced the same treatment at one point in your life. He wants to show you, he’s here for you. He loves you, every part of you. No matter how unconvential or mistreated. He just wants to take care of you.

Just like Oz, he’ll be ready to kill anyone for you. Freeze em’ to death in one single sweep. Just give him the go ahead.

Victor is terrified of hurting you, as well. Not only your tiny stature, but he’s sure he’d get ice burns from his fingertips. He imagines a life where it’s just the two of you, without the cold, back when he was just himself. He dreams of cooking for you. Owning an apartment. Even having a family. He swears, he’d be gentle. But he’s too uncertain. He isn’t good enough, and he certainly isn’t good for you.

You’ll have to be the first person to talk to him, warm up to him. He might not state it directly, other than a nonchalant nod here and there, but it makes him feel special. It’s the little interactions you two have that make him fall helmet over heels.

You two will spend hours, at the club, watching from the sidelines. Barbara and Tabitha out on business, Selina doing…Selina things. You’ll poke fun at the passerby’s to get a reaction out of him.

“Oh god, I just saw that guy kissing that girl- what’s he doing with that other chick?…Oh- they are making out. Oh, okay, he’s taking him to the back. I’ll give you $20 if Barbara kills this guy for doing it on her desk.” You’re snickering, gossiping. Every now and then you look over at him to see him already staring at you, the hint of a smile on his lips. It’s all you’ll get for now…until he responds.

“…Guess you’ll owe me $20 then.” He’s firing back, voice low. It’s the first time he’s spoken. The first time you’ve seen him do something other than brooding. It’s sweet.

These little things will become routine, and he’ll find solace in them. Eventually you’ll even play some tricks with your teleportation on the clubs costomers, scaring them, bumping into them. All the while you’re watching him in the corner, smiling, exhaling through his nose. He playfully scolds you sometimes, other times he chuckles. Either way, it’s a sight to see.

God, please don’t dissapear on this man. I don’t think he could take it. Gotham be damned, if you ever find yourself scared of him, he’d be broken. He’d think it was his fault, he’d think he lost his second chance at love. If you ran away from him, he might just up and leave Gotham.

But even if you did try to avoid him for awhile, I think he’d let you go without a fight. He’d just be more sulky than usual, more prone to picking petty fights with Firefly. You might find the room uncomfortably cold, even when he’s not occupying it. (He froze the AC to the club, he was upset. Sorry Barbara.)

I think he’s the only one on this list of characters that Barbara, Tabitha, and Selina might all actively approve of. Barbara wouldn’t mind having a henchman dating her bestie; soldifies his loyalty to them. Also, he’s good eye-candy. Tabitha doesn’t have any personal issue with the man, other than previously working with Penguin, of course. Selina will still make fun of him for being a walking freezer, but hey, what can you do. You have their blessing.

If you caught him before he decided to up and leave, explain to him why you run away, why you’ve been avoiding him. He won’t just understand, he’ll practically worship you. He’ll explain himself too, why he’s terrified of touching you. It’s not because of your dwarfism, or your powers. It’s just how he’s afraid of hurting or loosing you. Loving people is hard.

If he could cry, he would. But his tears will freeze when they touch his cheek. You’ll have to show him you aren’t fragile. He’ll believe you.

You guys can heal eachother.

𝑉𝐼𝐶𝑇𝛰𝑅 𝑍𝑆𝐴𝑆𝑍

♫ “The girl means business, so I'll offer her a drink." Voulez-Vous by ABBA

THIS Victor, on the other hand, is much more brash in his approaches to courting you.

He’s heard about you on the radio, from his boss, seen you in the newspapers, on the tv, watched you from the window in your apartment.

…What? Who said that?

He studies your every move. The man is calculated in his methods, what can he say? He’s not obsessed! (loud incorrect buzzer)

He just wants to size you up a little, see who the newest danger is in Gotham. He’ll convince himself he’s doing it for his boss, whether it be Falcone or Penguin. But it definitely goes deeper.

Unlike the other villians on this list that see your dwarfism as something to empathize with, Victor doesn’t really pay it any mind. He’s been around the block a few times- he’s been with women of all ages, heights, race, etc. The man really doesn’t have a type. What he’s attracted to is strength, independence, someone who will laugh at his dry humor with him. He’s stalked you at the club. He sees the way you banter with Tabitha and Selina, the way you make Barbara dissapear when she’s being too annoying with a flick of your wrist.

He’s incredibly attracted to a woman whose witty and good at what they do. Just like him.

Victor’s more subtle in his approach. He’ll make it casual.

So when you’re at the bar in the club, sitting around, watching the passerby’s, he’ll make his move.

“Now, what’s a girl like you doing here, alone?” He sneaks up behind you, giving you a start. You flush red at the man in front of you. Victor Zsasz. The words are spoken as he drums his fingers on the bar, cocking his head at your short frame. He towers over you, caging you in.

When you don’t speak, it doesn’t phase him. You’re about to teleport away in an instant, until he drawls your attention back to him with a lazy smile.

“So…” He whistles. “What’s your drink of choice? Wait- Let me guess.” The man doesn’t stop talking, listing off drinks that are most definitely not your drink of choice.

He watches you all the time. He knows exactly what your favorite drink is. But he wants you to stay.

It’s a bit awkward, a bit intimidating, and strangely charming. He speaks with an inflection that borders on sarcasm and curiosity. It’s intriguing, coming from Gotham’s most dangerous hitman.

“Can I ask-“ You squeak, now nursing a drink he ordered for you. It’s a Vodka Cran, and it could be worse. “…Is there a hit on me?”

He stares at you expressionless for uncomfortably long, before it forms into something quizzical.

“…Nah,” His voice is slow. He clicks his tongue. “Just an admirer.”

There’s an awkward scilence. He shrugs.

“Y’know. I’m a big fan of this place. Like the ambience.” He sips his own drink, you don’t know what it is. Just as his words sound out, you swear you can overhear a gunshot in the distance, probably from Barbara’s meeting with some other underground boss. Somehow, the sentiment makes you laugh.

He perks up at the sound.

You aren’t used to this. Someone being so casual about you, your powers, your small stature. He’s a bit flirty from time to time, but between the alcohol and his quips, you don’t seem to mind. He seems oddly genuine in his demeanor with every compliment or joke that slips.

You two keep the banter going for the rest of the night. Mostly chatting about how tiring your respective bosses can be. He does a poor drunken impression of Penguin, and you do one of Barbara. It’s a relaxing night in comparison to what you usually expirence living in Gotham.

You think you only see him every so often. Coming by the club whenever Penguin comes, or when a job is sent out, and his target is there. He’ll always send you a wink when he leaves, blood on his face.

But he sees you every day.

Yeah, the stalking only worsens. If you find your phone in different places throughout the day, or your window reopened, he’s the reason why.

He’s fine like this. In his head, the two of you are going steady. He’s pretty committed. You’re his girl, and that’s that.

Until you start avoiding him like the plague.

Zsasz WILL find a way to confront you. He doesn’t care if you teleport away each and everytime. He’ll find a way to get the message clear, through other means.

If you find a “talk to me.” with a smiley face, written with some poor saps blood, on your mirror, I apologize. He’s gotta get the message sent somehow.

Yeah, he won’t give up. He’ll go great lengths to get you two back together. He’s also listening to disco break-up ballads to cope. He’s getting the zsaszettes to stalk you when he can’t. If you still won’t budge, yeah, Tabitha might end up with a gun pointed at her head until you talk to him.

He’s not necessarily angry, but chasing after you is certainly taking a toll on him. Give the guy some credit.

Tabitha, still with a gun pointed at her, will be barking at you to not talk to him. He’s a creep, he’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t compromise your honor! (His eye will twitch at her words, trigger finger itching.)

Up to you what you decide to do! Explain the situation, talk to him, make things official, or…bye bye Tabitha. And that still won’t stop him. He doesn’t take rejection very seriously.

When you tell him exactly why you teleport yourself away, he’s the only one on this list who might think it’s stupid. He’ll understand, don’t get me wrong, but this is Gotham! Why would you be insecure? He garuntees you he’s met at least ten other people with far worse skeletons in their closet. You’ll have to teach him that’s not the issue.

Yeah, our little sociopath has a hard time with feelings. But I think you two would maybe be good for eachother! Teach him to listen more, whip him up into shape, and reap the benefits of having Gotham’s number one hitman as your personal bodyguard and lover. He’ll take you to stakeouts, make fun of Jim Gordon, crash your place. You two can watch Netflix under the blankets. He loves your size- cuddling into you like his own personal pillow.

Tabitha’s very dissapointed.

𝑅𝐴’𝑆 𝐴𝐿 𝐺𝐻𝑈𝐿

♫ “I'm really glad you came, you know the stars, you know the game.” Voulez-Vous by ABBA

May god have mercy on your soul, reader. Ra’s is a sight to behold when he’s in love.

He heard whispers of your name all around Gotham. He sees you on the news when he’s absentmindedly listening. A girl who can teleport herself and others, to any location? Even the power to control which body parts you maneuver. Extrodinary.

He’s immeadiatley infatuated with your power. He wants to covet you. Possess you. Have you close to him. He needs to see your power for himself.

He’s similarly calculated in his response to tracking you down. He will appear at the club, slinking into the shadows, whispering a quaint,

“Hello.”

It makes you jump, and as if on instinct, you teleport yourself away. He marvels at the way in which you do so right infront of his eyes. How rare it is, for him to be so easily confounded.

He must see you again.

You’ll feel his presence every now and then. Maybe even catch a glimpse of him watching you. You’ll turn back, eyes squinted, only to find he’s not there anymore. It confuses you just the same.

Though, you eventually get used to him watching. It turns into a little game between the two of you. If he can catch you, if you can catch him. It’s strangely endearing.

He’s also becoming increasingly more attentive to your daily habits. He memorizes your schedule. He sends members of the League of Shadows to observe you, to take notes on how you use your powers.

If any member insults you, or pokes fun at your dwarfism, Ra’s will spare them no mercy. Yeah…he’s making it a big deal. He’s ruthlessly insulting them for their ignorance, before killing them without a second thought. In a way, you belong to Ra’s already. He will not stand for disrespect among his order.

Ra’s is a gentleman. Just like Ozzie and Jervis, you’ll find gifts littered around your apartment. Little notes from him, written in the most exquisite cursive, expressing his admiration of you. Beautiful, rare, and expensive jewelry, tailored to the size of your wrists and neck.

You’ll see him exiting Barbara’s office sometimes, when he needs her for the demons head. He’ll send you a smile, half-way gentle, half-way playful. He’s unsure where the lines between love and facination blur; but he’s slowly realizing he loves you. He hasn’t felt such a way in decades. He’s been alive for very very long. No human woman has made him feel so helpless. He enjoys it thoroughly.

He’ll confess, the night before Gotham is meant to be blown to the ground. He’ll turn up, before the events are set in motion. You won’t have a clue in the world what he’s up to.

“My dear.” He’ll drawl, and you’ll go to teleport away, as you always do. It’s tradition for you two at this point.

Before you get a chance, he’ll click is tongue at you.

“Wait.” He speaks, voice sounding strangely desperate. It makes you freeze. “Come with me. Leave the city. Get somewhere else. I’d like to show you my home.”

Your choice, if you choose to leave with him. He’d make for a very attentive lover, and would protect you at any cost. But if you choose to do so, you’ll leave Tabitha and Barbara and Selina to their own fate <\3

Not that it matters if you decide to reject his offer. He’ll have you, one way or another.

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ivestas · 2 years ago

Note

Could I request a könig x reader in which she’s one of the best soldiers/snipers in the world, covered in tattoos, smokes and is a ‘I joined the military out of spite and somehow all that anger turned me into this’, and könig is just smitten with her?

its time you learn to accept yourself

Summary: Through König, you learn love and self-acceptance.

Tags: sniper!fem!reader x konig, strangers to friends to lovers, headcanon format, reader implied not to speak german, reader implied to be mentally ill, unedited

Word count: 1.7k

Note: im starting to really like this genre of ship-dynamic LMAO

When you joined KorTac, it was clear you didn’t give much of a shit about anyone there.

You kept to yourself, spoke in monosyllables, and had much more interest in smoking the cigarettes you kept sneaking into the base than talking to any of them.

He’d heard operators call you several things—none of them flattering to your image—however, one thing stood out clearly to him:

You were a good shot. They all agreed to that. To them, though your personality was shit, you had the eye of a hawk and the hands of a trained and experienced veteran who knew the sniper like the back of their hand.

He couldn’t help but admire you, regardless of the fact you’ve never acknowledged his presence or even looked at him.

He also couldn’t help but admire how calm you were, how you were just... yourself. Sleeves always rolled up with your tattoos in full display, a cigarette always nursed between your lips, the fact you never watered down your personality; he wanted that confidence—no, that sureness your character carried.

König knew you liked to lurk near the shooting range—since you’d joined, he avoided disturbing you and had often gone to the other side of the range to practice his shots.

However, in a fit of uncharacteristic confidence, he decided to approach you.

He was prepared for your scathing words, or the silent look of disgust you often wore around the other men.

But, when he approached, you regarded him neutrally.

“Hey, you’re...”

“König.”

“Yeah, König, you’re König.” You echoed the accent of the word, looking proud. “I pronounced that well, right? König.” You repeated his name as though it were a flavorful candy.

He was rendered mute; German sounded so nice on your tongue.

“König?”

“A-ah, scheiße, I was lost in thought for a second,” he laughed awkwardly. “You said it well, yes.”

“‘kay, good. Anyway, what’d you want?’

It was a blunt but reasonable question, but with your eyes trained on him, it was suddenly hard to speak or think.

Bashfully, he spoke. “May I shoot with you?”

“Uh, of course? This isn’t my shooting range, man. Have fun.”

“No, with you.”

“With me?” You echoed, dumbfounded. “How’d that work?”

“We’ll make it a friendly competition—if you’d like, of course—whoever gets the most bulls-eyes wins.”

You smiled. It was brighter than the sun. “Sure! Sounds like fun—you go first, then.”

König does. It was an easy shot, anyone could hit it, but he could feel your eyes watching him.

Trying to steady his hands, he set his sniper on top of the heavy crates and tried to aim, trying to clear his mind.

It was difficult. Again, your eyes—he wondered if he was making any mistakes he didn’t even know of. He was sure he was doing everything right, but... was he?

“Your hands are shaking, König. Try steadying them like this,” roughly, you took the hand that had been on the trigger and made the weight even.

His cheeks erupted in warmth. Too close.

He quickly takes a shot, and it was just about to hit the bullseye.

“Time to show ya how the pros do it!” You sit right beside him, kneeling in front of the crates and setting your own sniper onto them. He noticed rough engravings on the snout of your gun, a rough shape of a butterfly and snake.

Before he could ask about them, you shot. You had barely paused to even adjust.

When he looked up, he couldn’t help the wave of admiration that hit him.

You hit the bullseye perfectly.

“Maybe one day you can be as good as me,” you teased, voice light. “But your ass needs practice. Can I help?”

He couldn’t trust his voice so he merely nodded. Thank God he had a hood over his head because he was sure he resembled more tomato than a human.

After that though, the two of you became closer—you saw each other more, interacted more, etc.

You had taken a swift liking to him; he was eager to learn, polite, and soft-spoken, how could you not?

König, though? He’s skipped the ‘friend’ part and went straight to crushing; honestly, he was flattered enough that you just acknowledged his presence, being one of the best snipers and all, but the fact you went out of your way to teach him—talk to him—it went all straight to the heart.

Even on missions, you’d talk to him. You’d often favor being quiet, whistling the odd tune or two before taking your shots, but now you’ve come to just take those small pauses to tease him incessantly.

König was about to maul an enemy before a bullet shot through their head.

His earphones sparked to life.

“You should be more careful, I almost couldn’t save you there.” Your voice crackled through.

He couldn’t help but huff, half amused, half worried. “Didn’t Aksel say for you to clear out the enemies on your end?”

“Did already. They were like sitting ducks.”

You two are an actual powerhouse in missions; König with his physical prowess, easily overpowering anyone in his way, and you with your sniper, taking any enemies behind him down in an instant.

You only grew closer to him and vice versa, and eventually, the daily conversations nearly became constant—attached to the hip, understanding each other to the extent that quick glances would equate to hundreds of lines of dialogue.

It was during this that you realize you’ve grown... attached.

It worries you—no, it scares you.

You were, in your eyes, a poison that could do nothing but harm a soul like König’s; despite is outward brutality, you knew inside he was nothing but gentle—or maybe you were blind. Maybe you were in love and refused to see the dark that tainted his inner consciousness.

Or, maybe, you liked that too about him.

In any case, it was worrisome; it bit at your insides, at the quiet part of your mind, it lit everything to flame then ash.

You weren’t the woman you were before the military; fuck, maybe that version of you never existed—you were always so fucked up, so full of incomprehensible anger that set every step you took on fire.

That worry turned to anxiety, and it only increased when you realized that your stable, steady hands have become a shaking mess.

It was during a pause between missions that you try to clear your head, to purge those feelings you thought and knew wouldn’t lead to any good.

However König—oh, König—followed.

You told him not to, but he knew something was wrong, that you weren’t quite as steady as he’d known you to be; it was a weakness, a vulnerability that, right now, could harm you.

Neither of you had the comfort of being weak, especially in a safe house that could be overridden with hostiles at any moment of the day. If he couldn’t help, he’d at least want to be able to protect you during this time.

So, he followed, through the murky corridors and under the cloak of night, finding you outside with a cigarette between your lips.

You saw him and you were ready to snap at him, to drive him away, but he spoke so fucking softly.

“Are you okay?”

You weren’t. He knew you weren’t, and you knew he knew that.

So you sighed. Gestured for him to come, and he did, leaning against the concrete wall beside you.

You were particularly loose-lipped, but at that moment, all inhibitions of restraint were gone.

“It’s all a lie—when people join the military, it’s rarely for that strive of good.” You took a harsh suck of the cigarette. “You think any person with a good head on their shoulders and love for life would want to be in a fuckin’ military? Or a merc group? No amount of money makes this worth it, no... never.”

König was silent. Listening. Thinking.

“More often than not, people just join to just—run. Die. Cut their losses and just engulf themselves in the worst of the worst because of their own flaws—hamartias. Know that word?”

König nodded.

You laughed airily. It was hardly a laugh, more like a throwaway noise. “I learnt it back in high school in English class—’fatal flaw of a hero’, or something. Flaws... good, bad, right, wrong, villainous, heroic, it’s a mouthful, isn’t it?”

König nodded again.

“So many labels for those who, in hindsight, or just cogs to a greater machine. A twisted machination—isn’t that the true evil? The machinery?”

“You make it sound difficult,” König breathed. “When everything is so much simpler than that. Personal principles define those beliefs, right and wrong is as broad as it is small.”

You hummed. “Never struck you for the philosophical type.”

“I’m not. Philosophy is redundant. The answer is always found within our hearts.”

“Hmmm.” You took another puff of the cigarette. “The answer in my heart was anger. Always anger. Violence, insults, it always seemed most effective... I thought the military would set me straight, make me more controlled, but it did the opposite.” You stared at the ground, smoke spilling out your lips. “I’m worse now, a festering disease. I can feel myself burning out day by day, and, König? I want you to stay away from that—from me.”

“I won’t.”

“What?”

“I refuse. I will stay by your side.” I can’t bear to leave you alone.

“But... why?” Why, why, why?

“Because you’re the most beautiful flame I’ve ever seen.” I love you. Accept that. “Don’t cut yourself short, liebe. You can always change and grow. Or remain stagnant. Either way, my eyes will always be on you.”

You, for the first time in your life, couldn’t trust your voice.

But when you looked up at him, you hoped that the message was there. That he could see.

And he did, and you couldn’t help the smile when you saw that the corners of his eyes crinkled.

AO3

Masterlist

Requests are open

#konig x reader #cod x reader #modern warfare 2 x reader #modern warfare x reader #könig x reader

2K notes · View notes

wintfleur · 11 months ago

Note

Stella has been rejected by guys before so the only person she trust to comfort her about that situation is Trevor. He’s ready to beat this guy up but instead decides to hold her and reassure her that there are other guys out their for her!

ꔫ Boys suck anyway!

°. — pairings ( Estella Hughes oc! X Platonic! Trevor zegras )

°. — details ( g; fluff?, angst?, w; original male character is a major jerk, cursing, I think that’s all?. wc; 3.8k )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( thank you so much for sending in a request! I decided to turn this into the first fic of of this AU! Stella is 15 in this while Trevor is 18! So happy to write one of my favorite friendships, so sorry that this took so long to get out! I hope you enjoy! please don’t be a silent reader!! )

°. — ( feel free to send any requests of things you would like to see in this series, or if you just want to share some thoughts! I would absolutely love that! Please comment if you would like to be added to the tag list! )

au masterlist — you can find asks under #💌stellahughes!

“These are delicious” Trevor practically moaned as he shoved another Annie's cinnamon donut bite into his mouth, licking his lips from the excess sugar. Trevor and the youngest Hughes were walking through the second floor of the mall, wanting to go shopping instead of staying home and playing video games with her brothers and their friends. It was normal for the two of them to go out and do things, most of the time it being shopping or going mini golfing.

“Uh huh” Stella absentmindedly agreed with him, her head nodding along with her words, but her focus was on something else…on someone else. Trevor noticed her emotionless tone and quickly looked at her, watching as her eyes quickly went from in front of them to behind them. Trevor tries to follow her gaze to figure out what she was looking at, but no dice. Trever raised his eyebrow and spoke quickly “Are we being followed or somethin?”

“What?” Stella spluttered out as she quickly turned her head to look up at a confused Trevor. Trevor stops at a table for two, setting the bag of donuts and his bag from hot topic on the table before sitting down. Stella joins him sitting down, her eyes going to the fountain where her attention was being lured too. Trevor opened his mouth to ask what is up with her, but instead chooses to just follow her gaze.

His eyes widening in surprise when he sees what — no who, that had stolen Stella's attention. There sitting at the fountain, now alone; was a boy who seemed to be Stella's age, maybe a year older. Trevor looked back and forth between the two a few times in shock, the look in Stella's eyes was clear, it was obvious Stella had a crush on whoever that boy is. Trevor didn't know how to feel about that, when did Stella even start to like boys? Trevor thought with a confused frown.

Trever pushed that protective urge to the side, and before he could stop himself, he was saying “You should go talk to him.”

“Who?” Stella tried to play it off, acting as if Trevor totally didn't catch her staring at her crush. She quietly panicked, she had tried so hard to keep her crush a secret, only her best friends Lily and Carmen knew about it. Stella doesn't necessarily think Trevor would tell her brothers about her crush, but still, it's embarrassing.

“I don't know bigfoot — obviously the boy you have been staring at like some obsessed fangirl” Trevor snapped, his tone full of sarcasm. Stella feels her cheeks warm up in embarrassment, and she was quick to deny his words. “I was not!”

“You were drooling and everything” Trevor smirks, he was obviously teasing her. Stella’s eyes widened and for a foolish moment she believed him, she brought her hand to her mouth and Trevor broke out into his loud laughter. Stella realized he was just joking and gently kicked his shin from under the table, bringing her hands up to cover her warm cheeks. “Trevor!”

“But seriously, just go talk to him” Trevor speaks up after he was done with laughing, wiping at his eyes where tears almost fell out from how hard he was laughing. Stella rolls her eyes and drops her hands from her face to rest on the cold table, nervously playing with the corner of the plastic bag. “I can't” stella mumbles out with a defeated sigh, her eyes drifting to him one again before looking down at her hands.

“Why not? Does he have a girlfriend? Look at you tiny Hughes, going after a taken man” Trevor smiles cheekily, shaking his head dramatically. Very much enjoying teasing her. Stella's eyes nearly bulge out of her head, and she shouts quietly so the couple at the table near them wouldn't hear “he doesn't have a girlfriend!” Trevor feels a faint smirk form on his lips at how defensive she sounded.

“Then I don't see the problem” his confusion is obvious in his tone. He doesn't have a girlfriend, he's sitting alone, her brothers aren’t here to stop her, it's the perfect chance for her to go talk to him.

“I…i don't know what to say” Stella muttered, so quiet that Trevor almost didn’t hear her. Her voice showed how embarrassed she felt, she didn't have experience talking to boys that weren't her brothers or their friends. Especially popular boys from her school like he is. Trevor lets out a small hum of understanding now getting why she was acting so shy about this. Well, this is his time to shine, knowing that her brothers will not give her dating advice.

“So, this is the plan” Trevor starts, his mind already coming up with a plan that would help Stella talk and maybe even ask the guy she obviously has a crush on, out. Stella listens intently to everything that was coming out of Trevor's mouth, she knew he had experience with dating. Trevor starts explaining the plan as if it was a hockey game plan, and poor nervous Stella tried her best to keep up with what he was saying, but she was getting lost with his hand movements and some terms he used.

“Are you sure?” Stella asked him unsurely, her eyes glancing back to the fountain where he was still sitting, his attention on his phone. He was so different from the boys she was used to, he didn't play hockey, he was on the baseball team, and his personality was completely different from Stella's. Her best friends Lily and Carmen honestly didn't understand why Stella had a thing for him, they didn't really like him. Trevor gave stella a reassuring smile and nod “You'll be fine stell”

“But..But I'm hanging out with you, i don't wanna leave you alone” Stella frowned, not wanting to leave Trevor alone. She came to the mall to spend time with him, not someone else. And she was also stalling. Trever smiled at Stella's words; she really is the sweetest. Trevor waves stella off “Ah don't worry I’ll be fine.”

“Go get him tiger” Trevor gave Stella a reassuring nod, before playfully doing a scratch movement with his hand and if Stella wasn’t so nervous, she would have laughed at his humor. Stella let out a heavy sigh and gave herself a reassuring nod before she got up and slowly walked towards the fountain. Her mind tried to look back on Trevor's plan but all that came up was blank and that's when Stella started to panic, she turned around to go back to Trevor and give up. She makes eye contact with Trevor who's giving her a smile and thumbs up, shooing her off with his hands.

“I can do this” Stella muttered, she turned back around and this time her steps were not as slow, and they were much more confident. She stopped when she was a few steps in front of him, she swallowed the lump of nerves and formed a smile on her lips “Hi Max” Max looked up from his phone and to stella who was standing in front of him, squinting his eyes for a moment as he tried to remember who she is, his mind raked through the memories he had of some of the hottest girls in his school and he still couldn't remember who she is, only realizing when he remembered seeing her with Luke and jack in the halls.

“Oh, Sarah, right? Jack and Luke's little sister” Max had a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at Stella up and down. Max’s words had Stella's smile falter, but she still tried to keep her smile up even though his words hurt a little. “It's stella actually, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join me getting some ice cr-”

“Wait, are you asking me on a date Hughes?” Max cut Stella off, a laugh leaving his lips. He was in shock that she had asked him, he stood up and took a step towards stella. Stella felt so small under his gaze and height, she felt intimidated, and he wasn’t even that much taller than her. Her eyes glanced at the table where Trevor was sitting, hoping that he would sense her panic, but Trevor noticed her head turning and quickly looked away, not wanting Stella to know that he definitely was watching them. Stella started fidgeting with her fingers and her nervousness showed as she stumbled over her words “I…i don't know, i guess.”

“You don't know? You guess?” Max tilted his head as he looked down at her, his tone sounded as if he was mocking her, and he spoke slowly as if he was talking to a child. Stella frowned and looked at him in confusion, why was he being so mean. Max looked away from Stella for a moment and glanced at a pretty blonde girl that was walking out of pink. She had a big grin on her face as she talked with her friends, her makeup looked so pretty on her, she was wearing a short skirt that showed off her nice legs and a crop top. Completely different from Stella, who was a brunette, who had no makeup on, who was wearing a pair of mom jeans and wearing one of her mom's old hockey sweaters. Max smirked tauntingly down at stella “Sorry Hughes, you're nowhere close to my type.”

Stella felt tears form in her eyes as she watched Max walk away from her and towards the group of girls, Stella's hands dropped to her side in defeat and a strong and unexpected feeling of heartache and self-doubt came over her. She turned and sat down on the edge of the fountain, her eyes looking down at her converse that had a ton of doodles on them from her and Luke, she sniffled and tried to stop her tears from falling. Trevor who was watching felt his stomach drop at how defeated Stella looked, he had noticed the smirk the boy had given Stella and immediate red flags went up.

Trevor grabs the two bags off the table and quickly walks over to Stella, guilt in his chest knowing that he was the one to push her to talk to him and seeing by the way he walked off and the way she was on the verge of tears, it did not go well. And man did he want to storm after that cocky fuck and show him what happens if he makes stella cry, but he was more focused on making sure she was okay and how to make her feel better.

“Come on” Stella lifted her head at the sound of Trevor's voice, and she's welcomed with Trevor holding out his hand for her. Stella sniffles and tries to blink away her tears, she didn't want to cry about some stupid boy, a stupid boy that her friends warned her about, she should have listened to them. Stella grabbed Trevor's hand and let him pull her up to her feet and lead her away from the fountain “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to get some ice cream” Trevor smiled as he pulled Stella towards the food court, where the ice cream shop he noticed Stella's eyes brightened up at the sight of, earlier. Trevor didn't let go of Stella's hand as they walked towards the food court. A frown decorated her face “But we just had donuts.”

“No, you had like one donut bite, and I ate the rest of them, who cares anyway” Trevor shrugs before glancing at Stella who still had a frown on her lips, he felt really guilty. Trevor nudged stella’s shoulder with his and gives her a cheeky smile once she looks at him “I'll even get you 3 scoops as long as you don't tell Ellen”

“How are you not getting sick?” Stella questioned Trevor, a slight look of disgust on her face as she watched Trevor scarf down his third scoop of rocky road, she didn't understand how he could eat so much. The two were sitting at one of the tables in the food court, Trevor was happily eating his ice cream and jumping from topic to topic to try to distract Stella from what had happened. Trevor looked up from his dripping cone and across the table where Stella is sitting, she was absentmindedly stirring the ice cream that was in her bowl, she had barely touched her 2 scoops, only picking at the reese’s she had as a topping.

“I have the stomach of a bear” Trevor said with a mouthful of ice cream and waffle cone, Stella grimaces and gives him a look of confusion at his words “What does that even mean?”

“It means if you're not going to eat your ice cream i am” Trevor snaps at her jokingly, as he licks his lips free of ice cream. Stella almost smiled at the goofy look Trevor had given her, he really was trying to cheer her up and she really appreciated it. Trevor looked behind Stella and his eyes lit up with an idea on what to do next, hoping that it would cheer her up. Trevor takes one more big bite of his ice cream before he stands up and tosses the rest of his cone in the nearby trash bin.

“Come on, I have a fantastic idea” Trevor grinned, really expressing the word fantastic. Stella doesn't complain as Trevor also throws away her ice cream, usually Stella would have been pissed if someone touched her ice cream…but she just wasn't in the mood. Stella lets Trevor help her out of the chair and drag her away from the table, following after him and sassily saying “Now that's a scary sentence” Trevor looked back at her and gave her an unimpressed look at her words.

“Ta-da!” He excitedly exclaimed as he pointed towards the stand that had a line of different animals that you could ride, Stella had seen kids ride on them many times whenever she came to the mall. Emphasis on the word's kids, so she was confused on why Trevor would bring her here. Stella voiced her confusion “Trevor what are w ⸺” Trevor cut stella off with a smile and a pat to the shoulder “Wait here, I'll be right back.”

Trevor walked up to the stand and greeted the girl working at the stand with a smile, the said girl looking up from her phone boredly at the sound of approaching footsteps. “We’d like two animals please” Trevor smiles as he tilted his head, motioning his head towards Stella who stood a few steps behind him.

The girl with the name tag ‘Lani’ looked between the two, Stella giving her a shy smile when they locked eyes. Lani looked back at Trevor, “Aren't the two of you a little too old for this?” she asked boredly as she loudly popped the gum in her mouth, her freshly manicured finger pointing towards the sign that had the height limit.

“Listen this dickhead just broke my little sister's heart, so no i don't really care if we’re too old” Trevor whispered quickly as he leaned towards the girl so Stella wouldn't hear. The girl's eyes softened, and she glanced behind him to see Stella awkwardly standing there, looking down at her shoes. Trevor could see the hesitation in Lani’s eyes and he's quick to pull out his wallet from his pocket and hold out a 20-dollar bill “I'll give you an extra 20.”

“You guys can pick your animal” Lani spoke loudly so stella could hear as well, giving stella a smile before looking back at Trevor and speaking quietly so only he could hear “Keep the 20, but here” Trevor slips the bill back into his wallet and watches as she quickly writes something on a sticky note before holding it out for him, he sees a number on the bright green paper and he takes it into his hand and looks up at her, Lani giving him a wink before she moved to go help stella.

He whispers a cheerful ‘Score’ as he slips the paper into his back pocket, he walks over to Stella and smiles when he sees her sitting on a panda, Lani unlocking it for her and turning it on. Stella was a little hesitant about doing this, but Lani was nice and complemented her choice of animal. Stella smirked at Trevor when she noticed him walking over to her, she points to the black and white striped animal “You have to ride that one.”

Trevor rolls his eyes but nevertheless he moves to get on the zebra, it was true they definitely were too tall to ride them, well Trevor was. Stella could comfortably put her feet on the footsteps while Trevor felt his knees already start to ache, but the slight pain was all worth it when he saw the smile on Stella's face and heard the laugh that escaped her lips as she moved past him, she was smaller so her panda could move faster. Something that Trevor loudly complained about.

Stella and Trevor's motives quickly became competitive as they raced around the course. While Stella grinned and led the race, Trevor trailed behind her and laughed as she almost tipped over a few times as she went around the corners. If he wasn't so determined to try to beat her he would have pat himself on the back for taking her mind off the disaster that happened not too long ago. He was relieved to see Stella smiling and laughing, especially because she made it clear she wasn't interested in his idea at first.

After a few more laps the smiling duo got off the animals and Stella went to sit on a bench while Trevor paid. A frown couldn't help but make its way back on Stella's face as she sat there alone and thought about what happened. It was humiliating and embarrassing. Stella looked at Trevor and watched as he happily talked to Lani as he paid and her frown quickly disappeared, she was lucky to have someone like Trevor in her life.

Yes, he could be annoying at times, but he cares for her and that means a lot, and even though it didn't work out, he did spend five minutes trying to help her come up with a plan to talk to a guy she liked, and then spent the next hour after, doing his best to cheer her up and make her feel better. Stella was so lost in thought she didn't notice Trevor walking back over to her and sitting next to her on the bench. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Trevor asked her, breaking her out of thought.

“He’s not worth the words” Stella smiled as she turned her head to face a now grinning Trevor, he was happy to hear her say that because she's right, he's not worth it and he's a fucking idiot for treating her like that, and he wants to make sure she would never let a guy treat her like that again. Trevor rests his arm on the bench and twists his body to face her “Boys suck anyway!”

Stella smiled and let out a small laugh, nodding in agreement, that boy in particular sucked a lot. Trevor gently squeezed Stella's shoulder and gave her a smile, and Stella could see that his eyes didn't hold any humor, he was serious as he spoke “Whatever he said that made you cry, just know that it's nothing but lies. Okay?” Stella nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Thank you trev” Stella broke the silence between the two, Trevor looked away from the small group of laughing kids and their parents and looked to Stella, a confused look on his face. “For what?” If anything, I should be apologizing because I'm the one who convinced you to go talk to him, he thought to himself.

“For getting me ice cream, for making me ride those stupid animals” Stella started, and before Trevor could defend the animals she continued to talk. “And helping me realize that he's just a stupid baseball boy” The look of disgust that comes across Trevor's face at her words is comical.

“He plays baseball. Of course, he's a dick” Trevor scoffs and shakes his in disbelief while Stella rolls her eyes at his dramatics. Trevor continued his rant as he gave Stella a disappointed look “That's where you went wrong tiny Hughes, you gotta go for a hockey guy!”

“I would never!” Stella exclaimed loudly with a look of disgust, quickly shaking her head no in disagreement, a hockey boy?!?!? Stella would never! “Hey what's that supposed to mean?” Trevor asked her, his face showing how offended he is, he rested his hand on his chest in shock. Stella just laughs loudly and gives him a pointed look; he really didn't want her to explain further.

“Mark my words Estella Hughes, you will end up marrying a hockey player” Trevor smirked proudly as he leaned back on the bench, spreading his arms wide to rest on the back of it. Trevor laughed when he saw Stella scrunch her nose up in disgust and shake her head, but she still had a smile on her face, her dimples out on display. They made eye contact and laughter quickly erupted from their mouths.

“Besides I should be thanking you” Trevor smiled as he nudged her knee with his after they both calmed down from their laughter. Stella hummed and turned her head to face him “Why?”

“Who knew girls find boys who are sweet to their little sister so attractive?” Trevor smirks jokingly as he pulls out the paper with Lani’s number out of his back pocket and holds it up. Stella smiles and glances between Trevor and back at Lani who seemed to be getting her things, maybe her shift was over? Lani was nice to her in the tiny time she knew her “She's really pretty, you should go talk to her.”

Trevor smiles at Stella's kindness, she was a great wing woman. Trevor slipped the paper back into his back pocket before wrapping his arm around Stella's shoulder and pulling her closer, playfully putting her in a soft headlock that made her laugh, before resting his arm around her shoulder when Stella slapped his arm. Trevor smiled down at stella who was already looking up at him “Nahh, I'd rather hang with you.”

Stella grins and rests her head on his shoulder, Trevor was a great friend and even better honorary brother. And even though some things she wished she could forget happened today; it was a great day, nonetheless. Trevor was right, boys do suck, with the exception of him of course.

“Ditto”

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( I love Stella and Trevor’s relationship so much, they are so fun to write! Max is a major jerk and one my friends who read this over for me mentioned bringing max back for some drama? I’m not so sure, let me know what you guys think! )

°. — taglist ( @privatemythss @juraj-slafkovsky @cixrosie @toasttt11 )

#⋆ ˚｡⋆୨👩🏻‍🎨୧˚ stella hughes au!#💌stellahughes!#hockey #nhl hockey #nhl imagine #anaheim ducks #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras #trevor zegras imagine #trevor zegras fic #hughes brothers #hughes sister #hughes!sister #nhl x reader #nhl fic #quinn hughes x reader #jack hughes x reader #luke hughes x reader

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nattikay · 1 year ago

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Jake is a Good Dad and I will Die On That Hill

Howdy Avatar fandom. Over the past six months or so I’ve seen a lot of criticism directed toward Jake Sully as a father, ranging from him simply being a little too strict at best, to outright neglectful and even abusive at worst. This, my friends, is some grade-A nonsense, and today we’re gonna talk about why. Strap in, lads, this is gonna be a long one. Let’s roll.

So before we get into breaking down the events of the main storyline, let’s address the idea that Jake was always the super-strict “military dad” throughout the kids’ lives: put simply, bullcrap.

Out of the film’s over-three-hour runtime, we get to see very little of the Sullies’ lives before the RDA’s return—only about six minutes’ worth. If Jake was meant to be this strict militaristic dictator during this time period, especially in a way that would significantly impact the kids’ character development and their relationships with him, this would be the time to show it, or at least hint at it. But instead of any of that, we really get quite the opposite. Jake laughs and plays with the kids:

Jokes around and cuddles:

Teaches Neteyam to fish:

He even says in his narration:

“Happiness is simple…whoever thought that a jarhead like me could’ve cracked the code?”

Guys, this is quite literally the best time of his life. This man absolutely adores his family with every fiber of his being, they are his whole world. Like, look at him! He has stars in his eyes!!

We have zero reason to suspect that Jake was overly harsh or strict in a way that would impede his relationship with his kids during this time. The Sullies appear to be a normal, healthy, close-knit family.

It’s only when the RDA returns and reignites war that things change.

I’ve seen some people claim that Jake’s personality changed it the second movie. I disagree—it was not his personality that changed, but rather his priorities.

A1 Jake was a disabled marine vet who was offered his brother’s contract after said brother was unexpectedly murdered by some thug on the street…and part of the reason he agreed to take that contract was that there really wasn’t much else left for him back on Earth, so why not go? A1 Jake had just about nothing left to lose, and therefore could afford to be more reckless.

A2 Jake, however, is another story altogether. A2 Jake can’t just run around poking and prodding and taking risks like A1 Jake did because now he has a wife and four children who rely on him and who he loves more than anything else in the world. It’s not just himself he has to look out for anymore, it’s them. He now has everything to lose. He says as much himself:

Not to mention that he’s older now. Did you really expect the 37-year-old father of four who’s been leading the clan for 15 years and is suddenly thrust back into a brutal war to behave exactly the same as the 22-year-old fish-out-of-water ex-marine sent to fill in for his scientist brother out of the sheer convenience of sharing a genome? A2 Jake’s behavior is not a sudden 180 from his personality in A1, it’s a natural progression and reaction for his character given the changed circumstances.

“A father protects. It’s what gives him meaning.”

This is essentially Jake’s thesis for the movie. This is his #1 priority, his purpose, the lens through which all his actions must be viewed in order to understand them, and it’s important to establish it upfront because it sets up everything else.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the train raid sequence as its aftermath. Jake begrudgingly allows his now-teenage sons to participate in the war party—from a distance, as spotters. Neteyam seems content to fill this role, but Lo’ak, against orders, eagerly insists that they “have to get in there”, even goading his brother:

Tailed by an exasperated Neteyam, Lo’ak grabs a weapon from Tarsem and lets out a half-hearted warcry:

...let’s be honest here, Lo’ak doesn’t really seem to be taking this raid anywhere near as seriously as he should be; he’s treating it more like a game—on which point, y’know what, let’s pause to talk about Lo’ak for a moment.

Because the primary purpose of this post is defending Jake, it may at times appear that I am being overly critical towards Lo’ak. This is not my intention—I love Lo’ak as much as I love the rest of the Sully family (which is a lot lol). I think the things he struggles with are reasonable and valid struggles to have considering his circumstances. However, that does not always mean that he is in the “right”. Jake and Lo’ak’s conflict through the movie is not as simple as “son right dad wrong” or vice-versa; rather, it stems from a generational/age gap in experience and priorities.

In this case, for example, Lo’ak is treating the raid more like a cool action game than a real battle with real stakes. Which may not be much of a surprise—he’s 14! He’s young, he’s naive, he’s never experienced anything close to real war until the past year or so—he probably genuinely does not fully grasp the stakes of this situation just yet. And why should we expect him to, really? He’s never had to before.

Jake, on the other hand, knows the stakes all too well. This ain’t his first rodeo. He was a solider both on Earth (where he was injured severely enough to become paralyzed from the waist down) and then again on Pandora driving out the RDA in a battle that killed several of his friends and allies, including almost completely wiping out the entire Olangi clan.

Jake understands the risks of war and doesn’t want his kids anywhere near it. We see this not only in the film where he only allows Neteyam and Lo’ak to participate in the raid “from a distance” and ultimately fleeing his own clan altogether once his kids are directly threatened, but also in the comics in which he consistently turns down Neteyam’s pleadings to participate in the war efforts. Unfortunately for him, his sons do happen to be coming of age at around this time and there’s only so much he can do to keep them out of it, so he tries to let them participate in relatively safe ways, like as spotters.

Lo’ak…doesn’t understand this. Not really. And that leads to him recklessly taking unnecessary risks—be it out of curiosity, to get in on the action, or even simply to prove himself. Which understandably scares the crap out of Jake.

When the raid is over, Jake desperately searches the rubble for his sons. He finds Lo’ak quickly and makes sure he’s alright:

…before taking off to search for Neteyam, who he also promptly checks over for injuries.

which is something I’d like to point out here: although Jake sometimes gets gruff with his sons, he never leads with that. He always always always makes sure they’re ok first. That’s important. We’ll come back to it throughout the post.

Anyways, it’s only after making sure that Neteyam is ok that Jake’s initial bout of fear subsides and morphs into frustration and anger: what were you thinking?! And it’s a fair question. If the boys had followed orders, they wouldn’t have been at such risk in the first place. Once the party returns to High Camp, Jake addresses this point with them, reminding them that by disobeying direct orders they put themselves in very serious danger, and reiterating to Lo’ak in particular that his recklessness nearly got his brother killed and grounding him.

In other words, Jake’s response to his sons going against his orders was…a lecture and a grounding. That’s…a pretty reasonable parental reaction, actually. Sure, you could nitpick and say his tone was too harsh, but given the situation, I struggle to blame him…

…which leads into the next relevant scene: while Mo’at and Kiri tend to Neteyam’s scratches, Neytiri gently chides Jake for being too hard on the boys, concluding with the infamous line: “This is not a squad. It is a family.”

Now, what I find interesting about this scene is that neither party is really in the wrong here. Jake is doing his best to fill his role as a father by watching out for his kids’ physical safety—even if it means being a little strict. Likewise, Neytiri is filling her role as a mother by looking out for her kids’ emotional well-being. As she should!

That said, I think people who use this line as proof of Jake’s supposed parental failure are forgetting the context. While Neytiri’s line is true in general, when the boys sign up to participate in a war party, they kinda do become a “squad”. In that moment, in that context, they are a squad, they have to behave like one lest someone gets hurt if not killed.

I also think they forget Jake’s reaction to Neytiri’s line:

Look closely. There are tears in his eyes. This dude was terrified of the possibility that he may have just lost one of his sons in the raid, and all his strictness stems from that. And Neytiri seems to recognize this as well, as she can’t seem to decide how to respond. She probably worries about the same thing, after all, even if she handles it differently.

On that note, let’s look at the next time Lo’ak disobeys instructions: going to the old shack with Spider, Kiri, and Tuk, where they first encounter the recom unit.

Something interesting about the aftermath of the recom rescue is that no one gets lectured this time actually. Remember what I said about how, no matter how upset he is, Jake always checks to make sure the kids are ok first and foremost? Sure enough, that’s what he does here:

Not only for his daughters, mind you, but also both his sons (we’ll address the daughter-favoritism claims later):

With the recoms now targeting the Sully family specifically, Jake, feeling out of other options, makes the difficult decision to flee and find refuge among the Metkayina clan.

whoops, there’s that “protection” theme again

When their request for sanctuary is somewhat reluctantly accepted, Jake calls a family meeting and tells the kids this:

Remember how earlier we established how “a father protects” is essentially Jake’s thesis for this movie? Well, this is an offshoot of that: Jake believes that hiding amongst the Metkayina is currently the best was to keep his family safe; therefore, throughout the Sullies’ time with the clan, Jake’s primary goal is to lay low and get along with the clan so as not to tread on their hospitality and get kicked out (even if and when that means setting aside one’s own pride). This, then, is the lens through which Jake’s actions must be analyzed while his family is staying with the Metkayina.

The first time this becomes relevant is after Neteyam and Lo’ak’s little scrap defending Kiri from Aonung and his posse. Jake is clearly not thrilled about Kiri being bullied, but again, his top priority is keeping his family safe and right now this entails maintaining a good standing with the chief, which in turns means that his sons getting into brawls with Tonowari’s son is a very bad look. Which is why, after a moment of internal conflict, he asks Lo’ak to apologize to Aonung (he even tries to explain when Lo’ak protests:)

On that note, while remaining on good terms with the clan has to take precedence at this moment, Jake is clearly quietly proud of his boys for kicking butt, as we see from his exchange with Neteyam (though yes, it is unfortunate that Lo’ak didn’t get to see this bit).

…which brings us to one of the bigger moments that people point to when accusing Jake of being a bad father: the “you bring shame to this family” line. Now, I can understand why this line doesn’t sit right with viewers initially, especially since we have just seen firsthand the truth about what Lo’ak experienced over the past few hours. However, when you consider what’s going on from Jake’s perspective, the line is not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.

Let’s back up a bit to when Lo’ak first returns to the village after meeting Payakan. At first Jake is just relieved that his son is ok (remember: he always checks first)

In fact, once it’s clear that Lo’ak is ok, it seems Jake just wanted to let it go and head home…the real conflict didn’t begin until after Lo’ak lied to take the blame for Aonung.

Up until this moment, Jake only knew Aonung’s side of the story, that he’d taken Lo’ak outside the reef and he got stranded there (it’s unclear whether Aonung specifies that he abandoned him out there on purpose, the little punk, but I digress). But when Tonowari (rightfully) declares Aonung’s responsibility for the incident, Lo’ak speaks up to take the fall, claiming that the whole ordeal was all his idea, which Aonung had tried to talk him out of.

Lo’ak does not have a reputation for lying…but he does have a reputation for pulling reckless stunts that put himself and others in danger, so for better or for worse, Jake has literally zero reason not to believe this claim.

In other words, for Jake, the situation has just gone from “my son got taken advantage of by the local bullies and put into a precarious situation but he’s home safe now” to “my son dragged a bunch of other kids to a dangerous location where he knows he’s not supposed to go despite the chef’s son trying to talk him out of it, endangering both his life and theirs, getting lost in the process, and thereby worrying and inconveniencing the entire clan on whose hospitality we rely by making them go out of their way to arrange a whole search party in the dead of night just to find him.”

…yeah, no wonder he was flippin’ ticked. No wonder he “didn’t want to hear it” when Lo’ak tries to explain that he was “only trying to make friends”. We as the audience know that’s true, of course, but as far as Jake knows in that moment, based on what Lo’ak himself claimed just moments ago, he was trying to “make friends” by…dragging them out to a dangerous location despite their protests thus jeopardizing both his and their lives as well as his family’s standing in the clan who can kick them out at any time. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to “hear it” either.

When you look at it from that perspective, “you brought shame to this family” doesn’t really seem quite as extreme, does it?

And yes, I feel for Lo’ak here, really, I do; he’s just been through a lot and yes based on the actual events that just occurred his father’s anger is the last thing the poor kid needs and I totally get why it would upset him…but at the same time, I can’t help feeling that he kinda brought this particular lecture on himself by voluntarily taking the blame for Aonung. Not really sure what he was expecting: that Jake would somehow read his mind and understand the way things actually went? That he would see through his lie and praise him for being so amiable towards Aonung by taking the fall perhaps similar to how Neteyam so often claims the blame for Lo’ak’s own reckless shenanigans despite how rude Aonung had been to him thus far? Or perhaps he just blurted out the blame claim as an olive branch of sorts to Aonung (genuinely trying to “make friends” in a way) without really thinking about the consequences of doing so. Who knows. But regardless of how Lo’ak did or didn’t think things would go, I think it’s a little unfair to blame Jake for his reaction. Based on his knowledge of the circumstances, which in turn were based on Lo’ak’s own account given only moments before (remember, Jake had zero reason to suspect he was lying), his reaction is actually pretty understandable.

Speaking of Lo’ak’s adventures with Payakan, the next time we see him clash with his father is when Tonowari lectures him for bonding with the outcast, and Lo’ak defends his new friend. Remember: Jake’s top priority is keeping his family safe which currently means not getting kicked out of the Metkayina. Lo’ak, regardless of whether or not he was in the right, was clearly upsetting Ronal and Tonowari in this exchange—Neytiri is actually the first to step in and warn her son:

…and when Lo’ak persists anyways, Jake has to step in in hopes of smoothing things over with the chief.

It sucks that this upset Lo’ak, especially because we the audience know that Lo’ak is right about Payakan, but again, Jake is currently more concerned with not getting kicked out of the clan than with his son winning an argument about the validity of a tulkun’s outcast status.

...aaaand here comes the hardest part of this essay to write. Admittedly I wasn’t aware of this argument until recently, but now that I know it’s out there I feel obligated to address it here. Apparently some folks are out there claim that Jake did not display a sufficient amount of emotion at Neteyam’s death, and this somehow proves that he wasn’t as attached to his sons as he should have been. And all I have to say to that is: did we watch the same movie??

That man broke upon his son’s death. Did he wail and cry like Neytiri, no, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t heartbroken—wailing and crying simply aren’t how his character responds to trauma. He’s a solider, he’s probably trained to delay any external breakdown at least until a given battle is over.

But you can still see it in his face. You can hear it in his voice which breaks and shudders when he realizes that Neteyam is dying and tries to give him a few last words of comfort, wanting so desperately to ease his pain to the best of his abilities.

...yeah. This man is broken in this moment.

…but his job isn’t over yet. The battle is still raging. He still has three more kids who still need him. As much as he may want to, he cannot take the time to fully grieve in this moment.

…which brings us to the big one, the main line people point to when arguing that Jake is a bad father:

Now, let’s be honest: was this an awful thing to say? Yes, absolutely. Should Jake apologize to Lo’ak for it after the fact, if he hasn’t already? Definitely, one-hundred-percent. I’m not disputing that in the least.

however…

In this moment, Jake has just spent the past however-long locked in a vicious battle, and hardly minutes before watched his firstborn son bleed out in his arms. And now he learns that his daughters—one of whom is a pre-pubescent child with no chance of defending herself—are still caught on the “demon ship” with the recoms, who have just very clearly proven that they have absolutely no qualms with killing these kids. Quaritch taunting in his ear certainly is not helping.

The only thing Jake could properly focus on in that moment was getting Kiri and Tuk off that boat. Repeat: he wants to get his kids OFF the demon ship, not risk bringing any of them back ON. On top of that, Lo’ak, as established very early on in the film (see: train raid), has a reputation for struggling to follow orders…even when not emotionally devastated by the death of his brother.

All these things considered, is it really any wonder that Jake did not want Lo’ak coming along on this mission? He’s already lost one son, why in the ever-loving flip flap would he want to risk losing the other by intentionally bringing him back to the danger zone with no guarantee he’ll come out again, especially given his apparent propensity to ignore orders and throw himself into danger?

Heck, the only reason he lets Spider come is that Spider knows where the girls are and, unlike Lo’ak, Spider doesn’t have that same reckless reputation. Spider, in that moment, appears to be able to compartmentalize the fresh trauma well enough to focus on the task at hand, and can be trusted to do as Jake asks. Lo’ak…can’t. So, Jake wants him to stay behind.

Did he express it horribly? Absolutely. But saying one stupid insensitive thing in a moment of numbness underlaid by grief, pain, and fear does not make him a horrible dad overall, and I think it’s a little unfair to say that it does.

On that note, I do not believe for one moment that Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. Now, Lo’ak may well view it that way and I’m sure it’ll come into play for his character arc in future movies, which can be a topic for another day, but as for Jake’s perspective, no. I don’t think he truly blames Lo’ak. Even if he couldn’t necessarily process it all right away, I think he knows that Lo’ak is going through as much heartbreak as the rest of the family…especially given that Jake himself has firsthand experience losing a brother. He just said something dumb in a moment of pain.

(On the topic of Lo’ak being unable to follow orders, less than five minutes after Jake, Neytiri, and Spider leave for the ship, Lo’ak…immediately disobeys the order to stay safe on the island and heads back out to the ship anyways. Obviously in the grand scheme of things it’s good that he was there to save Jake from drowning after the scuffle with Quaritch, but still, good gracious son. Way to spectacularly prove your dad’s point.)

So now we come to the point where Lo’ak saves Jake’s life. After a mutual choke-out with Quaritch, Jake is left to drown until Lo’ak finds him and pulls him to the surface, at which point he gasps for air and chokes out Neteyam’s name.

This can be interpreted in a few ways. It could be that Jake is so accustomed to Neteyam being the “responsible” one that he irrationally thought it was him coming to the rescue, momentarily forgetting he had died or somehow thinking maybe by some stroke of fate he pulled through after all—this seems to be Lo’ak’s assumption, given that he promptly corrects him.

Now, some may take Jake’s “oh, Lo’ak…” as a show of favoritism, or proof that Jake values his first son above his second. I don’t think this is the case though—I don’t think Jake’s apparent disappointment is about Lo’ak being there so much it’s about Neteyam not being there. In other words, it’s not a personal slight against or disappointment in Lo’ak, but rather a form of still-very-raw grief for Neteyam who, remember, only just died, like, an hour ago.

It could also be that Jake is still so distraught following Neteyam’s death that it’s consuming his thoughts…he was able to shove it down and compartmentalize long enough to fight the recoms and get Tuk and Kiri off the boat, but that compartmentalization broke down while he was literally drowning and it took him a minute to focus and put things back together (which he manages to do a moment later when Lo’ak tries to apologize for his brother’s death):

The most excruciating interpretation I’ve seen is Jake thinking he had drowned and is rejoining Neteyam in the afterlife. ouch. Though that is, of course, just speculation.

Regardless, at this point Jake has just about given up. He’s exhausted, he’s in agony, both physically and emotionally. He’s completely drained. He wants Lo’ak to live but is ready to give up on himself (“I can’t make it. You can.”). It’s only when Lo’ak insists:

...that Jake realizes he still needs to press forward. Because his other kids still need him. His other son still needs him and he’s not willing to give up on him. So he takes a deep breath (literally), puts his trust in Lo’ak, and lets his son lead him through the flooded passageways out of the wreck. When they finally break the surface, we have this lovely moment:

This moment is a resolution to one of Lo’ak’s primary emotional conflicts throughout the movie: living in the shadow of his legendary war hero father and prodigious older brother, finally getting the recognition and affirmation he so craved from that father. Some might argue that in terms of “ideal” parenting that this kind of moment should have come sooner, or that Jake’s recognition of his son should never have been in doubt in the first place, and while there may be some truth to that, I struggle to really blame Jake for it for reasons I just spent the past 4000 words discussing. I think the fact that this moment happened at all shows that despite their clashes and struggles and miscommunications, Jake does and always has cared very deeply about Lo’ak; his lectures and frustrations come not out of malice or some personal distaste, but out of fear for his well-being.

We see Jake comforting Lo’ak again after the family returns to Neteyam’s body on the rocks.

As I said before, I don’t think for even the briefest moment Jake genuinely blames Lo’ak for Neteyam’s death. I don’t think he would be comforting him like this if he did.

…which, I suppose, brings us to Neteyam’s funeral, and Jake and Neytiri visiting his spirit within Eywa. No parent should ever have to bury their child and good golly gracious this scene ripped my heart out but I digress. I don’t even really have a lot of commentary to add to these scenes…just…just this. It speaks for itself.

look me in the eye and tell me this man “doesn’t care about his sons”. I flipping DARE you.

Well, that concludes the debunking of scenes that supposedly make Jake a bad father. But before we go, let’s look just briefly at this scene of him being a good dad with Kiri. I didn’t mention this earlier because while I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Jake’s interactions with Neteyam and especially Lo’ak, few people have qualms with the way Jake treats Kiri and Tuk—in fact, many people claim that he shows favoritism to his daughters, going out of his way “baby” them and treat them more gently and lovingly than his sons. I disagree and hope the above has done a thorough job dispelling that notion: Kiri and Tuk don’t go around throwing themselves headlong into the same kind of danger that Neteyam and Lo’ak do. They aren’t begging to participate in battle, they aren’t disobeying orders that land them in mortal peril.

In other words: Jake lectures his sons more than his daughters out of necessity, not nepotism. Remember: Jake’s #1 priority is protecting his family, keeping them all safe and alive. That means that when one of his kids pulls a stupid stunt that puts them in danger he feels the need to crack down on that in hopes of preventing it from happening again. Lo’ak is, quite frankly, prone to pulling those kind of stunts, so he gets lectured a lot. Kiri and Tuk do not typically pull such stunts, so they don’t get lectured. It’s as simple as that, really.

Buuuuuut now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk just briefly about Jake comforting Kiri.

Like with the scene of visiting Neteyam’s spirit, I don’t have much commentary to add to this scene—it’s a very sweet scene and it speaks for itself really. Jake is very gentle and doing his best to listen to Kiri, even if he is a little unsure about her claims. He doesn’t criticize or invalidate, he just tries to be there for her. What can I say, that’s a good dad right there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One last little point before we wrap up for real: the fact that Lo’ak and Neteyam occasionally refer to Jake as “sir”. I was originally planning to address this earlier but it didn’t quite fit in with the flow of the discussion and I consider it such a minor point anyways, I figured I could save it for a side note—but seriously, it baffles me what a big deal people make of this.

It would be one thing if “sir” was something that Jake strictly enforced, if it was the only thing he allowed the kids to address him as, if one of them called him “Dad” and he barked back, “no! it is sir!” But…literally none of that is the case. He never explicitly asks them to call him “sir”, and they call him “Dad” just as often if not more.

The kids referring to Jake as “sir” in tense moments is a simple show of respect, nothing more. I recall my own dad also wanting to be called “sir” when we were in trouble and it was never really an issue. And I suppose your milage may vary depending on where you live, but growing up in the southern US, “sir” and “ma’am” are just very common basic courtesy in many situations (not just familial).

Sooooo….yeah, the idea that Neteyam and Lo’ak occasionally calling Jake sir is somehow proof of Jake being too strict or cold or whatever else is really making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s not that deep y’all.

…aaaand I suppose that’s it for this post.

In conclusion:

Look guys, Jake does not have to be your favorite character. You don’t even have to like him, or agree with everything that he says or does. He isn’t perfect (which, by the way, literally no one is). But if nothing else, I hope this behemoth of a post has at least helped you understand his character and why he acts and reacts the way that he does.

Jake Sully may not be a shining beacon of parental perfection from a psychological development perspective (and all things considered, expecting him to be such is, quite frankly, a little silly), but good golly gracious he is trying his absolute darnedest in incredibly difficult and precarious circumstances beyond his control i.e. the RDA coming back to quite literally take over. This man’s family means absolutely everything to him and I’m done sitting back and watching y’all slander him just because he didn’t react to x situation the way you think he should have.

thank you and good night

#avatar #avatar 2 #way of water #jake sully #lo'ak

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w0rmm1lk · 10 months ago

Note

Hiiii

Can I request a Bakugo (Cuz let’s be honest, he is FINE AS HELL) x gn! Reader who’s very socially awkward?

Like, if anyone they don’t know tries to talk to them they’ll just be like🧍‍♂️and give them that classic awkward smile

yes!!!! i relate to this reader sm and also I 100% agree bakugo is so fucking fine like??????? he's a fucking 2d character from a style where theporportions arent even based on humans, he has unmanaged anger issues and will fucking explode and not in the joking sense and yet????/ like whoever made hi design TEL ME YOUR WAYS. he's so fucking pretty. but also as much as I love him jeanist did him so fucking dirty with that hair. jeanist looked at *THAT* and really said "I can fix him"??? bitch don't fucking fix him I like the explosive pomeranian bitch. but like that one scene when he was making fun of todoroki during the provisional license extras classes like bro I was watching with my siblings and had to aggressively hold back a fucking screach noise. AND I STILL DO WHENEVER I WACTH IT. he's a fucking anime character who is so damn unhealthy but if you cant tell by the length of this, I fucking love him.

reader: GN

characters: bakugo katsuki

summary: reader is a very much not people person so how the fuck are they dating bakuhoe out of all bitches

warnings: swearing if you couldnt tell. anxiety, mentions of anxiety attacks. bakugo being a bitch.

💥- okay honestly, first day? didnt even know you were in the class.

💥- this mf too focused on beating everyone up to notice you.

💥- was forced to acknowledge you when you kiri and bakuhoe were in the same area during the usj attack.

💥- after yall beat the shit out of some ppl you were sweating a ton but not bc you just fought some bitches.

💥- your ass was panicked af, not only are you shoved in a small space with two extroverts, you're also being exxesivley complimented by Kirishima bc you punched someone and along with that the fucking usj is under attack.

💥- it was very obvious you were panicking tbh.

💥- like bakuhoe at this point doesnt give a shit about other peoples feelings at this point but even he could tell.

💥- you were just standing there with you r arms pinned to your sides staring into the distance as Kirishima was obsessing oever how you beat someone up.

💥- after the usj he started to notive you more often.

💥- he noticed hpw evenn when the whole class was close with each other, you were still extremely quiet.

💥- he noticed how awkward you were even when talking to your friends.

💥- he noticed how youd speak up if your friends were being rude to you but the moment someone like monoma said something you just shut down.

💥- he even noticed how panicked you were when you learned about the internships.

💥- during the sports festival you both fought one on one, that's when he truly noticed how awkward you were.

💥- like bro was beating the shit out of you while yelling shit like "say something damnit!"

💥- honestly even though he wouldve won anyways, the round ended faster due to your panic with him yelling n shit.

💥- bro was thinking about it more and was like "damn. but like why were they kinda cute."

💥- first thoughts?

💥- immediete denial.'

💥- bakugo thought his time would be something like loud and outgoging, someone whos super confident.

💥- then saw you who was about to have a fuckinh panic attack and was like:

💥- i want that one.

💥- honestly ur crush on him was not obvious at all, you were just your normal panicky self but this time with slightly more blush.

💥- honestly you guys didnt get together until someone had to word it to make it seem like they were challenging bakugo to confess.

💥- will fight someone for you.

💥- monoma insulted you? 3 days of house arrest for bakuhoe.

💥- someone judged you? explosions.

💥- cashier looked at you wrong? banned from the convenience store for the next 6 months.

💥- congrats on your new scary dog privledges.

💥- mf so fucking protective tbh

💥- its not that he doesnt think you cant fight for yourself, he knows you can beat anyone to a pulp. i mean like- you're in the hero course for gods sake man.

💥- more in the sense of, distant jealousy. you wont know he's jealous, but whoever is talking to you thats making him jealous will know.

not my best work but i wanted to type something lol.

#bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha x gn!reader #mha x gn!reader #bakugo x reader #bakugou katsuki #bakugo x gn!reader

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tarotchariotpickyourcard · 6 months ago

Text

PAC: What are you right about?

What are you right about?

Giving you your “I knew it” moment. You’re welcome.

Please choose a number between 1 to 4. You can use your intuition, or pick one of these charms from left to right.

1 is the letter z, 2 is the plant, 3 is the Christmas stamp, 4 is the cup

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GROUP 1

Five of wands, King of wands, Queen of chalices

If you’ve been thinking someone is competitive with you, you’re right. This could be a male in your life, or someone who gives familial/sibling rivalry vibes. Could literally be someone's brother here (which can be common)..

I’m seeing different settings, for some it’s school, for some, it’s in the online community you hang around. Not exclusively, but those are what I’m seeing especially.

Those 2 court cards are such different characters, this person might be so different to you and maybe you’ve never gelled. You might have the perspective that this person is a bit full of themselves. Someone in this situation may have a birthday during winter time. Someone here could be a water sign or fire sign particularly. I feel like from the 5 of wands, you may have always bumped heads and other people tend to notice that too. Even if you agree on something, anything - even that isn’t the most harmonious interaction.

I feel the need to let you know that actually, deep down this person can be very loving and warm. Maybe not to you lol, but they’re capable of it. Maybe you’re the more empathetic, social or kind character here and you wonder why they can’t be tactful or more humble.

I’m seeing traits of organization and creativity that there may be a bit of jealousy over. I would say in this competitive situation, take care not to take too much to heart because I think the other person is just competitive in nature anyway. So to them, I don’t think it’s super deep. They can just be a bit smug. I think there may be some jealousy or competitiveness over the way you are able to present yourself too. Whether that’s the way you talk to people or the way you look. They are probably not able to carry that off themselves.

That’s what I see, hope it made sense.

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GROUP 2

The greenman in reverse, 2 of wands, 7 of swords

So a project or new start maybe didn’t give you a good feeling that it would hit off, and you’re right, the 2 of wands talks about a new career/business venture.7 of swords shows a need to adapt and change the scheme. There is just something that is unfeasible in the current plan, or about the current idea/product.

If there is a business partnership then one of the 2 doesn’t share the same intentions, whether that’s through miscommunication or taking advantage. If you are in a partnership like that, then please ensure you get full truthful communication out of the other person and ensure you have a clear business plan. If this is a new potential job or placement, this is an employer who may be looking to get more out of the agreement than the employee. This could even be practical issues making a situation unfeasible, such as being unable to travel to a workplace each day.

I see frustration about this situation and a real need to have a new start. Maybe currently there is a situation of unemployment or really needing another kind of income. This isn’t to say it isn’t possible, just that you’re right that the current idea, venture or opportunity isn’t going to really take off like someone would of course hope. This may not be yours, it may be a loved one and you’re thinking hmm, maybe not.

Whoever this is, there’s a level of idealism and a new plan needs to be made. I also feel like maybe there were a couple of people who encouraged this person and told them to go for it even though they had no experience in the subject themselves.

Hope that made sense for ya, if it’s you wanting to take on something new I wish you luck with any revised plans

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GROUP 3

Four of wands, five of wands, Nature

There are a few meanings for this one.

If you’ve been thinking you have some kind of pest in your house but you’ve not been 100% this might be confirmation.

If you have been thinking a family member or roommate has been doing something not entirely moral or kind, you’re right. Something is definitely going on. I’m seeing specifically as well if you think someone is playing around with more than one person.

If someone you live with has been really strange or angry or different lately, you’re right that there is more going on for them in their inner lives. They may need help.

Something that was once harmonious is no longer. It seems to have turned argumentative and then even more negative. I’m sorry to see this. You’re right that this isn’t normal. Someone isn’t themselves.

If you have been feeling like something is off at work, it is because people are having more disagreements and issues with one another.

I’m seeing someone here who is creative. No matter how competitive it seems out there, please do continue with your art or creative projects - you have talent. I think deep down you know you have something.

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GROUP 4

Nine of wands, The horned God, Seven of swords

You’re right to be wary or on defense right now. Someone might have warned you or you might have overheard something. You might have just simply had an intuitive whisper.

If you have a suspicion what’s wrong with an item as well, you’re on the right track. (for anyone trying to fix furniture or tech).

If you have been on the defense or feel off about someone who is a leader, employer, boss, teacher, father figure etc you’re right. Even your perspective of a local politician - if you feel something isn’t going to help you as a resident, that’s valid.

There is someone who might be trying to appear like they’re on your side, or if you vote/help them or stand with them that they will help you or you will get some kind of benefit. They are only thinking about themselves.

For a few, this could be a love interest that might be acting like they are more mature, paternal or protective than they actually are and you have been right to hold off and wait to see who they are.

You have definitely been skeptical of someone here and you are completely right. I really strongly get the idea they act like they can offer you so much, but you’re remembering you’re good. You’re independent and you have things that you have earned for yourself. Never let someone trick you into thinking you need them. I’m sorry, this person stinks lol.

For a small number, this person you’re skeptical of can honestly be leading a double life, they are going off to someone/something else behind the scenes. They are so vague as well, you can never be sure what they’ve been doing. I don’t like this person. I'm sorry.

You seem wise to it anyway so I’m not worried, you’ve got this.

Hope it made sense to you see yaaaa

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depressedbloggerwrites · 6 months ago

Text

i feel like writing an essay on why jeffannie is a horrible ship

disclaimer before i rant: you are completely entitled to your opinion on whatever ships you prefer! this is just what i think :)

i'm going to begin with the most obvious problem with jeffannie: the age difference. at the start of the show, she's eighteen (a TEENAGER, guys) and he's in his thirties. they are at vastly different stages of life. he has way more life experience than her.

even if we ignore that, they just make no sense together. they already have that father/daughter dynamic, and the chemistry community reddit is constantly on about is nowhere to be found. all the kiss scenes felt forced (maybe not debate 109, but i'll talk about that later). also, jeff having two awesome women competing for his love, and then going after the teenager with a boyfriend...interesting.

i don't think jeff is necessarily predatory; he is very clearly not exclusively attracted to girls as young as annie, but that doesn't mean his attraction to her isn't at least slightly iffy.

i saw someone say annie and jeff, a recovering addict and someone who currently has an addiction, would not have a very healthy relationship in the long run, and i agree. as the original poster said, annie worked so hard to put her addiction behind her, and being with jeff wouldn't be good for her.

also, whoever made that tumblr post saying every jeffannie episode would work better with jeffbritta or abedison was 100% right, which is why i'm going to discuss the problems with each jeffannie episode.

jeffannie began in debate 109, when annie and jeff had to argue the point that man is inherently evil on the greendale debate team, and the debate ends in a scene where the leader of city college's team launches himself out of his wheelchair; jeff instinctively catches him, and the leader uses this to support the point that man is good. annie proceeds to grab jeff and kiss him, which makes him drop city college's leader, which wins them the debate, because 'he dropped him because he was horny!'

god.

obviously, you can see why that made me uncomfortable to watch, but i guess you could look past it in the comedy and chaos of it all. anyway, jeffbritta would have made that episode so much better. britta would definitely be on the debate team, and since she and jeff actually had a normal age gap, which would make everything far less creepy.

next, let's talk about the worst thing in the world:

pascal's triangle revisited.

actually, the episode was fine. i enjoyed it. but that kiss at the end makes me so angry. jeff, you have these two beautiful women who you have been pursuing this whole season, and you go and kiss the teenage girl. THE TEENAGE GIRL. jesus fucking christ. and she had a boyfriend too. you know what would have worked? abed convincing annie not to transfer instead. infinitely better chemistry, and an abedison kiss that actually impacted the plot would have changed my life.

the conspiracy episode was excellent, but jeffbritta would have made it perfect. i don't think it expanded on anything problematic jeffannie-wise though, so that's a win.

and then you have intro to political science. i haven't really seen anyone talk about this, and it's once again not a bad episode, but i really think the writers just didn't want britta to have a storyline that actually developed her character, because she would have devoured in annie's place during this episode. jeff's dynamic with her is already perfect, and it would make so much more sense for them to run against each other, as opposed to jeff and annie.

all those alternate timeline jeffannie scenes in remedial chaos theory already sucked, but i didn't care too much because i knew they weren't going to push it into anything too serious, but then you had annie tell jeff he reminded her of her father mid-makeout and it's just...wow. so the creators knew they had this very obvious father-daughter like relationship, were fully aware of it, and still forced the ship. cool.

now, don't kill me for this, but i'm one of those people who actually genuinely, really liked season 4. and one reason why i liked it was because the one major jeffannie scene they had was the imaginary alternate timeline one, which acknowledged that jeffannie would not be good together, and was hilarious. so thank you season 4, they can never make me hate you <3

introduction to teaching was also great because there was a plotline centered around jeff and annie that never tried to force any sort of awkward romantic chemistry (at least that's how i remember it), which seems impossible in community. honestly, this episode just proved that platonic jeffannie is superior to romantic jeffannie.

but that period of bliss where there was no romantic jeffannie didn't last long, because then you have g.i. jeff.

i love g.i. jeff. it's one of my favorite episodes, and was phenomenal for jeff's character. there was just one line, where animated coma dream jeff tells animated coma dream annie, 'look at the rack i gave you.' that was just kind of gross and didn't sit right, especially since a major plot point of this episode was jeff turning 40 and having a crisis. annie was *checks notes* 23-24 during this episode. the age gap is still very concerning here, and was made worse because of the fact that it really highlights how jeff is aging.

and then season 6 got so close to leaving jeffannie behind, forever, and then they had to ruin it with the series finale. i'm just saying, we couldn't have a platonic jeffannie goodbye like we got with jabed (speaking of which, the jabed goodbye arguably hurt more than the jeffannie one)?

anyway, i am desperately hoping we get jeffbritta/abedison (or trobed!) in the community movie, even though i know that's probably not going to happen, i do not like jeffannie at all, and thank you for reading my explosion of angry thoughts!

#nbc community #jeffbritta #abedison #jeff winger #annie edison #abed nadir #britta perry #six seasons and a movie #begging dan harmon for a jeffannie-free movie

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somekidnamedkai · 2 years ago

Note

if the request are still open can you do riddle , ace ,deuce , vill and malleus with an mc who suddenly started ignoring them and making excuses to not see them,but they found out on their birthday that mc was making a surprise party for them and in the end to apologize to them they hugs them ( and maybe kiss their cheeks ) if this request is too complicated it’s fine you don’t have to^^

Ignoring Them For A Surprise Party

Authors note: Welcome to the start of me being bad at titling my stuff lol. I had a lot of fun writing these, thank you for the request anon!

Characters: Riddle Rosehearts, Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Vil Schoenheit, Malleus Draconia

Warnings: None. I have the vocabulary of a middle schooler so some words are repetitive my apologies.

Gender neutral reader

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle first noticed you ignoring him when you would jolt out of the classroom, not waiting for him so you two could walk together. Whenever he tried to ask you about it, you’d turn and walk away. Or blatantly ignore him and talk to Ace or whoever was nearby.

He began to wonder what was going on. Did he do something? Did he forget something important? No, your birthday wasn’t for another few months. And your guys' anniversary was just a few weeks ago. Riddle remembered every important date. So why were you ignoring him?

Did someone spread a rumor about him? If so, they would surely pay. Riddle went to ask Cater, who would surely know if something was going on. Nothing.

Riddle decided that maybe you’ve been having a bad week, so he’ll take you on a date.

He arrived at Ramshackle to make sure you were free. “Oh, sorry, Riddle, I have something important going on. A big test, yup, really big.” You said hesitantly. A test? On a Saturday evening? And was that Ace and Deuce in there with you?

After his visit to Ramshackle, Riddle was beginning to stress over it even more. Why were you avoiding him? What did he do?!

He demanded Ace and Deuce tell him, but they wouldn't budge. Luckily, Trey was there so he convinced Riddle to not collar the duo.

As the days, which felt like weeks to Riddle went by, he began to feel frustrated and crushed. Was this your way of breaking up with him? By just avoiding him till he got the point? Or were you? No, you would never cheat on Riddle. And he wasn’t going to accuse you of cheating.

Finally, it was on the 6th day, but who’s counting? Riddle saw his phone light up with his ringtone playing. At first, he ignored it. Until Riddle remembered that he muted everyone except for you, he wanted to be sure that he never missed anything. Riddle practically leaped over his bed to grab his phone, dropping whatever schoolwork he was doing.

The second Riddle grabbed his phone he answered your call. “Sweet tart? Hello?” He spoke desperately. Which is what he was. Riddle was desperate to hear your voice. Listening to old voice messages over and over again didn’t help much.

You smiled when your boyfriend answered and began to talk. You missed him, “Hey, love. I want-“

You couldn’t even finish talking before Riddle spoke again, “I miss you! I’m so sorry for whatever I did! I really am. Please don’t ignore me again! I miss you so much, sweet tart!” He blurted out. “Y/N?” He asked when you didn’t answer.

“You didn’t do anything, dear, but can you come to Ramshackle?” You asked him, and he immediately agreed.

It took Riddle about 5 minutes to get to Ramshackle, and then he knocked on the door. Riddle heard a little bit of noise before it went silent. “Come in!” You shouted.

When Riddle opened the door it was almost completely dark, which was shocking considering the number of broken windows in the dorm.

The lights came on right after Ruddle walked in, “SURPRISE!”

Riddle stumbled back in shock, but you caught him before he could fall. “Happy birthday, my love,” You told him.

“It’s my… birthday?” Riddle asked. He had completely forgotten about it amongst you, ignoring him. So that was the important date he forgot about.

A small laugh escaped your lips, “yes, silly. I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. It’s just that I was planning your party with everyone.”

Riddle let out a sigh before regaining his composure. “Well, Don’t do that again, please. You worried me.”

You kissed Riddle on the cheek, then a quick peck on the lips. “I promise I won’t. Now, let’s enjoy your party, birthday boy.”

Ace Trappola

At first, Ace just thought you were trying to prank him by only really talking with Deuce and Jack. But when Deuce said that you weren’t pranking him, Ace got annoyed. Why are you ignoring him? Was it because he pranked you just a week ago? You’ve never cared about his pranks, so why now?

Ace would try to get you to stop ignoring him by pranking you even more. One prank Ace did was kind of small, but it’d get you to talk to him, was to take the ink tube out of your pen. Or if you were using a quill, he’d replace it with a regular feather.

Unfortunately, his plan backfired. Whenever you would need a new utensil you would immediately go to Deuce. Or even Grim. Why Grim?! Seeing how his little prank didn’t work, Ace made his pranks a lot bigger. If his small ones weren’t catching your eyes, these would. Yeah, it didn’t work.

Fine, whatever, ignore Ace all you want. He doesn’t care. Yes, he does. Ace would begin texting you, telling you that it was important and that he needed you to go by asap. But you would only leave him on read.

Ace thought luck was on his side when Riddle said there was going to be an unbirthday party. You never miss an unbirthday party. Even in past times when you and Ace argued, you never missed an unbirthday party.

That night Ace texted you, letting you know about the unbirthday party. To his shock, your reply was quick and simple “can’t. I'm busy.” What do you mean you can't?! You’ve never missed a party

That was it. Ace finally admitted. He probably did something wrong and you weren’t just pranking him. So for the next few nights, he would ponder over what he could’ve done. Deuce wasn’t any help with it either.

At the unbirthday party, Ace tried to coax it out of Riddle or Trey, or anyone for that matter, on why you were ignoring him. But they all claimed to either not know. Or they wouldn’t tell. Rude.

It had been about a week of Ace complaining to Deuce about you again. He missed you. Your laugh, your smile, your everything. The way you would hug Ace after a long day. How good of a kisser you were.

Deuce just suggested that he talk to you at ramshackle tomorrow. But Ace said that you wouldn’t answer. But Deuce promised that you would.

So here Ace was, at ramshackle. He knocked on the door then it opened. He stepped into the shockingly dark dorm. A second later and the lights turned on, and confetti was thrown at his face. “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Oh yeah! It was Ace's birthday. He kind of forgot in his efforts to get you to talk to him. “Happy birthday, sweetie,” you told Ace.

This boy didn’t realize how much he missed your voice until now. Ace practically leaped himself into your arms and squeezed you tight.

“Please don’t ignore me again!” He said as he looked at you. You had your beautiful smile that made him smile.

You kissed Ace all over his face before you looked at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, but I wanted to be sure your surprise party stayed a surprise party.”

Ace nodded. He looked past you and at the others who were watching. “You’re forgiven. Now let's go enjoy my party!”

Deuce Spade

Deuce almost immediately noticed you ignoring him. It started with you not holding his hand after class, to you only talking to Ace at lunch, and now you wouldn’t even answer his texts.

He’s been spamming your messages, asking if he did anything wrong, but you didn’t answer. He’s been (bothering) asking Ace if he’s done anything. No answer from him either.

A few days went by. Deuce finally stopped blowing up your phone with text messages. Now he’s passing you notes in class and sending gifts to ramshackle. Deuce even got your attention for a minute when he grabbed your pen as you took it out of the bag.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Deuce asked as he held the pen out of your reach. You didn’t answer. Instead, you looked to Ace, who gave you a new one. Defeated, Deuce threw your pen back down and sulked in his seat.

Deuce began to message you and see if you wanted to hang out, only to get ignored. He would tell Ace to shut up so you would listen to him instead, and then Deuce would invite you on a date. “I’m busy.” The boy began to sulk again.

Cue the disaster of what is Deuce for the next few days. He’s a mess. He misses you a lot and has no idea how to make it up to you. He’s tried apologizing. You said it was nothing. He’s asked you on dates, and you always say you're busy. He’d give you flowers then you’d just put them aside.

The morning of Deuce’s birthday arrived. And he was dreading it. It wouldn’t have mattered how many ‘happy birthdays’ he got or how many small gifts like pencils or chocolate Deuce got. He just wanted you. And a hug.

Deuce wanted to stay in bed, but Ace convinced him to get up or Riddle would off with his head. “Fine, whatever, partner snatcher.” Dang. Ok, Deuce. We get it you’re mad, but no need to resort to name-calling.

“I’m going to ignore that. Anyways, remember our plans at Ramshackle today. Don’t be late.” Ace told Deuce as he left the room. What plans at Ramshackle? What were they doing?

Wait. If Deuce’s other friends already had plans today... Did they forget his birthday? “Oh, happy birthday, by the way.” Nevermind. At least Ace remembered.

Deuce, after a few years, finally arrived at Ramshackle. And when he opened the door, he walked inside to see darkness. Oh no, did the lights break before he got ther- “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

The surprise knocked Deuce back a few feet. “Happy birthday,” You told Deuce as you walked over to your boyfriend, who was going through the five stages of grief when you walked towards him.

The second you spread your arms out, Deuce dove into them for a hug. “I love you,” He muttered into your chest while you two held a warm hug and you kissed his forehead.

“Hey, listen. I’m sorry for ignoring you. I just thought that it would be the best way of keeping your party a surprise,” you explained to Deuce.

Deuce nodded as he felt a few tears. He was so happy, “It’s ok. But please never do that again.”

You nodded as you backed away and smiled at your boyfriend. You kissed him on the cheek before guiding him over to the others to celebrate his birthday.

Vil Schoenheit

At first, Vil thought you were having a bad day and needed a little space. He’d lecture you for being rude another day. But when the next day came around and you still weren’t talking to him? You would just walk in front of him and not say anything.

Vil, to say the least, was not happy when he realized you were ignoring him. He doesn’t have time for your shenanigans. Vil would try to get your attention and ask you what’s wrong or send you a message but you would either brush him off or just not respond.

He would go through the next few days thinking about what was wrong with you. Did someone say something to you? If so they would surely pay. Were you just trying to prank him? Whatever. Vil wasn’t going to stress over your attitude. He needed to maintain his complexion.

Don’t be fooled though, just because he wasn’t stressing out over it? doesn’t mean it wasn’t affecting him. Vil loved you. A lot. And he missed cuddling you at night before he went to sleep. And he was really upset you were ignoring him.

Vil’s birthday was approaching and he had hoped to go on a date with you. So he showed up to Ramshackle with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and candy. “Pumpkin! I wanted to know if you wanted to go on a date. Tonight or tomorrow?” He asked when you answered the door, giving you the flowers and candy.

“Oh... I’m busy. Tonight and tomorrow. Sorry, sweetie.” You closed the door before Vil could say anything in response.

Dejected, Vil went back to Pomefiore and looked over some of his schoolwork when a thought came to his mind. If you want to avoid him so badly, he’ll send the vice housewarden after you.

“Of course, anything for you Roi Du Poison!” Rook would immediately agree and then head out to Ramshackle, although it was not to spy on you, instead, it was to plan.

It was the day before Vil’s birthday when he decided he had enough. Vil felt like a different person without you. And he didn’t like it.

Vil saw Ace, Deuce, and Jack and asked them what your deal was and what was going on with you. They said it was nothing. So then Vil went to Epel to coax it out of the boy. He didn’t budge.

Remember when Vil wasn’t stressing over this? Now he is. You were the love of his life, and now you were avoiding him, and he had no idea what to do.

On his birthday, Vil got a text from you, “can you come to ramshackle? it’s important.” Vil immediately went out to the rundown dorm his prefect stayed in.

Once Vil got there, he opened the door and stepped inside. He didn’t knock. You told him to go there anyways, so who else would you expect?

It was pitch black when he walked inside. “Is this a-“ “SURPRISE!” Everyone jumped out, and the lights got turned on. Vil looked around, all of his friends were there, and streamers decorated the front lobby

“Happy birthday!” You told Vil as you stepped towards him. He gave you a big hug, squeezing you tight and not wanting to let go.

You returned his hug. “I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. I was so excited about your party, and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.” You explained to him. Vil understood now. But he wasn’t going to let this go.

“It’s alright sweet potato. But we’re going to talk about communication,” Vil told you as you audibly groaned and muttered a ‘fine.’ Vil smiled for the first time in the last few days.

You began to give Vil small kisses all over his face. A kiss on his cheek, one on his nose, his forehead, then his temple. “Let’s enjoy your party.”

Malleus Draconia

You thought you could get away with ignoring him? Good luck. As soon as Malleus noticed you were ignoring him he would get very upset. The clouds would be dark and thundering.

He missed you more than he could explain. You were his first real friend and first partner. And now he didn’t have anyone. He missed your guys' conversations and holding your hand and walking around with you. You didn’t even go to the club meeting with him to look at and study the gargoyles.

Malleus would drop by Ramshackle to make sure you were alright, but you either weren’t there, or you ignored him to talk with your friends. He would sulk or storm away to go by another time.

Listen, I hope you aren’t scared of thunder and lightning because that’s how the weather is going to be until you start talking to him.

Sebek will be hunting you down, so I hope you have a place to hide. And if he finds you, be prepared for the lecture you were going to get from him about ‘hurting the young master’ and ‘you're being a mean person.’

You tell him about the plan for Malleus’ party. He’s still not happy about it. Sebek will leave with final words to talk to him.

During one of his daily walks by ramshackle Malleus spotted you, without your friends. He hoped that today would be the day you talked to him. With a bright smile, he walked over to you.“Child of Man! Would you care to accompany me for a walk today? We could go out to eat after as well.”

You motioned for the boxes in your hands, “I can’t. I have to get these boxes inside and unpack them. Thank you for the offer, though!” You said and began to walk inside the dorm.

Malleus was right behind as you were walking, “I can help you,” he offered but you brushed him off saying you got it. You closed the door and Malleus stood outside.

He left the dorm just as Silver and Sebek came by looking for him. Malleus went back to his dorm to sulk in his room. Did someone threaten you to not talk to him? Did he do something that made you mad?

The next few days came and went. Malleus missed your walks and dates. The talks you two would have. You were the love of his life. He felt empty without you.

And now, it was his birthday. He woke up, got dressed, and checked his phone. Malleus didn’t know how to use a phone, but he could at least do the basics, like enabling his text messages. When he turned the phone on, Malleus was half expecting no notifications, but he hoped there would be. Malleus practically leaped for joy when he said your name on his phone. He opened your text, a request to drop by Ramshackle later.

Time felt like it was going by slower than usual. Malleus was so happy when he opened the text, he was about to go to your dorm that instant, but he decided to wait as you asked him.

Malleus had an extra prep in his step as he walked up to the door and knocked on it. “Come in!” He heard your voice. Malleus opened the door and walked in.

He then almost tripped, not expecting the dorm to be completely dark. “Child of-“ “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” He was interrupted by a bunch of cheers and the lights turning on.

You and some of his classmates were in the dorm with handheld confetti cannons. You immediately ran to Malleus and gave him a big hug. “Happy birthday, Tsunotarou!” You told your boyfriend happily as he wrapped his arms around you, holding you close.

Malleus didn’t want to let go of the hug. He’s missed you, and now that you’re in his arms, he wants to stay that way forever. “Was this all for me, my love?” He asked and looked around the decorated dorm. You nodded in response. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. Thank you so much child of man.” He answered your question as you smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “Now let's have some fun!” you told him as you pulled him towards the others.

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justanotherblogger · 10 months ago

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Random Rambles And Theories About Alastor Go!

Ok, so right now I am on a high with all the recent Alastor lore we've been blessed with in Hazbin Hotel, and this little murderer has been occupying my mind 24/7. I really need to get all my theories and rambles out that I don't see a lot of people talking about.

(BTW, before my ramble, I have seen many places say he was mixed race as a human, but if I am wrong, please let me know, because this delves deep into that with his human life.)

(Also be warned for a bit of gore/violence and that this thing is kind of long)

Now let's begin!

I'll start with the most talked about theory with Alastor: his connections with Lilith and why he reacted the way he did with Lucifer

The show has given us what many people think are hints to this with both of them gone for 7 years, the slight eye twitch in the pilot when he looked at liliths portrait, Alastor showing up right after Charlie finished voicmailing her mom also in the pilot, how he knew about Charlie's Daddy Issues before she seemed to have told anyone, the leash comment from Husker, and how Alastor reacted to Lucifer.

Now, all of these could be chalked up to Alastor having some sort of nice relations to Lilith, but some of these are a bit too far stretched to just be because he has interacted nicely with Lilith in my eyes.

I have seen many people talk about how Alastor must have gotten a bad impression of Lucifer because either him and Lilith are besties and talk crap about him after the split, or he listened to her complaints about him and got an impression off of that to dislike him this much right off the bat in episode 5.

But I don't think that's it. We see how badly Alastor reacted to the leash comment by Husker, which definitely isn't a good sign that he would even trust the words of whoever is holding that 'leash' against him. He seemed pushed over the edge, vulnerable enough to lash out, which is unlike himself. Whatever deal he made for his soul, was most likely under threat, a life or death choice.

This is why I think he despises (most likely) Lilith or whoever has that 'leash' on him. He lashes out, sensitive about the subject. After gaining so much power over the overlords, he suddenly gets toppled over again by someone of (most likely) higher status, being forced into an unwilling contract, now just another pawn that this demon(?) can use for their own desires, and he doesn't want to be that, he needs to make his own decisions. But he doesn't have any say in the matter.

So I think why he was mocking and teasing Lucifer so much was because of his connection with Lilith. Everyone knew how deeply in love they were (before they split) and how they are both the most powerful demons in hell. I think Alastor took a chance to use his pent up anger on Lucifer, trying to get him to hurt as much as he can because of what Lilith did, all the while Lucifer cant do anything too serious leat he upset Charlie. We know he is extremely petty, after all. (we can also see him (most likely) letting off some steam when devouring the loan sharks, with him getting unnecessarily big and just letting loose on a couple of low-tier goons)

I saw another person talk about how Alastor has no power over Lucifer/Lilith, no political power, and he can't beat them in games of wits either. But the one thing that he does have the upper hand on, is their daughter, and I completely agree with that.

Alastor has been there since the beginning, has helped Charlie out and talked with her more than her own Parents had in the last couple of years probably. He's seen how attached the parents are to Charlie, and decided to use that info in full force. Just look at the Lucifer/Alastor duet.

Now that we have my theories of the life and death contract with Lilith, let's go deep into what I think is Alastors character right now:

Alastor, a mixed child in the early 1900's most likely had it really rough. With being treated as less than from both sides for being to dark/light to the violence that he most likely had to endure during his childhood.

This could have been where his anger/obsessive resentment started to simmer up in sporadic bursts over the years and years of belittlement, abuse, and racism.

Like I said before, he was probably treated as less than human for his mixed skin, and Alastor most likely started to hate it. His skin, the people, everything seemed so wrong. Why should the people who beat him and his mother see them so vulnerable and weak. He decided he didn't like that anymore.

So the radio show started. I got this idea from when he said his face was only made for radio. Over the radio, no one ever knew what you looked like. Just your voice would be broadcasted, and no one would ever see who was really behind the microphone unless they stepped out. This seemed like a barrier to Alastor. Letting himself go with no worries about letting people see him vulnerable behind his broadcast. (Maybe that's why he hates TV and modern tech so much; people can see everything about you)

And when his radio show became a hit and people wanted pictures and news? What would protect him then? Simple: his unwavering smile. Reactions are what people want when they crush others. They want to see them wallow and beg cry from what they have done. But Alastor won't let anyone do that to him ever again.

He stands his guard, not letting any comments get to him, keeping charming smile and unwavering voice all throughout his career as a radio host. Keep the smile up, dont have your voice crack, never show weakness. If you stop, those that wait will sink their teeth in and never let go of you. That's what I think a part of his mentality is and is maybe a part of why his smile is stitched on in his demonic form.

Now onto why I think he's a serial killer/cannibal. Remember when I said he had lots of unchecked anger and obsessive resentment? All this now simmering even more while being pushed down by his persona?

This is when he'll break loose.

He usually goes for the ones with the least amount of defense: drunkards/ bar frequenters. I though of this when Mimzy said he used to always come to the bar she was performing at and how he could drink like a sailor.

He might've drank with people to let their guard down in addition to his non-threatening charm, and he probably built a tolerance to be at least a bit sober when the others are full out drunk so he can easily transport and kill them.

He probably enjoys killing/eating his victims because a) it shows how he has power now. How he isn't a helpless victim anymore and he's finally in control of his life or b) where he likes seeing privileged people beaten and bruised for once, the gratification of seeing someone taste their own medicine by his own hand, like revenge, even if that person hadn't been necessarily bad towards him.

His death ro me is the same that everyone else thinks, where he's burying some victims body and gets mistaken for a deer, then shot straight between the eyes. What I do think a bit differently is that he was chased by hunting dogs first, which alerted the hunter for him to get shot, which then led to his fear of dogs.

Then he was finally free to do anything. Hell had no limits, he didn't have to hide his carnage anymore. But now that smile he wore was engraved into his face, almost making it impossible to frown. But that didn't matter. Not right now. Alastor has so many emotions bubbling up that he just wanted blood to be on his hands.

And then he slaughtered the overlords and took their souls within weeks ( maybe months, idk how quick he killed them, but ima go with weeks), broadcasting it over the radio to show everyone what he's been up to.

Alastor had kept this routine for a couple of decades, occasionally getting a guest star on his broadcast by those who he seems fit.

But maybe he had become too cocky with this power high, as he had been attacked by holy weaponry right before the extermination he dealth with most of them, but a shot did make it into his shoulder, causing him to collapse in pain, unable to move. (a bit simple, but I imagine him getting badly hurt by angels/angelic weaponry to lethal levels and Lilith decides to save him)

He fought hard when the angels arrived, of course, but he could only go so far in being this injured. So when he was about to get stabbed in the chest by a holy spear, he was already tired and almost accepted his fate, before being pulled somewhere by Lilith herself.

This is where Lilith offers a beat and broken Alastor a one time deal: become her servant or she'll throw him back to the exterminators herself. And in a situation like this, there's usually only one option you can really take.

And so he was a ghost, leaving everything he had behind. His power, his respect, his freedom...

Now Alastor had become a pawn again. A tool useful for the right situations, and just a toy to be played with by Lilith. This is exactly what he didn't want from his human life. The humility, the disregard, treating him as some sort of street animal, no matter what he did.

And now she orders him to guard her daughters hotel, giving him back a piece of his power to protect the hotel.

Alastor had hated Charlie for how she misused her amazing power for something like redemption.

Alastor hated Lucifer, for having all that power, being the strongest demon in hell, yet taking it for granted while mocking him about his choices.

And Alastor hated Lilith, for trapping him again, and renewing his endless cycle of suffering.

So those are my thoughts about Alastor. I think you can tell he's my favorite. I just love his powers and lore.

#alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel thoughts #Im literally feral for this crazy deer guy #asexual #is Alastor Ace or AroAce in canon?#idek anymore #lucifer #lucifer hazbin hotel #lilith hazbin hotel

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oneatlatime · 1 year ago

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The Journey to Ba Sing Se Part 2: The Drill

Could I have Appa back please?

The Previously On segment actually didn't spoil anything for once. Nice.

I do like these tank things. In fact I like all Fire Nation technology. Not what it's used for. But the designs are neat. And more interesting than most actual military tech. You ever look at something techy, and think to yourself 'there was an artist involved here,' because that's the impression FN tech gives me. It's not beautiful, but there's a pleasing toothiness to it.

Excellent sound design on the metal screechy moving bits. And is that tank escort really necessary?

I know this is a kids' cartoon, with characters that are designed to be the audience's age. I know! And usually I can suspend my disbelief and forget that I'm watching children do very adult jobs! But this caught me so off guard I laughed. The Fire Nation's big secret project to break through the wall once and for all, that would be an absolute career making achievement for whoever is in charge, and they've given it to a bunch of teenage girls. This is where my suspension of disbelief stops.

Can you imagine the meeting where this was proposed? The Fire Lord being like "Who can lead the attack on Ba Sing Se? We lost Zhao at the North Pole, does whoever it is who occupies his equivalent rank in the Army want the job? Or even Zhao's second in command perhaps? Or how about: three middle school girls, two of which aren't even members of the military? Doesn't that sound like a good plan?" And of course all his advisors have to agree and be like "that sounds like an excellent plan your lordship; did you have any particular girls in mind or should we go scout out the local Claire's?" because the last guy who disagreed with him got his face blown off. I don't care how viciously talented Azula and friends are; a country that puts eighth graders in charge of invasion plans should have lost the war in year one, not still be winning it in year 99.

Did that random commander guy just smack Ty Lee in the face?

Problem the first of this plan: unless the Fire Nation has invented pocket dimensions or bags of holding, there is no way that that drill, even stuffed full of soldiers, would hold enough people to take a city that seemingly contains every single refugee in the entire Earth Kingdom.

Do you think those refugees got preferential treatment for arriving on an Avatar powered elevator?

"I'm the Avatar. Take me to whoever's in charge." OWN IT BABY!!!

That's one hell of an irrigation system they must have.

"He was quickly expunged." Was he? I got the impression he quit. Of his own accord.

Something tells me like forty guys throwing rocks won't stop that thing.

So... what was Mai doing that whole fight? Hanging decoratively off a rope?

I'd forgotten how stupid Earth Kingdom generals were. Luckily Sokka is there to vicariously express my opinion of them. A reverse beat up Sokka quota fulfillment!

Toph is such a little shit and I love her.

Aang sure does put up with a lot sometimes. Part of being the Avatar. It's a good thing he has such patience. Can we talk about how lucky the world is that Aang is the one tasked with putting up with nonsense like this? Imagine if Sokka or Toph were the Avatar. There would be casualties.

I like complaining too buddy. Nice to see Sokka's worth being recognised. Now can we do that outside of a life or death situation too please?

I joke about Zuko's dumbass behaviour, but let's be honest, it's inherited.

Jet. Fuckboy. You do not make it easy to even slightly like you. Guy is missing the point as much as Zuko usually does. Going straight MEANS leaving the freedom fighters behind. It doesn't mean reforming them somewhere else. And what Fire Nation threat are you going to find in Ba Sing Se for your Freedom Fighters to fight? You know, if this idiot was actually serious about fighting for Freedom rather than blowing stuff up for fun, he'd fudge his age and enlist in the Earth Kingdom Army.

Four points: How does Katara know Ty Lee's name? Is this confirmation that waterbending healing cannot remove a Chi block? I love that the trait that gives away Ty Lee's identity is the fact that she cartwheeled away. I love Sokka. Just in general.

There is no way this girl is not tripping.

Can you imagine how loud standing right next to that drill must be?

ABS

Normally I'd say that one earthbender trying to slow the drill down with spikes will work even worse than the Terra Team who tried and failed with like 40, but this is Toph we're talking about. It could work.

These children are so polite when they're committing industrial sabotage. Truly, they were raised well.

Do you ever get the feeling that whoever is in charge of designing Fire Nation armour is into a few things that he's trying to repress so hard that they're coming out in all the wrong places?

Jet seems to have lost all the manipulative abilities he had in his episode. Suddenly he's very bad at reading body language and keeps saying the exact opposite of what he should.

New achievement unlocked! 1000% agreeing with something Zuko said! That was a pretty stupid move.

Cups made out of leaves are neat.

Katara, you can't have it both ways. You can't look to Sokka to make the plan, then get snippy when the plan correctly plays to all of your strengths. He physically CAN'T bend. Either you come up with a better plan yourself, or you do as the guy you appointed planner suggests.

Points in favour of allowing Katara to murder people, exhibit 1.

Confirmed: Sokka is catnip for girls.

Even in comparison to the others, Ty Lee has a bad case of cartoon physics.

Did Katara just disarm herself? That'll come back to bite her in 3, 2, 1...

Mai gets a second personality trait! Yay!

There is no way this is actually practical armour. This is someone in procurement with a thing for sweaty bulging muscles and puppy masks.

And thus, the log ride was born. Later versions would go on to perfect the concept by introducing a log.

I felt Sokka's mud freakout in my bones. Looks like Katara giving away her water isn't going to be a problem.

Petition to let Katara say bitch. The voice actress said Circus Freak but I know what I heard in my heart.

Remember that time Sokka smacked his forehead so many times that his face was permanently red? My turn now.

Aang. I know you love your friends. But maybe a battle on top of a moving machine of destruction in the midst of an aerial assault from your idiotic allies while facing off with the single most powerful and amoral firebender in existence, isn't a place to bring your pet lemur?

Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by little sister. It's surprising that isn't the case more often. I know Sokka took it too far, but if you don't want him telling you what to do, maybe you shouldn't have looked to him for a plan?

Toph is here! Day saved.

Finally some sense re: Momo safety.

Time for the Western showdown. There's even something that could stand in for a water tower in the background.

If Azula had just struck at Aang the second he got knocked unconscious, rather than waiting until he woke up for dramatic purposes, she would have won this. I give Zuko Hell for being a theatre kid, but he's not the only one in the family.

I would love to know what they make Fire Nation boot soles out of. They have supernatural traction.

I take back everything I said about pet safety. That was a really cool Momo assist.

Aang invents the pneumatic hammer.

I LOVE that the cut braces had an effect after all. Sokka's contribution counts!

I bet this guy's wishing he'd been eaten by a giant fishman like Zhao right about now. Have fun explaining that one to the Firelord!

HOW is Ty Lee still alive?

HOW does Azula still have knees after that drop?

HOW does Mai have such perfect timing?

ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN

They really ought to put wheels on all but the back car to reduce friction and save energy. Then again, if the Earth Kingdom is one thing, it's stupid.

So... Jet's change of heart lasted a bit less than one episode. Good job fuckboy!

So precious.

So Pretty.

Final Thoughts

This was like 90% action, with the other 10% being split between Zuko & Iroh plot stuff and Sokka playing comic relief. So there's not that much to talk about here really (she says, having found a whole post's worth of stuff to talk about).

Sokka had his bossy pants on, admittedly because he was asked to don them. Aang got to do some proper Avataring. Katara and Toph got to exercise their bending muscles. I'm not surprised that Toph was absent for much of the middle of the episode, because - let's be honest - given the right tools, Toph would have finished the Drill in one move. And then they'd be out of episode.

Actually, Mai got to have a personality beyond Too Bored To Live this episode. This is probably the most personality I've seen out of her so far. She's much more expressive when she's with just Ty Lee, rather than Ty Lee and Azula.

And Zuko! Had! Common! Sense! Iroh had to be a dumbass for Zuko to shine, but Zuko was, once again, the most reasonable character in his little B plot. For future reference: If you want to make Zuko reasonable, all you have to do is nerf his uncle and juxtapose him with a terrorist.

I loathe Jet. Always have, probably always will. But I'm still disappointed in him. His 'turning over a new leaf' - if it was sincere at all - lasted like 10 on-screen minutes. I feel sorry for Smellerbee and Longshot. I don't think their faith in their glorious leader is going to be repaid. He seems to brush off Smellerbee's opinions.

The strangest thing this episode was how few lines Azula had. I guess maybe they were using silence to try to show how calculating and collected she is compared to others, but honestly my first thought was that the voice actress had something going on. A cold? A previous engagement? It felt really weird to hear her speak so little, since previous episodes have shown she's not averse to gloating and dramatic monologues. She didn't even have much in the way of facial expressions.

I think the winners this episode were Mai, who got to have a personality; Zuko, who got a turn with the brain cell; and Aang, who got to work out pretty much all the bending he knows so far and successfully Avatar.

I did notice with some of the shots of Aang moving the big boulders the idiots were chucking down, that there was a kind of fuzziness to the air between Aang and what he was moving. Was I seeing the actual bending energy (Chi I guess) moving?

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the drill

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