#i was thinking maybe all 3 descendants movies but if anyone wants to see something in particular please let me know
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
veritable-trash · 1 year ago
Text
maybe it's never truly over
Tumblr media
Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Fem!Reader(nickname used but no descriptors!)
Summary: It's been a long time since you've seen each other. For you it hasn't been long enough but for Miguel things are a bit more complicated.
Word Count: 1K
Rating: E - for eventual smut, friends to enemies to friends to lovers i think??? this chapter is tame just seeing if people are interested in what i might decide to cook up <3 :)
A/N: alright alright alright like literally everyone i watched spiderverse and have now descended into the black hole of being obsessed with every character from that movie but this one right here????? yes yes i like him very much. anyways wrote this for fun think i might try another series and see what comes of it. this is not sticking to any canon(lol miguel would be PISSED but this is my multiverse bitch!) because there's such a depth to his character that i want to just play with in this story potentially.
anyways if you like this little intro and want to read more and see where these two little weirdos spin their way off to reblog, send me thirsty thoughts about this man, comment to your heart's content about how his body is shaped like a dorito and i want to eat HIM!
also @dameronscopilot wrote an absolute SPICED piece for Miguel so go read that now if anyone sees this!!!!!
enjoy :)))))))))
masterlist weeeeeeeee
~~~~~
There was something different about today. 
Air shimmering like it was about to crystallize and crack at any given moment. 
Like the world was gonna stop all of a sudden and dissolve into some weird cosmic puddle. 
But not for you. Never for you because even when things felt like they were about to snap, crackle, pop, your life tended to stay a bit boring. It had been a long, long time since you’d felt any kind of twinkle in your life, and you didn’t mind it. The last time things had fizzled like that you’d been left a bit shattered yourself. 
Even still, the niggle at the nape of your neck wouldn’t let up. even the sidewalk seemed to wobble under your feet as you traversed the packed streets of Nueva York. Your palms can’t help but start sweating, heart kicking up its pace as the people around you seem to crowd and crowd and crowd. 
Alley. You need to find an alley and fucking breath. 
You turn in fast on the tight corridor, the smell of garbage helping to clear the dizziness in your head but it still isn’t gone. The feelings still there. Why won’t it just fucking leave you-
“Lyla I got it. Just check the other dimensions and report back to me I haven’t seen any signs of them here.”
And now you know why this an entire day has been like walking through jelly.
Because the second Miguel O’Hara turns around and sees you, everything absolutely shatters.
It’s been years, maybe over a decade since he’s seen you, but you’ve seen plenty of him. The magazines, the news, online, every god damn street corner of this godforsaken city conveniently reminds you of this Dorito-shaped dip shit man. 
Nothing changes in his demeanor, to an unseasoned eye, but you remember Miguel from before. Gabe’s older brother Miguel, mama’s boy Miguel, your best friend Miguel, and his eyes can’t hide the things you know deep in his heart. 
You don’t even know what to say. There’s nothing left in your brain, just him, still staring, but now from new heights, with new scars, and it scares the shit out of you.
And pisses you the fuck off.
“So what? You go radio silent for over ten years and now you’re gonna stalk me in some alley like creep? Very on brand Miguel but I thought you would have fucking grown up by now.”
His shoulders tense and you can’t stop the way your lips curve as you sense you’ve gotten to him, even if only a little. But then he’s turning away, slowly walking down the alley towards the brick wall and you realize he’s not going to say anything to you. That he’s going to just leave again without a single fucking word.
“Miguel if you don’t turn the fuck around right now and say something to me I will beat the shit out of you I swear to god. I know your weak spots don’t make me fucking use it!”
(it’s just under his ribs, but only on the right side)
“Bichito, pleas-“
“Don’t you dare fucking call me that. Don’t you fucking dare. You lost the right to call me that when you disappeared on me. Fuck you Miguel, honestly I don’t even have anything left to say to you just fuck off.”
This time his face face does crumple just a little bit and you preen at his pain. Suck it into your lungs as the boy who trampled your heart finally gets a taste of how you bled. 
You turn back to the chaos of the street and throw yourself into the people, away from Miguel and all the bullshit, earth shattering happening behind you. It’s been a long time since you’ve needed Miguel O’Hara and it’ll be an even longer time before you come back around to his antics.
Probably never.
~~~~~
He fucked up. 
Miguel didn’t know how he’d dropped the ball this hard, but he’d fucked up big time and for once it didn’t involve some stupid fucking multiverse drama. 
It involved you. 
You, the girl from down the block who used to wrestle Gabriel and make flower crowns out of the flowers growing between the cracks in the concrete. 
You, the girl who stayed up till the sky started to turn pink again listening to him rant on and on about his shitty dad and his shitty life.
You, his Bichito, his little bug, his best friend, the center of what he thought was his tiny little universe so many years ago. 
But he’d left that behind. Thought that he could find something else, find something better, finally be happy in ways he’d never even dreamed of.
And look at where it had gotten him. 
He wasn’t ever supposed to run into you again. He was supposed to be vigilant, cautious, knew that running into you would derail him a thousand times over and he had bigger things to be focusing on. Multiverse-altering, dimension-destroying things to focus on.
Yet the universe had dropped you both in that alley and something deep in his chest rippled with feelings he couldn’t seem to find a word for. It was fucking terrifying and he wasn’t going to let it fester. 
He had things to do. Universes to fix. An ever growing mantle of responsibility hanging of his shoulders.
A constant reminder of his fuck ups and the reality that he wasn’t going to let himself slip up again. 
And yet as his claws carry him up and onto the rooftops of Nueva York, Miguel O’Hara has a terrifying suspicion that he may no longer be able to stay away. 
~~~~~
hehehehAHAHHAHA god i love this twisted little sad sack man who just wants to be all rough and tough. anyways haven't written in ages and this character has gotten me at least sorta interested in writing so i just wanted to throw this out there, get something moving, even if i go back into dormancy for another millenia.
well heart eyes for you guys and forehead kisses for anyone who reads i hope your day is a dream <33333333333
366 notes · View notes
Text
tw this is a trauma post but it's also a narrative I'm proud of. Suicide and self harm (mental and physical) will be mentioned.
To help those who aren't me understand, I think in part in references since it is both easier and more fun than creating original thoughts.
(1): reference to the videogame Omori
(2): reference to the movie The Dark Knight (take a guess as to why I like and relate to the joker)
(3): reference to a song I like (in order, HOPE by NF, Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park, Love the Subhuman Self by AISHA, Arc System Works, and Jamison Boaz)
(4): a random saying I heard and enjoyed
“No one knows what it's like to be the bad man, to be the sad man behind blue eyes. No one knows what it's like to be hated, to be fated to telling only lies”
“Behind blue eyes” by The Who
Welcome to the nonsensical abyss of my mind, you've been here as long as you can remember (1). By reading this you're getting to see my thoughts without translation. Nothing here makes sense to anyone except me, I make references others rarely understand. But allow me to tell the story of how what you see now came to be. You wanna know how I got these scars (2)? “I spent years of my life holdin’ on to things I never should've kept, full of hatred, years of my life wishin I was someone different looking for some validation.” (3)
Middle school was a special sort of subtle hell for me, it stole things without me noticing. First it was my feeling of impervious safety when a kid laughed at a genuine heartfelt remark I made. Then it was my trust that friends would never betray me and always respect me when they wouldn't stop making jokes at my expense. Slowly, steadily I descended into paranoia and loneliness, and thus my contentedness with life was stolen. The ax forgets yet the tree never does(4).
A secret hidden issue that I only found out this year was that the ADHD meds I needed to take to function may have been causing the paranoia to start with. I still don't know how to feel about that, that all my issues and trauma might stem from something that's not even real.
Once I started high school it became more and more apparent that nobody liked me. At least not for very long. I never learned to function in middle school so I was still struggling with what everyone else already knew and mastered. Giving a compliment and sexual harassment, would you like to know the difference? I would've but nobody told me until after I'd been punished.
Intent vs impact, I never intended to hurt anyone yet my impact was that I did more often than not. So I cut off the things that hurt people, removed them from my mind. Who needs humor? Not me if I can't use it right. Who needs to give compliments? Not me if I can't say it right. Who needs to hug people to show affection because it's your primary love language and you want to show everyone how much you like and appreciate them? …… not me…. if I must…. to not hurt them…
You see where my inner pain starts now? Where the scars in my mind begin? There were two things I could never bear to cut and slice away, my name and my kindness. Most trans people change their names to align more with their gender but I decided no. I am done changing things for other people to accept me more, they never do. My name is Daniel and it's the sum of my entire being. If I am non-binary, or a woman, or some eldritch horror that everyone fears and that has lost every shred of humanity because of the things I've endured, then my name represents all of that. It's not my issue if people make a poor assumption about my name because of what they think it should be.
Maybe I don't even want to be human anymore if all that humans have shown me is hate. All throughout high school it was nothing but hate or dislike shown to me, barely any kindness outside of my family. So I isolated myself from everyone, to avoid those who hated and to not burden my family with my issues. I'd handle it by myself like I always had in the past and I'd be ok.
I was not ok.
I was rageful. I was tearing myself apart more and more and more internally, only my desire to never hurt anyone kept me from tearing the school down brick by brick with all the students inside it. But maybe… could it be I was the exception and the problem? Could it be I'm the one who deserves to hurt for the pain I've caused? Should I hurt myself? And so I tried once, a good solid punch to the forehead that didn't make me feel any better and never tried again.
The pain I deserved wasn't physical, it was mental and so I gave myself infinite mental pain. What an idiot I was for giving that compliment when clearly in retrospect it was sexual harassment, what a dumbass I was for saying that joke, looking back I deserve to lose my entire friend group over it. Maybe I'd be better off if I didn't exist anymore if I caused more harm than good and could never seem to learn or improve. The thoughts I had then… and sometimes still now… it's so hard to remember that looking into the past makes everything obvious in the worst ways possible…
But there was a light eventually, someone who told me all that was wrong. Someone I met online and will never see in person, someone I messed up horribly with and yet she still forgave me. Thank you infinitely June. You showed me that monsters can be good.
So I steeled my resolve and used my rage at myself to look inward and outward and found that I was being mistreated and misunderstood. I shouldn't kill myself to not exist or hurt people because I would improve and I could make others improve. So I stood at the very last meeting in front of the whole school and spoke the truth of my mind with as much respect and rage as I could muster. So much pain and anger and hate and sadness I'd endured and I showed all of it to the entire high school of 300 people.
I've never felt more satisfied in my life than when the headmaster of the school himself asked if there was anything he could do for me and I said no. I've never felt more proud when I met with him two days later and asked for a neurodivergent support group to be created for the middle and high school, and he said yes. Half a year later my brother told me that the headmaster stuck to his word and did more than I asked. I never felt more vindicated than when I was told by my only friend that he'd heard people making school shooter jokes after I stood up and told my story.
And so I started to heal. My humor, I did need that. How could I be happy if I could never make myself laugh? My desire to give joy and be kind, I needed that. How could I not fulfill the purpose in life I'd made for myself? My ability to hug and love and be happy with others, I needed that. Desperately. “I want to heal, I want to feel what I thought was never real, like there was somewhere I belong.”(3) I just needed to find better people who understood. I reconnected with my family and told my pain and tried in every possible way to show how sorry and sad I was for cutting them off. I couldn't stitch the old bits back onto me but maybe I could grow something new. Something I wanted and I loved, for me.
I can never fully heal, that's why you see the holes in my form, but I've incorporated them now, so that they help me as much as they hurt. I carry on and love my subhuman self, accept me for me and go back to being with humans (3). I give them the kindnesses I can but only after I do that for myself. This is the kindness and respect I give to me, the biggest change I made, because I deserve it as much as everyone else. Now close your eyes and you'll leave this dream (1).
“But my dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be.”
Behind Blue Eyes by the Who
23 notes · View notes
amewinterswriting · 2 years ago
Text
15 Mutuals, 15 (+ bonus) Questions
Tagged by @space-cadead. I'm woefully out of the loop with how active most of my mutuals are, so if you see this, it's an open invitation to participate yourself!
Questions after read more for the sake of everyone's dashboard:
1. Are you named after anyone?
Both my given and middle name are for my maternal great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. However, the name I find more interesting is what I wasn't named. See, my grandad loved the name Vincent. Even had it tattooed on him, and would have named his first-born son Vincent. Except he had two daughters. So he made my mum promise that if she had a son, she would name him Vincent...and I didn't come with a bio penis so I got a more feminine name instead. Given that I'm determined the family line dies with me, I don't think my grandad will be getting his 'descendant called Vincent' wish fulfilled, unless he doesn't mind a fictional Vincent in a future writing project? A book is kinda like a baby, right?
2. When was the last time you cried?
Probably December? Working retail at Christmas is really rough anywhere, but at a toy shop, it's very high pressure.
3. Do you have kids?
One very beloved tuxedo cat who is very happy to be an only child with no human siblings.
4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
No, absolutely never. Not one single time in my whole life have I ever been sarcastic and sassy and I certainly don't have an entire t-shirt that claims that sarcasm is my second language. /s
5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
Any major difference that they have that's 'unusual' compared to most people. I'm very faceblind so I tend to use things like hairstyle, clothing choices or voice to reliably recognise people...though most people can and will change those things on a regular basis. Personally, I love more outlandish styles and hair colours - it makes life much easier for me!
6. What’s your eye color?
Green/brown
7. Scary movies or happy endings?
Happy endings, but make them work for it.
8. Any special talents?
I don't really feel like I have a particular talent for anything. I have plenty of creative hobbies, but I feel like anything I can make is the result of lots of mistakes and practice and research. But I'm willing to try my hand at lots of things: resin craft, pixel art, photography, lampwork (glass), papercraft, sound mixing, video editing...I'm very much the jack of all trades. The difficulty is staying with something long enough to finish a larger project.
9. Where were you born?
Rural Wales. If you point out any castles, standing stones or ruined abbeys within a hundred miles or so, I've probably been there!
10. What are your hobbies?
Naturally writing, and all the aforementioned creative hobbies, but also gaming. Big fan of interesting narratives and puzzle-based games.
11. Have you any pets?
My problem child, Blackadder the cat, who is both very smart and very silly, so I think he lives up to his name well.
12. What sports do you play/have played?
I am very much not a sportsperson. In school, we were forced to play hockey and netball, but that was more years ago than I really want to admit...
13. How tall are you?
Somewhere a little taller than 150cm but not by that much.
14. Favorite subject in school?
I had an amazing Sociology teacher who loved challenging our expectations and showing us new cultures as best he could in a very rural Welsh school. His passion was truly infectious and I sincerely hope he's having an amazing life, wherever he is now.
15. Dream job?
Independently published (and moderately to wildly successful) author who is somehow entirely anonymous outside of their body of work.
16. Do you prefer owls, capybaras, or flamingos? 
There are so many different species of owls that I'm going to go owls. There are tiny little Burrowing owls, huge European owls, or the silent graceful Barn owls we're more likely to see in the wild near me.
17. What is your favorite soup?
Maybe not technically a soup, but I make a damn good chilli chicken ramen if I do say so myself!
18. What is your favorite…rock (idfk)?
Blue John is a very particular mineral found close to some of my family members and when it's cut and polished it's got a very beautiful blue/purple crystal structure. I've been down a lot of the different mines where it has been found, so I have a bit of an appreciation of the history and how the discovery and sale of it has influenced the local area for the better.
19. Choose a familiar: 1) very dumb, very loving disobedient dog. He loves you but will never listen to you ever 2) a raven that speaks but it only ever shrieks the name of various fast food restaurants 3) a toad that screams like a teenage boy instead of croaks
Raven. I can never decide on what to eat, and I feel like this would be a lot easier if someone just shouted the answer at me.
20. Which planet do you feel like would be kind of an asshole if you met them? 
Jupiter. Why have you got so many moons, huh? Why do we only get the one? Ours is lonely, I think she needs a girlfriend. I think at least one of Jupiter's moons would be happier over here.
21. if you were a worm would you love me? this worm question courtesy of ✨ @/legiomiam✨
No, but only because I think I would be beyond the capacity for emotions more complex than 'this dirt is so moist and delicious, this is amazing'.
22. Least favorite type of clothing?
High heels. I never learnt to walk in them, and I care about my comfort too much to want to learn now!
23. You are now in a horror movie—so sorry. Chance of survival?
On the one hand, I'm an anxious mess who can't handle watching many horror movies. On the other hand, I do cope with IRL crises well at the time and then panic later. And I am handy with power tools. So I think I'll just manage to survive the worst, manage to hunker down with any other survivors and just when I think we're safe and I'm distracted, that's when the horrors will get me.
24. Would you rather: the ability to instantly grow a perfect mustache, or ability to talk to vegetables?
Moustache. Take my 'what is gender?' vibes to the next level. And I'm tired of shaving my pathetic little wispy one away. I don't mind the facial hair, I mind that it's patchy and inconsistent!
25. What do you think of whales?
They're just chilling out in the ocean in their family groups and singing long-distance conversations with each other and I think we could learn a lot from that.
1 note · View note
xxx-wounded-angel-xxx · 5 months ago
Text
If i remember well @agirllovespancakes you had also tagged me on it, and i totally forgot to do it 😅 So here it is finally :)
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
I am at 74, including OS, longer fics, and three books of drabbles.
2. What's your total ao3 word count?
92,668 words... I've been on AO3 since 2019, and some fics are even older (2016 i think? they were on wattpad...) Without counting the Black Swan Felix fic i'm currently writing.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Currently? I'm writing for twilight, the lost boys, Creepypastas. But if we're talking about everything i've done, the list is quite long : Yuri on ice, Black Veil Brides, Avalon High (the book, not the disney channel movie), Space pirate Captain Harlock, Saint Seiya, Harry Potter, Disney Descendants, The Elders Scrolls Oblivion and Skyrim, Interview with the vampire, MCU (it was only Loki lol), Stranger Things, Supernatural, The Hobbit. (That's more than i expected lol)
4. Top 5 fics by kudos
The Lost Boys Darling (129) - poly lost boys Love in leather jacket (84) - Paul Lahote Red string of fate (76) - poly lost boys There's something wrong with the village (67)- Billy hargrove x tranmasc reader a little lokitty - (58) - one of my first drabble, 400 wordish lol
5. Do you respond to comments?
I always do, i rarely receive comments but when i do it brighten my day :) - one of my favorite comment ever is a transmasc that was really happy about reading a transmasc reader i wrote, it makes me happy every time i remember it.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I don't know how to write angst lol. But my angstiest fic is probably there's something wrong with the village.
7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
All of them have happy ending lol... but my favorite is a tie between someone who'll get it and Eternally yours, both written about the darling Felix...
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Got a mean comment on tumblr once, but beside that no. i'm most likely not known enough for that.
9. Do you write smut?
Well, i tried with tear you appart, and maybe with the felix fic i'm currently working on...
10. Craziest crossover?
Maybe the The Elders Scrolls IV Oblivion with Yuri on ice : i only wrote one chapter, but that's quite the improbable crossover lol.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not to my knowledge.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Did it myself, for Felix and Jeff the killer.
13. Have you co-written a fic before?
Never.
14. All time favorite ship?
Oh...
Yuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov... i love Yuri!!! on ice Felix/Demetri David/Michael Emerson - The lost boys Billy Hargrove/Eddie Munson /(Steve) - Stranger Things
I cannot think of anything else... at least not yet.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will
The Avalon high fic
16. What are your writing strengths?
To be honest, i have no idea. My writing is pretty?
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
I lack vocabulary in english, and my grammar is far from perfect.
18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language
Adding a few words here and there is nice, but i don't abuse of it.
19. First fandom you wrote for
The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, i was twelve i think. (this)
20. Favorite fic you've written
I love Black Swan, Tear you appart... It's a tie between my Felix fics tbh.
I don't tag anyone, but if you see this and haven't done it, feel free to do it!
| 20 questions for fic writers
Thank you very much for tagging me @agirllovespancakes . And apologies for this being exceptionally late!
To not clutter everyone's feeds terribly I have put everything below the 'keep reading'. Do take a look if you want to read my ramblings as well as getting to know my brain a little more intimately.
I even discuss some of my other fandoms and expose myself as somewhat of a shipper.
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
Currently I have nine works up on Archive of Our Own
2. What's your total ao3 word count?
37,793 words and counting, now my word count on this blog however... I dread thinking about it.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Currently I have only ever written for Twilight, though I have outlines and ideas for other fandoms. Among others;
Hunger Games
Final Fantasy VII
Pokemon
Lord Of The Rings
4. Top 5 fics by kudos
The Hands of Time (98)
I Gave You My Heart (62)
Equinox (45)
Snowfall (39)
If These Walls Could Talk (34)
5. Do you respond to comments?
... I am absolutely atrocious at replying on AO3, while on tumblr I have been slightly better at keeping up with feedback. I greatly appreciate every comment however.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
It has to be "Didyme's Demise". The short story details how she has faith in her dear brother, and does not even see her murder come.
7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
... I do not understand this concept. Though I guess "I Gave You My Heart" has a bittersweet ending.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I do not believe I have received direct hatred towards anything I have ever posted or written.
9. Do you write smut?
Yes, though I have crossed more into the... emotional/romantic sphere than the hardcore smut genre.
10. Craziest crossover?
... No crossovers so far.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I have experienced people pilfering my edits and graphics, but never any of my written work. That is something I am thankful for.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
No, but I am not against the practice as long as credit is given.
13. Have you co-written a fic before?
Never! Though I really wish to do a collaboration at some point. Though, a little thing I am finishing up has a lot of influence from a dear friend; with one of their own OC's making an appearance. A blending of verses if you may.
14. All time favorite ship?
I have never been a huge shipper within fandom spaces, nor do I have a one true pairing (do we still use OTP?) I will throw down over. Most of the time I find myself shipping characters with comfort, happiness and mental stability these days. Instead of one ship I will give a little list of ships I have read about the last decade and a half, exposing some of my previous and current fandoms...
Carlisle/Aro (Twilight)
Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Haruhi/Kyoya (OHSHC)
Rufus Shinra/Tseng (Final Fantasy VII)
Clarke Griffin/Lexa (The 100)
Yuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov (Yuri On Ice)
Chise Hatori/Elias Ainsworth (The Ancient Magus' Bride)
Oikawa Toru/Happiness&Success (Haikyu!!)
Also, someone recently dragged me into JJK, and I think anyone in the know understand why I cannot look away from the absolute tragedy that is Geto and Gojo, wether it be platonic or something more.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will
There is a work hidden in my vault that was begun while I was friends with someone. Now, this friendship has since turned sour, and because of that I do not know if it will see the light of day. It is Twilight related but it is centred around The Romanians.
16. What are your writing strengths?
The most common compliment I receive is "Beautiful", and seeing as though beauty is in the eye of the beholder I am inclined to say my strength is different for different people.
Personally I believe I have quite a good vocabulary, as well as being good with my metaphors.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Fast paced action rarely works well with my borderline purple prose, which is why some of my works sometimes feel very different in my opinion. The New Moon rewrite has a lot more action instead of introspection and feelings, that is a challenge for me.
18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language
If you do decide to add dialogue in another language; confer with someone who speaks said language if you are able to. Or, at the very least, do a lot of research so it does not sound off or out of character. The few times I have used Greek I have asked people who are native speakers for help!
Personally I think it can add a nice touch as long as it is not overdone.
19. First fandom you wrote for
Twilight! While I have been a part of fandom spaces ever since I was 12/13 this is the first time I created any sort of content for others to enjoy.
20. Favorite fic you've written
Of the ones that have been finished and published it has to be "He Loves Power, A Terrible Love". That piece will forever have my heart, and whenever i feel discouraged about my writing I return to it. It reminds me that my writing is in fact not half bad. Though I do believe a fanfic in the works called "As Above, So Below" will knock it down from its throne.
That one will have people showing up outside my house with pitchforks.
No pressure tagging
Anyone who feels inclined to join in on the fun!
10 notes · View notes
dcamerons · 5 years ago
Text
.
13 notes · View notes
taephilia · 3 years ago
Text
lost (myself) & found (you)
Tumblr media
pairing: jeon jungkook x gn!reader
genre: fluff, soulmate au, based off of kimi no na wa
warnings: one (1) swear word
word count: 2,120
a/n: i saw this quote from the movie and inspiration just struck and i haven't been able to get it out of my head since. ofc i wrote this for jungkook since he's a weeb and said he would also want to hear bells ring when he meets his soulmate <3 also this is not edited lol i'll come back to it later, i just wanted to get this out
Tumblr media
"Once in a while when I wake up, I find myself crying. The dream I must’ve had I can never recall. But… the sensation that I’ve lost something, lingers for a long time after I wake up." - Tachibana Taki, Kimi No Na Wa (2016)
Tumblr media
Jungkook isn’t sure how long he’s felt like this—felt like something is missing, something important, something that his heart just can’t seem to let go of even if his brain has already forgotten. He knows that he dreams of whatever it is. He recalls scenes as he goes about his day; a loud laugh here, a brush of a hand against his there. People that he’s never seen before walking by him in a city he’s never been to, music playing on the radio that he’s never heard, a family that he comes home to that he doesn’t recognize at all. It’s all very strange and Jungkook is starting to wonder if maybe the late night ramen he’s built up a habit of eating has gone bad or maybe the unhealthy amounts of salt in it are the cause behind this. Because it was all fun and games until Jungkook’s heart starts to ache, like it’s calling out to someone that his brain can’t even conjure up an image for. Someone that he would search the ends of the cosmos for, someone that, whenever he feels like he gets close to them, slips right through his fingers like grains of sand. But he shakes it off whenever the feeling comes and ignores the heavy feeling in his chest in favor of paying attention to that day’s classes. If he had somehow found his soulmate, it definitely wouldn’t be someone in his hometown in the countryside.
Soulmate. That’s who his grandfather had told him he’s been dreaming about ever since Jungkook confessed almost two months ago about the reason behind his ever-present furrowed brows and faraway look in his eyes. He says that it had happened to him when he was around Jungkook’s age but, like most dreams, he’s forgotten who it was. He then went on to talk about the red thread of fate and that’s when Jungkook started tuning out. It’s a nice concept to think about when you’re a child—a red string tied around your pinky that connects you to the person that you’re destined to be with—but it’s just a myth and Jungkook doesn’t have time to think about things that aren’t real. Not when he barely has the time to think about the things that are real, like college entrance exams and graduating from high school.
So he buries his head in his books and pours every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears into his studies to get into his dream college in Seoul. The yearning in his heart doesn’t go away but it’s eclipsed by the pure exhaustion that he feels at the end of every day. And, like most dreams, he forgets.
Tumblr media
Jungkook is 23 when he seriously begins to wonder whether or not he’s going crazy. He had thought he was going over the deep end while in college but hearing bells go off? Now that takes the cake. It happens at random; he never knows when the bells in his head will ring (and Jungkook knows that only he can hear them because nobody around him ever gives any sort of indication that they’ve heard them) no matter how much he tries to prepare for it. He checks his surroundings every day, eyes scanning over the crowds of people weaving around him in Seoul, but it’s no use. The only consistent location that they seem to chime in is when he’s on the metro and even then, it’s on random days, at random times, and not always at the same stop.
He’s not the type to go chasing after fairy tales, or at least, he isn’t anymore. He doesn’t have time to think hard and long about what these imaginary bells could mean, not when he has a job to do and people to impress and money to be made. And his grandfather died during his second year of college so the only conversation of “soulmates” that occurs now are the ones he has with himself in his head and the memories of their conversations years ago. But as fate would have it, Jungkook took a couple of days off to get an early start to the weekend and he is just itching for an adventure. So when he hears the bells go off while he’s making his way to his connecting train, he closes his eyes for a brief moment and puts himself into the hands of fate.
Jungkook allows his feet to carry him where they want, observing his surroundings and keeping an eye out for any person who gives any sort of indication to hearing something that they shouldn’t be hearing. He climbs up the stairs and out of the station, not giving any attention to the people who side-eye him for standing still on a bustling sidewalk, but looks down at his hand instead. In particular, at his pinky, which feels like there’s something squeezing at it. Like… like a thread that’s been tied snugly around it.
The red thread of fate, a voice in his head whispers to him and Jungkook almost chuckles out loud at the thought. And then almost laughs out loud again because, although he doesn’t believe in soulmates, his actions say otherwise. Because as much as Jungkook doesn’t believe in soulmates… Well, the thought of them and the red thread of fate being real is nice, isn’t it? Someone that you’re destined to be with, connected to by a string that can tangle and stretch but will never fray, keeping you tied to them for all eternity. It’s a comforting thought, especially when he thinks of his extremely lacking love life that comes with his high standards and fear of rejection.
Jungkook passes by a bakery during his fate-led walk and just as he’s considering stopping in to buy something, he hears the bells again. A light sound, one that could be mistaken for a phone notification, but one that he knows very well. But Jungkook’s soulmate must be as used to the sound as he is because no one around him gives any sort of indication that they’re also in search of him. And after an hour and a half of walking around a part of the city that he isn’t too familiar with, he’s ready to call it quits for the night. So Jungkook makes his way to the nearest metro station and gets on a train home.
Of course, that’s when he hears the bells again.
He looks up from his phone and around the crowded train but nobody has been able to move since the doors closed. And if it were someone near him, he would have heard them before. There’s a flash out of the corner of his eye and when Jungkook looks up and out the window of the sliding doors, he sees a pair of eyes staring back. A pair of eyes that are not his but in fact belong to someone in a train traveling right next to his. They stare right at him and mirror his own when they widen at the exact same time as his. But just as soon as Jungkook finds you, he loses you just as quickly when your train goes in a different direction.
Tumblr media
Jungkook spends the entire day the next day looking for you. He manages to cross off everything on his “things to do when I’m in Seoul” bucket list that he’s been adding on to for the past 10 years. His feet hurt, his wallet feels significantly lighter than when he first left his apartment, and he’s wondering how much weight he lost from walking what feels like the entire expanse of Seoul three times over. And even after all that, he hasn’t heard the bells. Not once.
And it’s at this point, when Jungkook decides to eat dinner at his favorite ramen shop before calling it a night, that he begins to wonder if he had missed his chance last night. Not like it was much of a chance considering the fact that you were on a different train and he had no way of getting to you. But fate is cruel, isn’t that what some people say? Maybe his thread is just so tangled, so frayed, that it’ll take a lifetime before he’s able to get another glimpse at you. And Jungkook just isn’t that patient.
He can barely even remember what you look like anymore. Maybe it’s the hunger eating away at his stomach and the aching of his feet but as he eats his ramen, he can only recall vague details about you. Like how he wants to drown in your eyes, how soft your skin looks even through two dirty train door windows, and how he thinks your shiny hair probably smells nice - like vanilla or peaches or something. But your face? Absolutely nothing. It’s like he blacked out the second he looked up at you last night.
Jungkook leans back in his seat as he sips at his water, staring out the window of the shop as if you would walk past right that second. But you don’t. So Jungkook throws a couple of bills down onto the table for a tip and heads out, a sigh leaving his lips when he looks around but doesn’t hear any bells. Now that he’s had a chance to sit down and eat, he feels a bit more rational and more determined to find you—but that can wait until tomorrow after he’s had a good night’s sleep. It’s a bit later in the evening so there’s barely anyone around him as he makes his way to the nearest metro station that will take him home. Jungkook is just about to descend the stairs when something makes him stop. He’s not really sure what it is that he stops for; the bus honking on the street beside him or the group of friends laughing as they walk by him? Or perhaps it’s the person at the bottom of the stairs, their eyes looking down as they climb up, but Jungkook just knows that it’s you.
Well, he doesn’t actually know. He’s pretty sure it’s you. It feels like it’s you. But is that fate talking or just his hopeful heart? Jungkook decides not to say anything and slowly walks down the stairs. The bells will tell him if he’s right. Your eyes glance up and meet his and Jungkook sees them widen, but like him, you don’t say anything. Are you waiting to hear your own bells?
He shoves his hands deep into the pocket of his hoodie, eyes quickly darting away from yours to stare holes into the ground as he keeps walking. His heart beats faster with every step and he has to resist the urge to just stare at you point blank because he needs to know and-
He hears the bells. And it’s like a weight is taken off of his shoulders.
But he keeps walking. And you keep walking. And now Jungkook is panicking because why the fuck is he still walking? You’re his soulmate, he found you, so why isn’t he stopping? Jungkook tries to get his feet to stop moving, to just turn around and call out to you but he can’t. What would he even say? ‘Hey, you’? He doesn’t even know your name. ‘I think you’re my soulmate’? How disgustingly cliche. What if you don’t even care that he’s your soulmate? What if you’re already seeing someone? What if he’s the only one that can hear the bells for you and you hear them for someone else? What if-
“Um, excuse me?”
Jungkook almost trips on the last step from how fast he turns around at the sound of your voice. His hands feel clammy but he keeps them in his pocket otherwise you’d be able to see how they’re shaking ever so slightly. He drags his eyes up to yours and suddenly, every bit of anxiety he felt is suddenly gone. Is this what it’s supposed to feel like?
“Have we met before? You seem really familiar.”
You’re at the top of the stairs now but you step down a few steps, as if you want to get closer. Jungkook climbs back up a few steps because he does want to get closer. There’s an easy smile on his face as he says, “Found you.”
He isn’t sure where it came from. He isn’t even exactly sure what he means. But it feels like the right thing to say, like something that he’s vaguely remembering from a dream he had a long time ago. And judging from the matching smile on your own face, you know what Jungkook means.
“Took you long enough.”
179 notes · View notes
beepboop358 · 3 years ago
Text
Victor Creel Theories
(also includes ST movie DNA series: Star Wars)
Victor Creel is described as "a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the 1950s." We know he will be institutionalized at Penthurst mental hospital, where Peter Ballard works, based on leaked on set pics.
There a few possibilities regarding his character:
He could be a former test subject with some kind of powers and a connection to the upside down (which would also follow the even/odd season pattern of a main character being directly involved with the upside down creatures) I think it's highly likely that Victor Creel will be involved with the mystery/danger in Hawkins in some way, and have a connection to the upside down. He could also be disturbed on top of this, and he could be involved in Eleven's storyline this season.
That he is not a test subject and is ONLY mentally disturbed.
He may be related to one of the already established characters. Most likely Joyce, and maybe Terry but it's a stretch.
Before I go any further into that last possibility, I just want to preface that this idea of an "evil father/grandfather with powers" could be a purposeful Star Wars parallel. The Duffer brothers have already paralleled and used Star Wars references a few times in the show:
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
In Star Wars, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father, and Palpatine is Rey's grandfather (aka the literal worst guy in the universe). A common theme in ST is abusive/bad fathers - that post here. Interesting...
Palpatine is also Anakin Skywalker's father, so Luke and Leia are both the grandkids of Palpatine as well as Rey is, but it's unclear if they are just force midichlorian related or actually dna related as well but I won't get into that here!
Luke and Rey are both force sensitive (have powers), so are Darth Vader and Palpatine; their descendants (kid/grandkid) have powers, and so do they (father/grandfather) The descendants use their powers for good, while the ancestors use their power for evil. Who has powers in ST? Eleven and Will - and they both already have this idea of abusive/bad/evil fathers: Will has an abusive father Lonnie, and Eleven has an abusive father figure Dr. Brenner "Papa".
So... Victor Creel being the evil/bad grandfather to either Eleven or Will and the evil/bad father to Joyce or Terry, would make a FULL Star Wars parallel to people who are morally good and have powers (Will and El - Luke and Rey), discovering they are the descendant of an evil male figure who also has powers (Victor Creel - Darth Vader and Palpatine)
If Victor Creel turns out to be the father of anyone in the show my bets are it's either Joyce Byers or maybeee Terry Ives.
If he was a test subject, its likely he went "crazy" with some of his powers and the government couldn't cover it up so they declare him mentally insane to get him committed, and he probably goes insane being locked away as well. Personally, I think he may be 001 or an early test subject, when they were still working out the kinks of the program, and I think he does have a big connection to the upside down.
The Duffer Brother's on s4: "In Hawkins a new horror is beginning to surface, something long buried, something that connects everything"....
Now let's get into the possibilities for Creel's storyline/who he could be related to (split into 3 parts).
Part 1: Creel could be Joyce's father
Based on Victor Creel's description as "disturbed" and that he is "in a psychiatric hospital", it could connect him to Joyce's bloodline.
There are several comments in the show hinting to this idea of mental instability in Joyce's family:
s1 ep.5: When Lonnie comes to visit in s1 after Will goes missing, Joyce says to Lonnie "No, don't look at me like that, like how everyone is looking at me, like I'm out of my damn mind" He responds saying "I think you need to consider the possibility that this is all in your head. Remember your Aunt Darlene?" Joyce quickly replies, "No, this is not that."
That conversation, although quick, is very telling. Lonnie is implying that Joyce had an aunt who was mentally unstable - and Joyce clearly knows about her aunt being unstable because she responds to his comment by saying what's she's experiencing is not that (the mental instability of her aunt)
s2 ep.2: Joyce says to Bob, "this is not a normal family", when he suggest moving out of Hawkins.
I used to think Joyce was always was referring to the whole 'my son got stuck in an alternate dimension with supernatural monsters and is now traumatized, and we were sworn to secrecy by the government' thing but maybe she is also referring to her biological family.
s1 ep.2: When they are searching for Will, one of the other police officers, says "Joyce is one step from the edge" and the other officer responds "She has been several steps for quite a while now".
If Joyce is related to Victor Creel biologically, and he did also happen to be a test subject, has powers, or has some other relation to the upside down, this could possibly have contributed to whatever kind of abilities Will has, because he would be a descendant of Creel. But Joyce does not seem to have any powers and neither does Jonathan. If they were related to Creel, it's odd that they both didn't get powers, but Will did. I've always thought Will was born with his powers, like El.
We know almost nothing about Joyce's past, it's never discussed in the slightest in the show, which I feel like is purposeful. We don't know Joyce's maiden name; she doesn't change it back after she and Lonnie divorce. Maybe the Duffers are saving Joyce's backstory for s4 (and possibly s5), like I think they are doing with Will and El's connection. Will, El, Hopper, and Joyce were pictured in a series of 4 tweets posted by the stranger writers, hinting to the main 4 storylines for season 4. My analyzation of this tweet here.
I think it's possible that Joyce's storyline this season could also have to do with her past- not just her searching for Hopper- but also more personal information about her. Perhaps we will see flashbacks of younger Joyce and maybe learn about her biological relatives.
Noah also said this would be the darkest season for Will, so this idea of being the grandkid of someone evil or disturbed could fit into that.
Part 2: Creel could be Terry's father/Eleven's grandfather
The only other person I could see potentially having a biological; relation to Victor Creel could be Terry Ives and Eleven, (because it would complete the Star Wars parallel mentioned earlier) but it's a stretch for several reasons, the main one being that Terry and Becky's father Bill Ives, died in a car crash (year unknown).
So for Victor Creel to be Terry's father that either has to be:
Her adoptive father OR
Her mother cheated and led Mr. Ives to believe Terry was his kid but her father is really Victor Creel, and Becky is actually Bill Ives son (which would explain why Becky has no powers)
Right of the bat it's interesting Terry's father's name is Bill. Bill is a nickname for William (Will Byers full name is William), and Billy's a nickname also for William... Hmmm....
Immediately after El is born, Terry is adamant that Brenner stole her child to use as a weapon to fight the commies BECAUSE SHE HAD SPECIAL ABILITIES - and she's completely right about everything. How does Terry know El had powers immediately after she was born? Because she knows she has developed some kind of special abilities from the experiments as well. When El goes to visit her mother in s2, THE LIGHTS FLICKER, just like they do when the upside down is near, but it's not Eleven controlling it. Her Aunt Becky says it's just the wiring, and Eleven responds: "IT'S MAMA. She wants to talk." And then we see Terry's NOSE BLEED, just like El's does when she uses her powers.
Quick side note about El's biological father is Andrew Rich: (It's revealed in the canon novel Suspicious Minds that Andrew Rich is El's father) He was a college student who got expelled from school due to protesting the Nixon address, making him eligible to be drafted in the Vietnam war, and he died in battle. Terry was involved in the Project MKUltra experiments at Hawkins National Laboratory in College, under the direction of Dr. Martin Brenner, but didn't know she was pregnant at the time. Andrew never even knew Terry was pregnant, meaning she was extremely early on in her pregancy at the time he was sent away, not even Terry was aware yet. It's also stated in this book that BRENNER HAD A HAND IN GETTING ANDREW EXPELLED SO HE COULD SEND ANDREW AWAY. The novel states that Brenner has Andrew drafted because he wants to SCARE Terry, to show her how much power he has over her life. There's definitely some history between Terry and Brenner that we don't know about yet.
If Victor Creel is in fact Joyce's father it's interesting that the powers seem to have skipped a generation with Joyce, and also one kid with the Byers, but if Victor Creel is Terry's father, no generations were skipped in passing down powers. ANYWAYS, this is all just theories and speculation since we have no actual concrete reasons to believe he will be related to Joyce or Terry.
Part 3: The possibility that Creel could be involved in Eleven's storyline this season does not rely on them being biologically related.
**One of the filming locations for this season is the Claremont House, which is RUMORED to be Creel's house and also "Vecna's lair" the new monster for s4 (unconfirmed) This is the house the Hawkins group goes into in the ST4 sneak peek, where they see the grandfather clock striking midnight. If that's true, there's a connection between Creel and the upside down and having powers, which could connect Creel to Eleven. The Duffers: "In Hawkins a new horror is beginning to surface, something long buried, something that connects everything". This thing "that connects everything", could be Creel's storyline (his possible connection to the lab/upside down/person in the show), because Creel's storyline also spans all the way back to the 1950's and before that, so there's our "long buried" part most likely.
Robert Englund recently revealed in *an interview* that his character Victor Creel gouges his eyes out, making him unable to see. Englund also mentions what it's like working with Millie Bobby Brown and talks about the first time her met her, he doesn't mention any other cast members in detail like he does Millie.
He's clearly working closely with Millie's character Eleven.
But why? I think Creel could be involved with Eleven getting her powers back, and her reliving her past. Once the government baddies realize El has no powers, they're gonna want them back. If Creel was in fact a test subject, maybe there is some kind of connection between them, Such as Eleven revisiting what happened to her in her past and how that could relate to her getting her powers back.
Another thought I had was that perhaps the gruesome murder he committed is somehow related to something that ends up impacting in Eleven's life.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whatever Victor Creel's storyline is, it will be an important one, and it will carry somewhat into s5, since he will be a returning character. He is not signed as a series regular, but as a recurring character, which means we don't really know to what capacity he will be in s5. It could be flashbacks mostly, or he could have just as big or small of a role.
Source: indie wire
Tumblr media
That detail about eyes being gouged out reminds me of fear street 1666 when the townsmen who was sacrificed to the devil becomes possessed and gouges the kids eyes out. Leigh Janick, director of fear street, is married to Ross Duffer. They both direct and make horror/sci-fi themed series about kids in a small town set in the 80's, who fight supernatural evil with a heavy undertone of queer themes, that are even filmed in a lot of the same locations (the mall, the town streets, etc.) I'm not saying it's the same thing, it definitely won't be. But there's so many similarities between ST and Fear Street, I thought I would mention this as another.
60 notes · View notes
norcumii · 3 years ago
Text
...oh thanks, Tumblr, it wasn’t like I was trying to answer that ask or anything. -_-
OHKAY. Take two! For this trope mashup meme, @dogmatix asked:
Rex/Obi or pairing/characters of choice - Apocalyse AU / Mermaid/Siren AU / Aroused by their voice
This modern!AU got a liiiiiittle bit more absurdist than planned, but NO REGRETS. Assistance was provided by @dharmaavocado and @deadcatwithaflamethrower -- THANK YOU BOTH!
*****
There was a lovely breeze coming in across the ocean, the sky had just enough puffy white clouds to keep things interesting, and Rex was taking a maintenance day. The last family group of tourists to charter a day trip had included several children that were at least two parts sticky and three parts grime. His poor Vigilance needed a serious scrub down, and Rex was not looking forward to restocking. Small Grubby Fiend 1 had stumbled – supposedly due to a sudden swell, but more likely because Small Grubby Fiends 2 and 3 hadn’t stopped ‘not kicking’ each other for way too long. Not being an entire idiot, Rex has gone right for the band-aids with cartoon characters, but since it wasn’t a cartoon Small Grubby Fiend 1 liked, that meant another – until all three Small Grubby Fiends had been plastered with far more of his first aid kit than was good for anyone.
It had been a long day.
So there he was, untangling life-vests that hadn’t even been used, while singing along with whatever music was playing from the boat’s speakers. Rex wasn’t sure if the music was pop, rock, or some other unholy category he’d never heard of, but thankfully it didn’t matter. He liked it, and could figure out which of Tup’s mix tapes it was on, which was the important thing.
Tup always made hilarious offended noises when Rex called them mix tapes, which was a significant reason why he did so. They were music folders, sensibly labeled by mood, because his little brother had realized at some point that was the only way to keep Rex up to date on anything past the 90’s grunge music.
Tup’s accusation, not his. Rex damn well knew how to use a radio – several kinds of radio, thank you very much.
He was several songs into mind-numbing chores when he spotted a flash of red streaking under the dock, and Rex ducked his head to hide a grin. He’d started spotting movement like that a couple of weeks ago, around the time the neighbors descended on their beach house. There were several ginger teenagers, so he figured one of them was a hell of a water rat who had damn odd taste in music.
To be fair, so did he.
It’d been weird at first, realizing he had an audience that disappeared the moment he acknowledged their existence. But the most he heard or saw out of them beyond the momentary glimpse was a bit of percussion, someone drumming in time against the water – and once, the dock itself – so Rex had shrugged and accepted their presence. It was kinda nice, actually, just to have someone around. He lived a ways off the end of a long, sparsely populated road, and while he didn’t mind the solitude, sometimes you just wanted another–
Rex’s train of thought went off the rails with a loud yelp as he discovered something slimy stuck to the back of a life-vest. It might have been edible once – it was a shade of radioactive green he didn’t associate with anything other than candy or video games, at least, so that was his best guess. Much as he wanted to blame the Small Grubby Fiends, he hadn’t done more than a spot check of these vests for awhile – could’ve been anyone.
Ugh. At least unlike some clients he could name, Rex’s eavesdropper wasn’t vandalizing anything. Wasn’t about to begrudge that.
Rex had managed to get most of the neon green grossness cleared when the rumble of an approaching car caught his attention. He wasn’t expecting visitors, not that that had ever stopped any of his brothers. Lost delivery drivers usually turned around before hitting up the driveway, which was long enough and had enough private property signs to keep out idiots looking for easy water access.
“Who the hell is this?” he muttered, setting the vest aside. He didn’t recognize the little black car, or the burly guy stepping out of the passenger’s side, but the guy waved and casually started towards Rex as if he knew who the hell he was.
Not reassuring, especially since the stranger rapped the car’s roof, and it headed back up the driveway.
“You seem lost,” Rex said, standing up and trying to look just the right level of intimidating.
“Nope,” the guy said back, still heading towards him. “Need your boat.”
“That’s work related – you need to wait till I’m back at the marina tomorrow. I’m at home, it’s my day off.”
Burly guy finally stopped, planting his hands on his hips – a move which just happened to part the jacket of his cheap suit enough that Rex could see the gun he carried. “I don’t think you understand, Mr. Fett. I don't want any trouble – I just want you to head inside, and take that day off while I borrow your boat.”
Oh, FUCK. Nobody really talked about how the mob owned most of the marinas in Tatooine Bay, but you didn’t need to declare water was wet to get drenched in the rain. It just wasn’t something that ever happened to someone you knew, just friends of friends or something.
“And if I don’t agree?” he couldn’t keep from asking.
Burly Guy had a surprisingly expressive shrug. “Most people don’t enjoy pushing their luck that far.”
To his credit, it was a remarkably polite threat. “I’m surprised anyone ever does.”
“Eh, every now and then there’s some freaky masochist looking for cheap thrills, but it ain’t my kink. Don’t think it’s yours, either, so if you’d just head inside, that’d be appreciated.”
The smart move was probably to comply. Rex wasn’t inclined to cooperate anyways. He was saved from making either bad decision by...sound.
It didn’t register as singing – there was something too off about it, a combination that wasn’t quite autotune, or that polyphonic singing Echo had gotten into when Fives got obsessed with the guitar. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t right in a way that was madly distracting.
The...singing? – pulled both Rex and the goon around towards the end of the dock, and if Rex hadn’t been so muzzy-headed from that sound he would have been gaping much more blatantly.
There was someone slipping out from under the dock, and it was most definitely not one of the neighbors.
It was a trim, shirtless figure in the water – ginger indeed, short red hair just dry enough to be messy spikes. Pale skin was freckled in scales of shimmering reds, protective lines over what would be vulnerable areas on a human. It swam close enough to the surface that Rex could see the sleek fins and tail, and part of his brain kept screaming ‘mermaid!’ while the rest took in the long, sharp claws on webbed hands and whispered ‘predator.’ Its singing showed sharply pointed teeth, and it should not have been nearly that gorgeous.
The mermaid glanced over at him, eyes a deep blue-on-blue that could never masquerade as human, flicking a look up and down him that could have been flattering or terrifying – it all depended on if that was measuring him for a meal euphemistically or not.
The singing changed as the creature turned its attention back to the goon, and the magnetic pull on Rex lessened. He staggered back a step, not too surprised to find he was halfway down the dock without noticing. The hazy feeling in his brain stopped, or at least dropped down to levels that were close enough to normal, so he got a clear view as the goon started walking into the water, oblivious to everything except the mer-siren-thing he was shambling towards.
The siren moved when the goon was almost waist deep in the water, flowing forward to delicately place a hand at the goon’s throat. The singing continued, but now there was a new undertone, soft and somehow questioning. Rex couldn’t tell if there were words to it or not – maybe a whole other language for all he knew – but the goon responded, voice soft enough that he couldn’t make out what was said.
Whatever he said, it didn’t please the siren. It kept singing, but it snarled, showing more of those pointed teeth, then it twisted and dove, hauling the unresisting goon under the water.
A terrifying few moments more, and the last hums of the song seemed to stop vibrating through the water.
“What the absolute fuck?” Rex said numbly. Thank everything, no one answered.
A smart man would’ve hidden inside, or driven off to a movie theater or something – inland and away. Rex wasn’t sure why he stayed: curiosity – morbid or otherwise – shock, or a healthy disbelief in the whole debacle. He was maybe a bit too numb to not have some kind of shock, but –
He felt like he maybe deserved it. “Yeah, I can have a bit of shock,” Rex muttered to himself. “As a treat.”
Okay, he might have more than a bit. But by the time the siren poked his head out of the water again – politely out of arms’ reach – Rex had calmed down a decent degree. They just looked at each other for a bit, then the siren gave him a polite nod.
“Hello there,” he said in a pleasant, deep voice with a hell of an accent.
Rex held up a hand, needing a moment. Of fucking course the British even colonized under the goddamned sea. “Hi. You speak English.” It wasn’t quite the most inane thing he could’ve said, but his brain hadn’t managed to catch up yet.
He was talking to a goddamned mermaid who had just kidnapped and possibly eaten some mob thug who’d been trying to take Rex’s boat. It had been a day.
“You’re not the first land-dweller I’ve made the acquaintance of.”
Rex absolutely refused to make any kind of a crack about being charmed. There was too much hysteria lurking in there. “Speaking of acquaintances, you didn’t, ah, kill that guy, did you?”
The siren’s lips pulled back from his teeth a little. “I still haven’t decided what to do with him, so right now he’s out of the way.” He must’ve seen something impressive in Rex’s expression, because the angry disdain smoothed over to something more neutral. “He’s stashed in a cave I know. Enough air to breathe, but the only entrance is underwater and too far for most humans to swim without assistance.”
That was...a lot. “Thanks for the help.”
The siren smiled, an oddly sweet, bashful expression. “I’d be a very poor guest if I didn’t assist.” He cleared his throat, his expression going awkward. “Though I...suppose ‘guest’ is a bit presumptive.”
Rex grinned. “No, I spotted you a couple weeks ago – ah, I mean, sort of.” Before he could make more a hash of that, he cleared his throat. “The name’s Rex.”
The siren folded his hands together and did a little bow thing. “Obi-Wan. Pleasure to meet you.”
He wasn’t blushing. He absolutely was not blushing. “So...you in town for long?” Ok, now he was blushing, that was worst subject change ever meeting worst fishing attempt – meeting worst and wildly inappropriate pun.
Obi-Wan’s expression fell, sorrow way too visible in those non-human eyes. “I suppose you could say that. I...no longer have a home to return to.”
Definitely not a topic to change to. Right. Rex cleared his throat and shifted. “Well. You’re welcome anytime, for what that’s worth.”
The slow-growing smile didn’t remove that sorrow, but it did kindle something warm inside. This was at least three different kinds of trouble, but Rex didn’t think he’d regret any of it.
~end
66 notes · View notes
i-only-know-fandoms · 3 years ago
Text
Descendants Royal Wedding and why it wasn’t as good as you think
I’m seeing a lot about how great Descendants Royal Wedding was and it’s just.... not? It actually upset me a lot so can I lay it out for you?
Elephant in the room is sweet, sweet Carlos and sweet, sweet Cameron, our Angel. No way of doing this without his would have been easy (Honestly it wasn’t needed but I was excited for new content until it got closer and the end is very revealing as to why they did this). But they championed they were honoring him, but not in way they should be patting themselves on the back for like they are. It was sweet, don’t get me wrong! Let me explain.
They imply Carlos is dead (I’ll get into my problem with that later) (also I refuse). They never outright say it but that’s the closest we get to an explanation so.... But they have the “I wish Carlos was here scene” and then his charm on Mal’s bracelet glows at the end, which is something, but not as big and grand as they made it seem like they were. Beyond those moments he is never mentioned. Ever. It’s like he doesn’t exist except for their mini memorial so they can say they honored Cameron. 
“Well what would you have them do?”
Well first off, not kill of Carlos. That’s not honoring Cameron at all.
“You’d have them replace Cameron!?!”
Absolutely not. At the very least Disney hasn’t tried to do that (what they are doing with how the short ending is Not Good though. Please be patient, I will get to that)
“What would have them do? Have some half assed excuse to why he’s not there?”
I mean, it wouldn’t have been ideal but I think it would have been better? I don’t think killing Carlos is honoring Cameron at all. Descendants is big for Disney (Channel at least). If Carlos stays around, it’s like part of Cameron is still here, heling people, keeping his memory alive. Killing him (and not even properly explaining it) is more disrespectful.
What would have been ideal is if Carlos was there and either not talked but still was with them participating. I mean, Jay barely talked. They could have made it work. Or, they could have used old dialogue Cameron has done in the past. The past Descendants, Jessie, Gamer’s Guide, maybe some interviews Disney did. They would have access to that and not have to pay anyone to get it. Throw in a few generic lines and he has as big of a role Jay does.
“That sounds easy to say but hard to do”
Probably, but everything in art is and it would have been worth it. Besides, no offense to the animators who were probably overworked as is, but the whole thing seemed rushed? They’re isle outfits were basically color blocks. Again, the animators did a wonderful job, it would be Disney’s fault for rushing it to get it out (Probably for the ending. Be patient!)
“Wait! You said you don’t want Cameron replaced, so how could he live on through Carlos’ story”
Books? Most of the content from Descendants is from books (which the movies ignore along with Wicked World, which is a whole other issue I have. Like, you just had to mention Freddie or CJ, not cast them or anything. The cross media continuity could have been beautiful. What happened to  Beelzebub, is she okay? This haunts me)
But yeah, books. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos could still have meaningful and important adventures together in books, it would honor Cameron, and he wouldn’t be replaced. H*ck, they could have had a way deeper story if they made the Wedding a book, or even a graphic novel (that sounds like I’m belittling graphic novels but I assure you that’s not what I mean. I think a graphic novel would be a shorter story than a novel, even was used on content sized. I assume it would be like the mangas in length verses Melissa De La Cruz books) That would be a better and more lasting way to honor him
Just a little thing here that ties in the Descendants 3 complaints I have. They make it seem like Maleficent loves Mal and is maybe a good Mom? You spend the first two movies and the books nailing in their parents are abusive and terrible and they are afraid of them but the it’s all “Oh, they really love their kids, it’s not that bad” ??? Like, I’m sure not everyone parent was evil to their kids, I can believe Smee was a loving father, but the other are canonically bad and abusive and it’s actually upsetting they threw that all to the side and pretended it wasn’t real? More of a D3 complaint but they have Maleficent too nice and loving, even as a lizard in this. (Also why didn’t she turn back when she went back to the Isle in D2? Mal’s curse breaks in D3 when she crosses the barrier)
“Please, tell us why you hate the ending already!”
It’s an obvious cash grab? They want to make more money from the franchise but can’t continue without Cameron, and Dove, Sofia, and Booboo wouldn’t continue without him (this was hard enough for them) so they needed a new story to tell since they hate books I guess? This wasn’t made to tie up Mal’s story, it was there for them to add in the “someone else’s story is starting” as showing that Alice in Wonderland tease so they can move on without Cameron and the others and still make their money without caring about the actors that made the story what it is or the characters they created and people or the existing stories. That’s not honoring Cameron, that’s finding a way to make more money without having to dedicate it to Cameron or worry about what to do with Carlos. It’s disgusting. 
Listen, the past few days I’ve been panicking about this (not a panic attack, I’m not making light of those and I have had several, but my chest was going tight and my heart was racing off and on when I thought about it) because I was so worried they were going to kill Carlos and shove him to the side and not really care about him, and they kind of did? At least I’m angry instead of frightened now but it’s bumming me out that it’s being praised so much. Hopefully I’m not the only one to feel this way......
(sorry, this get long and I don’t feel like proof reading but tonight has made me Tired)
119 notes · View notes
spacewizardtrek · 4 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media
WARNING: This post will ruin you. Like Medusa; look at your peril.
But here is is. It’s the one you’ve all been waiting for.
Kirk bod appreciation #7: The RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL FACE. A highly technical and academic review.
This is a rather nebulous one. And not, on the face of it (pardon the pun) very philosophical, as it’s essentially about Kirk being stupidly pretty. This post probably will (it will) descend into just screaming and sobbing, but there will be, I promise, *some* meaningful insight into the meaning of ‘beauty’ and textual analysis of its role herein.
Beauty is subjective. But look at him. It’s not just being aesthetic, but it’s the *way* he’s aesthetic. Here I might repeat myself a bit, but stay with me. I may have mentioned before once hearing him described as ‘beautiful in the way women are often described as beautiful’. He is PRETTY. He is indeed often conveyed in the way the women stereotypically (not necessarily rightly) are on screen: perfect, smooth skin; soft, big eyes; luscious lips (his body is sensually curvaceous and furthermore it’s emphasised). He’s not androgynous though. He’s masculine. And yet I still sense what was meant in describing him as ‘beautiful in the way women are often described as beautiful’. He is a rather uncommon form of gender fuckery. He is a form of stereotype-subversion not commonly acknowledged. He seems to be everything at once, ALL THE GENDER; combines whichever traits he desires from those categories, and yet is undeniably a man and masculine whatever the ingredients. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE, one might wonder. The fact of the matter is, that it IS. And it teaches us something.
Tumblr media
The FUCK. nO. You are not allowed to be that pretty, and you are NOT allowed to look at her like that. We’re trying to have a SENSIBLE DISCUSSION here.
Sorry, that was a non-sequitur / nothing to do with what we learn by Kirk’s embodiment; I was just ambushed by my own gif. Only the control of a Vulcan. ONLY that could possibly withstand this onslaught. And even that won’t hold up forever AS WE WELL KNOW
God.
This is going well, as you can tell.
OK. So, it’s claimed he has Eyes and Stupidly Long Weakness-Inducing Eyelashes. You know, from all that fanfic that goes on about ‘big, sparkling eyes’ and him fanning his ‘long, copper eyelashes’. I mean, yeah right, tropey mc tropeface -
Tumblr media
IT’S TRUE. HE IS LITERALLY AN ANIME PRINCESS.
There are some moments where he just BLINKS and, how to describe it...how does a BLINK have that effect. It’s NOT ALLOWED.
...I’m sorry. It IS allowed. All of it. I am not shaming you your beauty. Never change, Jim. Never.
OK. I’m ok. 3 pics down, we can get through this -
Tumblr media
Oh you are joking. Stop.
I don’t understand how anyone can be so beautiful. Life is a lie. Reality is fake -
Tumblr media
- you did NOT just turn your big anime eyes on Spock. You do know this is why he ran away to PURGE ALL HIS EMOTIONS?
And for that matter, you know when Kirk looks his most beautiful? Literally WHEN HE’S LOOKING AT SPOCK. Spock talks some bollocks and Kirk just sparkles like a fucking angel:
Tumblr media
Unbelievable. But utterly undeniable.
Sigh. Moving on.
Oh - someone once suggested I talk about The Lips. Lips are so wonderful aren’t they. So many wonderful things they can do.
And Kirk’s. They’re there in every picture: perfect, rosy, soft and madness-inducing. My advice is just...don’t think about them. But since I’ve been asked to draw attention to them, well, you’ve just sealed your fate. Scroll down at your peril.
Tumblr media
I WARNED YOU.
I am pulling NO punches.
Tumblr media
I’ve seen this great meme going around:
Tumblr media
Excuse me though....CUTE?
That’s the understatement of the 23rd century.
Try impossibly beautiful, mind and body: heart of solid gold, soul deep in love with you. Those eyes and all their passion burned into your memories a thousand times over, along with - maybe, suggestibly, idk I’m extrapolating from all the goddamn tension - even the one unforgettable time he laid between lily-white sheets and gave himself to you; every gift of the mind, body and soul - and your ostensibly-forced Vulcan conditioning, that completely ignored how incompatible one part of you was with it, caused so much dissonance that you thought the only possible course of action for you both to survive was to BREAK UP, tear yourself from this beauty and love and sweetness to PURGE ALL EMOTIONS because nothing, nothing equipped you for this; you were set up specifically to fail, and fail hard in the face of transcendental love and beauty by those who rejected such things and didn’t understand you and could never imagine this for you and who instead of helping your beautiful neurodivergent brain flourish taught you to repress and caused you pain and shame and Gol was so hard and Kirk was so sad, so very sad and depressed and hurt and yet he couldn’t stop loving you with a bond so strong he called to you across the stars and Gol was all for naught yet you still didn’t know how to live like this, it was torture, torture until the mind meld with the living machine flashed your BIOS and you knew, love.exe was suddenly running with no errors and he came after you and held you and you held hands and, and -
.
*sobbing*
.
just...give me a moment
.
YOU WONDER WHAT THE SUBTEXT (FRIKKIN’ MAIN TEXT) OF STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE WAS ALL ABOUT???
The pain?? The angst?? The two logical entities seeking contact, love, THIS SIMPLE FEELING? That fucking moment when spock walks on the bridge and the only way he can control himself is to be SUPER Vulcan, while his love gazes at him with those EYES, fucking huge and glittering and hurt and loving?? Is it so much a mystery what memories these two are carrying, what’s behind the searing tension???????
Tumblr media
Love him. Love him Spock. Take him in your arms and love him. He’s for you. All for you. Fucking hell guys. The fuck. This movie.
.
ok.
ok I can do this
Tumblr media
CAN U NOT
those damn eyes I swear
Tumblr media
It’s obviously not all just superficial physical beauty. What IS beauty? Narratively we do sometimes find this ‘prettiness’ enhanced and emphasized like the old vaseline lens to set the tone of a scene (he’s vulnerable and delicate, or someone’s indeed in love with him so we see their ‘lens’ on him); but it is somewhat intangible and nebulous and changeable. I don’t think aesthetic beauty, if one deems it so, on its own, would be enough for the likes of Spock (indeed, no woman could charm him thusly); it's about something deeper. It’s about who he is. Who he is inside: the beautiful AND the imperfect. How his good and bad - how his ‘all’ -  chimes with Spock’s 'all’. The Enemy Within deals with this, and shows how Spock loves all of Kirk, wants him complete, with both his light and shadow. The beauty of all of us is this totality and variance, not one intangible quality.
I’ll bet Spock’s parents knew immediately. Can you imagine Sarek trying to be a total bitch over Kirk, having heard the rumours and just wanting to have one more thing to reject Spock over, immediately projecting onto Kirk as some blow-up pretty-boy and how Incredibly More Disappointing My Son Is for being Obviously In Love With Stupid Illogical Human Doll Face Bubble Butt Bimbo Captain, and Amanda’s like, stfu, let me remind you Kirk is actually a Fucking Amazing Highly Decorated Starship Captain who Saves Your Life and don’t you DARE resent him just because he’s got tits/ass/tum/lips that won’t quit and is obviously the freakin’ sun Spock orbits. Mr ‘I married a human but that was special because it was logical’ or some bullshit. How is Kirk an illogical choice? I mean literally, Spock is a Science Genius™ on the federation’s FLAGSHIP whose well-matched Genius Captain™ understands him, accepts him, brings the best out of him, helps him fulfil his whole potential and is in love with him in the deepest and purest way and will be his bonded soulmate for ALL OF TIME and that fucking sour-faced bih at the start of that ep, ffs.
Of course Amanda stays in touch with Kirk, adores the fuck out of him, sends him old Vulcan lit on t’hy’la bonds (yes sarek, a T’HY’LA bond, so revered freakin’ poets write about it) etc because frankly her son could do FAR FUCKING WORSE.
Tumblr media
FAR. FUCKING. WORSE.
Tumblr media
Don’t...just don’t slip the bod into the equation, the face is enough for one post. We’re all in therapy for this already, let’s not relapse.
Tumblr media
Oh, what’s the use. I’m gonna die. This is it. This is like the Monty Python joke that is so funny it kills you. This man is lethal. I need to stop this thread and purge all my emotions
Tumblr media
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
That’s it. I’m dead. You’re dead. We’re all dead.
I hope, however, seeing this post was worth it. See you at Gol everyone.
.
.
The Forbidden Texts, DO NOT READ:
Kirk bod appreciation #6: The Curves. The Front. The...chest. AND THE AMAZING GREEN WRAP
Kirk bod appreciation #5: The Paws
Kirk bod appreciation #4: The Curves. The Back. Poetry in motion.  
Kirk bod appreciation #3: Season 3 (Part 1)
Kirk bod appreciation #2b: The Gluteus Maximus
Kirk bod appreciation #2a: The Gluteus Maximus
Kirk bod appreciation #1: The Tum
411 notes · View notes
dw-writes · 3 years ago
Note
32 for henry sturges :3
so, for anyone who doesn’t know, Henry Sturges is a character played by Dominic cooper in the movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and one of the main characters in the novel by the same name, while being the main character in the sequel, The Last American Vampire. sadly, the author of those novels is The Worst (TM) and i am now claiming this character as my own and will treat him kindly
i love him so fucking MUCH
I HOPE YOU ENJOY LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Saying “I love you”....in a way that I can’t return.
There were parts of your memory that were hazy – days that were missing as you tried to remember why you were in pain, why you were tired, when you had fallen asleep. You remembered the better parts – the parts where you accepted a new job as a personal assistant, where you met your stupidly rich boss, where you found him weird and obnoxious and meeting every cliché that you had ever read about.
You especially remembered the part where you discovered that he was a vampire. That was important.
You shifted, the smooth surface of expensive sheets sliding against your skin. They were soft, and smelled lovely, and you recognized the scent as the one that Henry used for everything that could be washed. It was an older scent, one that wasn’t really made anymore, that he got from a little store on the other side of the city. It was one of the few things that he did personally.
Burying your nose into the pillow, you let out a sigh. At least you knew you were home, and comfortable.
A damp washcloth traced over your temple, down your cheek, and around the back of your neck.
“You’re alright,” whispered a familiar voice, one tinged with accent so faint it could never be placed, “You’re safe.”
You dreamed about that vivid memory of discovery. Henry Sturges had centuries of practice of keeping his identity a secret, something that, if you had been more observant, you would have noticed at lot sooner. But even someone with centuries of experience under his belt was prone to forgetfulness, and that was something that plagued him that day – he had forgotten his own set of keys to the house when he had set off on his usual journey across the city. He’d only realized it when he was too far gone and had called you to get the keys for him.
“If you could,” he had added, “If you aren’t too busy.”
“Of course,” you replied, “I’ll bring them to you.”
You failed to tell him that you, too, were on the opposite side of the city, and that it would take you longer than expected to take the keys to him. That was why you had arrived at the store after closing time, found it unlocked, and discovered Henry hauling a man clean off the ground with one hand, while bearing a mouth full of gleaming shards of bone. He dropped the man when you shouted at him to stop, failed to see you grab a pipe to swing at his skull.
(The memory bubbled up in your dream, descending upon you as though through a fog.)
You held the pipe with both hands, standing between Henry and the stairs leading up into the convenience store. Henry held his head between both hands, groaning, doubling over his knees. The other man, the store own, was still crumbled on the ground, unharmed, but unconscious.
“You hit me!” Henry shouted, “You actually hit me!”
“What do you expect?!” you snapped, “You? What are you?!”
He stumbled as he straightened, examining his fingers, then touched his head again. He stepped towards you.
You lifted the pipe over your shoulder, ready to strike again, yelling out nonsense.
“Don’t hit me again!” he cried.
“Get back!” you shrieked, “Get? Back! And answer my question!”
“Put the pipe down,” he said instead.
“Answer me!”
“Put the pipe down!”
“Answer the fucking question, Henry!” you paused, “If that’s your real name.”
His mouth dropped open with a scoff. You brandished the pipe as he stepped closer, stuttering out a disgusted, “I can’t believe the distrust! The suspicion!” He was on you in the literal blink of an eye, gently prying the pipe from between your clenched fingers like it was nothing. He tossed it away. The comical hurt he had previously worn was gone as he said, “I’m a vampire.” He squeezed your shoulders and set you on the steps. “Stay here a moment? I’ll be right back.”
(He’d left the poor store clerk – Seth, you remembered his name being – with a stack of journals, then swept you away back to his home – your home, the place where he provided you with a room of your own and asked for no rent at all – to sit you down and explain what he could.)
A hand gingerly pressed against your cheek, turning your head enough towards the owner to allow them to drip a warm liquid between your lips. It was bitter, with an aftertaste you couldn’t describe, and you twisted your head away from it.
A warm sigh tumbled across your face. “This is something you’ll have to get used to,” whispered a familiar voice, “And it won’t be easy, I can promise you that. But I’ll be there every step of the way.” A word caught on his voice, scratching in your ear as he cleared his throat. A pair of lips brushed over your temple.
Those words were so familiar. It took you a moment – a moment in which you fell back into a deep slumber – but you recalled where you’d heard them. You had said them, years before, when Seth had approached Henry about a biography. You remembered finding him pacing the first floor of his town house, reading over a letter that you assumed was from the author in question, swearing beneath his breath as he wore a path in the floor.
You told him so as you leaned on the banister, giving him an easy smile. He merely stared at you – you would have called it a glare if you hadn’t known him so well – and waved the paper in your direction.
“He wants to interview me,” he grumbled.
“I think that’s been done before,” you countered.
Henry crumbled the paper and tossed it in your direction. You ducked the projectile with a laugh, almost missing his scathing comment about your mocking. “That was a terrible joke!” he said with a huff, “Awful.”
“You’ll have to get used to it,” you said as you sat on the stairs, “Especially if people take what you say to heart – what the book says to heart.” Henry sat on the stairs, leaning back against the wall to look up at you. You reached out to run your fingers through his clean, un-styled hair. “It won’t be easy; I can promise you that. But I’ll be here for all of it. If you want.”
He leaned into your hand with a miniscule, unnecessary sigh. “I cannot imagine anyone else helping me with this,” he whispered.
You quirked an eyebrow. “Not even the man you trusted your beloved Abe’s journals to?”
(The quip earned you a gentle pinch, and eyeroll, and a smile only you were truly welcome to.)
You had rolled in your sleep, or had been moved, into a position that was startlingly comfortable. You turned your face further into the soft fabric under your cheek.
“Are you awake?” asked Henry, his voice surprisingly close to your ear while whatever you laid on rumbled with his words. Your eyes fluttered. A finger brushed over each of them, brushing the crust from your lashes. You wrinkled your nose. “You are awake,” he whispered, “Take your time. You’ve been through a lot.”
“What happened?” you croaked. You smacked your lips together and groaned; your mouth tasted awful. You rolled away from Henry’s tender hold, burying your face back into the pillow beyond his arm. “How long have I been asleep?”
He didn’t answer you. Instead, he appeared at your side again, the bed bending beneath his weight, and he held a glass to your lips. “Drink,” he murmured. His hand slid behind your head to help you.
The strange taste bloomed across your tongue as you sipped – bitter, and warm, and tangy as it rolled down your throat. You wrapped your fingers over his hand and gulped the concoction down, whatever it was – it soothed an ache you hadn’t noticed. You pressed your knees against his side as you sat up, tilting the glass further towards your face, draining it of everything it had, even going so far as to lick the brim clean before you opened your eyes.
He was watching you. His thumb brushed the space behind your ear while his fingers trailed down your neck. You rolled your lips together as you tried to gather what remained of your drink. You watched him in return: how hadn’t you noticed how beautiful he was before? You could count the freckles across his nose and cheeks in the low light of the bedroom with how vibrant they were against his skin; his swept back hair held various shades of brown, and a scant few strands of silver – from the stress of crossing over from England, you figured, before he was turned, or maybe they’d gone grey during the run from Crowley shortly after; and then there were his eyes, which skipped across your face before holding yours.
The blood that ran through your body – the blood that wasn’t yours anymore – ran cold.
You dropped the glass.
Henry managed to catch it before it hit the wood floor, depositing it on the nightstand at your elbow.
You rubbed your throat as the missing memories returned, first in patches, then like a film playing behind your eyes: someone had broken into the house. You had been downstairs, labeling the few bottles of blood that Henry kept hidden in his fridge, frowning at the unfamiliar sounds of another human in the home. It hadn’t taken you long to react, either – your father had taught you well before he died, had made sure that you would be ready to live on your own when the time came.
You pulled a knife from the butcher’s block and stepped out of the kitchen.
Your view from the hall to the front door was unobscured. Behind you, however, was a puff of hot air as someone growled, “You’re really real, aren’t you?”
A door upstairs slammed open.
You stepped away and twisted around, lifting the knife between you and the intruder, filling the hall as best as you could. You had only seconds before Henry would be down the stairs, before the man, who stared at you with a crazed glint in his eye and held a wooden stake above his head, would be able to figure out who was really the vampire in the house and hurt him instead. Maybe even kill him.
He would kill Henry.
He couldn’t kill Henry.
You wouldn’t let him.
You remembered answering him with a breathless, “Yes,” before the stake splintered your ribcage and plunged down into your heart.
Thumbs rubbed circles over your cheeks. You blinked slowly as the memory fell into place, neatly outlining a time before you were asleep – dead, you supposed – and when you woke up.
Henry whispered your name. You finally met his gaze once again. He let out a deep, unnecessary and dramatic sigh as his forehead fell against yours. “You know that ‘I love you to death’ is only a saying, right?” he asked, “And that was a very dramatic way to say it.”
Your face flushed. “Who said that I loved you?” you squeaked.
“You did, when you went and took a man’s stake to the heart for me!” he shot back.
“Maybe I was just there and he wanted to kill us both,” you argued.
“Hm, and that’s why you said you were the vampire, is it? That you were real?” he asked.
You pressed your lips together.
His fingers trailed down your jaw and under your mouth, gently holding your chin. “There’s not a single way that I can think of that can match that, you know,” he sighed against your lips, “This will have to do.” He said a lot as he kissed you, making sure that you knew how much he loved you, that he’d loved you for an awfully long time, that it probably started when you first walked through his door, and you hoped that the kiss you gave in return said as much as your death did – that you loved him.
That you love him.
That you will always love him.
73 notes · View notes
gayfrenchtoast · 3 years ago
Text
Okay fine we're doing this. I havent read the books and I'm probably not going to I've only seen the movies so I'm sorry if anything I say is contradictory or has already been stated.
So! Descendants 3 was kinda shit and I dont like it but especially because of the ending because everybody was like "oh yeah island is open and we're all happy with no worries or implications about free villains or people being spiteful about being imprisoned for years!" In fact if anything they joked about those things.
The island is basically its own culture, I can't say how long it's been around, long enough for some almost adult kids to be about and to develop a kind of community.
The Isle is a place of poverty, people are dirty and on the street, eveyone steals from each other and most people don't put much effort into appearance upkeep (personal or of the sourounding area) not because of laziness or being "evil" but because they clearly don't have time or luxury to do such things or possibly even the clean water. Does the Isle have clean water?? How to they get electricity??? Someone tell me!
Another thing that I've noticed is easy to see but is not much explicitly said is the unique style of those on the Isle. As previously stated they don't have much but those who have the most "power" and such on the Isle are the best example of this As they have the most colourful outfits. However these outfits are often made out of patches and ripped things put together, even salvaged things like nets and chains as we can see on thing like Uma and Harry's outfits in D3 they make the best of what they've got and they do fantastic because their outfits are intricate and detailed and just tell you everything you need to know about them. Which is why it's a damn s h a m e when the original VK's ajust their style to be more like Auradon's. That's not an improvement! Be proud of where you came from!! It's like they forgot what it was like being on the Isle in D3!
Moving on, here's something that was touched on in D2 but not enough. Equality. On the Isle there is basically equal opportunity as in saying everything is shit and nome cares what gender and presumably what sexuality you are as long as you can work. Sexism is shown to be almost casual in aurodon from the looks of it, Chad makes sexist comments and litterally none else says anything or seems to see anything wrong with it except Jay who caves to pressure from peers and expectations. He does redeem himself because he's from the isle and he knows you shouldn't give a shit about anyone's gender or anything. If they can do something and ask to be included you give them that opportunity. The sexism is also implied in the way that the rule book has men written specifically in the first place and that it has taken until then for anyone but boys to be allowed on any kind of sports team. We never see it! It seems to be the hetronormative veiw where the boys do sport and girls do cheerleeding and other genders? What other genders? Never heard of that? BAD AURADON!! I bet there's so many trans folk on the island just living their lives, thinking Aurodon is the better place and not knowing that it's a cis het filled nightmare.
Okay no I'm headcannoning now, if their are now a bunch of Isle kids at auradon prep they find it fucking aweful the way all these preppy royals are treating them and make the first LGBT club in Auradon. There is lots of pushback and they get bullied a fuck ton for making themselves the most prominent queer folk in the school until a fight breaks out and the club demand that they should be treated better, taking all the evidence to fairy godmother who is very hesitant because COME ON she's never been that great she is biased to Auradon kids and if putting away those in the Isle is brought up she is all on it, she is jelly spined about doing anything against the royal kids. So the kids are like "Fine, if you won't help us we'll take this to the King himself!" Well mainly the queer mom's of the group (you know the ones I'm talking about) who lead the others and protect the anxious queers as they storm to Ben at his fucking locker and demand an audience because they are being harassed and bullied and none is doing anything. Ben had no idea there was even a LGBT club (too busy ig) and is gassed there is one for a moment before he's like "wait people are harassing you?" So Bisexual King Ben gets his lovely Bi wife and they start coming to club meetings and investing in the pins and stuff the club makes. Most club members are pleased but the queer mom's are apprehensive that this will help until some assholes come to the club to do their usual bullying only to find King and Queen Beast themselves siting there with rainbow bracelets and bi pins and all trying to have a nice old time eating their fucking cupcakes what the fuck are yall doing? The bullying dies down quick once they realise it ain't gonna fly, the other OG VK's that hear about this become members and very protective over their queer children. Did I mention Dizzy and Ceila are a part of the club? They're girlfriend's. Celia is one of the queer moms. Harry becomes one of the biggest protectors over the group as the pan dad. He's been going around snogging everyone and anyone wholl snog him everyone already knew he was queer they just didn't have the balls to try and bully him over it as much as they bullied the lil club members. But now Harry can often be seen in jackets and shit with pan and general queer patches and pins and running around with his gay children yelling "MOVE WE'RE GAY!!" He totally calls them his queer crew. Anyway as a result lots of queer royals start coming out of the woodwork, obvs Lonnie is one of them, and the club eventually serves to bring members of Auradon and the Isle close together.
Where was I? Yada yada auradon expects girls to be pretty princesses and boys to be brave knights or dashing princes. It's shit and should stop being portrayed as good. Moving on!
Food! One of the things we'll established in all movies is that the food of the Isle is shit compared to food of Auradon. The Isle has no fresh fruit which likely means its almost impossible for things to grow there which is fair because again there doesn't seem to be much fresh water and there are always clouds overhead so no sun. Maybe there is some people trying really hard to grow stuff but the general attitude of the Isle seems to be "there is no time for that" and fruits are forgotten so much that the VK's litterally don't knownwhat they are when they come across them. That and anything containing sugar. Actually it's mention by Dizzy and Celia that they enjoy the fact that the cake dosent have dirt or flies so basically food there is terrible. We don't see much food on the Isle but what we do see seems to be beans, eggs, chips and shellfish. Basically protine and carbs that can be easily stored and produced. To be fair beans are kidna good for you but they're likely a sign that if they get any imports from the mainland it is canned stuff. Prison food. There's probably some chef villain that is trying their best to make good food out of the shit but honestly the Isle dwellers should be angry that they've been deprived of good food for so long not happy they're finally been given decency.
Moving on, music! Auradon dosent have nearly as many musical numbers it seems, the Isle songs have a distinct style, to them, the villains that basically "founded" the place were masters of the dramatic songs (with backup or solo) so banging music is basically ingrained in the music's culture, even for battle as we see with the fight between Mal and Uma in D3. Meanwhile Auradon seems to have mainly romance and "I want" songs. Even Audrey's villain song is basically an I want song.
Okay let's talk about the Villains. We've established that the VK's are not inherently bad. However not all of them can be totally good and there are legit OG Villains just kinda chillin on the Isle. They've obviously lost quite a bit of their power, motivation and sanity (isolation will do that to ya as they lost everything and the VKs know no different) but deadass? They were bad guys. You can try to rehabilitate them sure but you've basically just let them free roam, they could make a runner and you wouldn't get the chance. They were also shitty patents which is brushed over/joked about in the interaction between Carlos and...man I feel bad I forgot her name deadass their relationship seemed to come out of nowhere in the second film she didn't seem interested in them at all and friendzoned them multiple times I'm pretty sure Disney did that becaue queer kids were relating to Carlos and headcanoning them as queer (which they deffinatly are) but deadass their mom is an attempted animal murderer and has hurt her child as we can see from how they're afraid of her and her rhetoric and yet it's "haha I'm afraid to meet your ma!" "Me too cus im a dog! Lol!" Fuuuuck offfffff
I think I'm running out of thoughts so here's a last one for now; with the magical barrier down a bunch of magical Villains kids should be coming out for the woodwork. We know Mal has magic basically stored in her so it's is possible, she technically doesn't need the spellbook to do magic it is just inherent to her. So with the diverse range of people from the isle there are deffinatly magic folk in there. Actually if we're following Disney movie law I saw something mentioning Jay being half Genie and yeah! He should be half Genie! Jafar got turned into a Genie he's probably only human because of the barrier! Oh also Ben should be able to go beast on command as long as he had a better beast form than he did in the movies. And give him back the beard and fangs like fuck you he looked so much better
Okay I'm done for now
90 notes · View notes
hageny · 3 years ago
Text
Succession Thoughts: Gerri x Roman
AN: The first point in this post was requested by @thinkingfixatingobsessing​, so credit goes to her for the idea. 
WARNING: Mentions of child sexual abuse in point one. 
1. What In Here is Real?
Tumblr media
A lot of fans tie Roman’s ‘dog cage’ experience to his adult need for degradation, and certainly there is a valid reason. The murky circumstances surrounding the incident(s) in his childhood--Roman remembering being forced; Connor and Kendall remembering him liking it; Connor remembering what their father said about “two fighting dogs” in relation to the incident--make it difficult to say how much of what Roman remembers is real and how much is his emotions skewing his memories. What is totally overlooked is the scene above, which takes place in Austerlitz. The family has just arrived at Connor’s ranch for the not-so-optional family therapy session when Roman says something very interesting to Connor, telling him that he plans to tell Alon Parfit, the group’s therapist, that Connor molested him as a child. Given Roman’s ‘dog cage’ revelation only one episode later, it struck me as very interesting that Roman makes a joke about what is for many a deep, childhood trauma. Now, I should clarify, I don’t believe Connor in any way abused Roman, and it seems fairly obvious Roman was just doing this for shock value, but there is a point to be made here. It seems pertinent to ponder whether Roman’s ‘dog cage’ experience could tie into a deeper, darker truth in his childhood. Maybe it’s possible that Roman actually did go into the cage willingly, and to some degree submitted--as much as someone who is emotionally/mentally abused as a child can--to his siblings’ game. All of them being children themselves, they wouldn’t have had the insight and maturity to understand his behavior was abnormal. What we do know of Roman’s experience is that it caused him to start wetting the bed, and he was eventually sent away to St. Andrews; again, he thinks this occurred against his will, Connor says he went willingly. What is interesting his Roman’s description of the effects of the ‘dog cage’ incident closely aligns with what may happen to a child who is molested. As Roman puts it, “Kendall locked me in a cage, I went weird, I started wetting the bed, and that’s why dad sent me away to St. Andrews.” Now, I should be clear, I am not a mental health professional of any sort, so all of what I say here is gleaned through years of reading about crime stories and second-hand research, but re-watching this scene caused me to remember that when Jon Benet Ramsey was murdered, many wondered--and still do--whether it was possible she was molested as a child due to her still wetting the bed at the age of six. From what we can gather, Roman would have been probably around the same age, if not older, when the alleged ‘dog cage’ incident occurred; his mentions of ‘going weird’ could be his best way to articulate what could have been a mental breakdown suffered during his childhood. His parents, having no clue what to do with him, would have naturally sent him to a rigorous, regimented school that, they believed, could have righted his ‘abnormal’ behavior. There are many signs children can possibly exhibit as a result of sexual abuse, but a few of them struck me because they describe even Roman’s adult behavior:
Regressive behaviors or resuming behaviors they had grown out of, such as thumb-sucking or bedwetting
Overly compliant behavior
Decrease in confidence or self-image
Change in mood or personality, such as increased aggression
We notice Roman’s lack of confidence constantly over the course of the series. In Sad Sack Wasp Trap, we see him studying his body carefully in the mirror, obviously displeased with what he sees, and then quickly buttoning up his shirt when Grace enters. As an adult there’s no question that he is--around his father, especially--overly compliant, going along with what Logan says and most of the time unwilling to buck him. While Roman is certainly not aggressive in the sense of being a danger to others, we do notice that his temperament borders on the aggressive quite a lot of the time, and he has a sadistic side, taking pleasure in tormenting others for his own amusement. We also know that the infamous Lester McClintock--Mo-Lester--was a friend of Logan’s; while it’s not stated that he abused any children, if he was a family friend, there is a possibility he was around Roman as a child. Connor, in Safe Room, does tell Willa that Logan wouldn’t let his kids get in the pool with Lester, so the possibility of his being a pedophile is there. Maybe the abuser was someone else. Maybe Roman wasn’t abused at all and I’m way off base. But I bring the point up for discussion only because as I pondered it, I myself began to wonder. 
2. Patrick Bateman
Tumblr media
SPOILER ALERT: The ending to the movie, American Psycho. is discussed below. 
In I Went to Market, Shiv makes a quip when Roman tells her he has a hobby, saying to him, “Killing hobos isn’t a hobby.” Anyone old enough to remember--or old enough to have watched American Psycho or read the book--will remember that Patrick Bateman, the novel’s famous protagonist, descends slowly into violence as his disgust for society deepens, and begins literally killing homeless people on the streets of New York City, using homicide as an outlet for his uncontrollable rage. For the sake of convenience, I will discuss the movie a bit here, as I read the book years ago and do not remember much. The end of the movie is open to interpretation, leaving the audience to decide whether Bateman did actually kill anyone and it was cleaned up for him because he was wealthy, or whether he simply fever-dreamed the experiences. It’s interesting that the show draws a tie to Patrick Bateman and Roman, but having considered Bateman’s behavior there are some similarities. Roman, like Bateman, has a total disregard for the lower class, no more openly displayed than in the pilot episode where he tears up the check in front of the little boy at his family’s baseball game. He also, as noted in the previous point, has a temper, sometimes flying quickly off the handle when things don’t go his way. He is tightly wound, constantly agitated by the world around him, and driven by impulse. Where Bateman’s impulses lead him to murder, Roman’s take a different path, leading him to push the envelope of appropriate behavior for shock value, or drop and pick up girlfriends like objects. While Roman certainly would never kill anyone in a literal sense, he is not afraid to destroy those beneath him without a second thought, obliterating Vaulter simply because he wants to, manipulating the staff into admitting they want to unionize--which  might’ve saved them--and then handing his information over to his father so as to leverage himself and his desire to shut Vaulter down over Kendall’s desire to keep it open. The point is is that the show, by drawing a link between these two characters, could perhaps be suggesting to the audience that Roman’s behavior, like Bateman’s, requires an understanding of nuance. Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote the novel, grew up in an environment similar to Roman’s, coming from a wealthy family, deriving much of his literary material from what he witnessed as a child and an adult. It could perhaps best be said that both characters are a study in how environments shape people: what they bring out in them, and what they create that, for better or worse, can be left to bubble just below the surface. 
3. Only Good?
Tumblr media
This point will be fairly brief, but I did find it pertinent to comment on how many people in the fandom--maybe younger people who don’t understand the show’s nuances--seem content to constantly cast Gerri as an artless bystander to the cruises situation when this is simply not the case. It could be that some don’t recall, but in the above scene from Pre-Nuptial, Shiv demands that ATN lay off Gil Eavis by blackmailing Gerri, telling her that if she doesn’t get her way that she will blow the lid on the scandal that centers around Lester McClintock. What’s most important is the fact that when Shiv mentions the “cruise division horror show”, Gerri never asks for clarification regarding Shiv’s point. This, obviously, is because Gerri doesn’t need it. While I am not suggesting Gerri knew all along about the scandal, her lack of need for Shiv to clarify what she means by “the cover-up” is an indicator that Gerri not only knew what was going on before the audience did, but perhaps also had a hand in hiding what was happening. There could be many reasons she did so, but I felt compelled to make this point because so often people believe Gerri was caught off-guard by what was occurring at Brightstar, when in fact our introduction to her in the show was intended to serve as an indicator of her character. The phrase, “stone-cold killer bitch”, used flirtatiously by Roman, was not only intended to amuse, but also to give insight into her character. In order to survive and thrive in Waystar, Gerri would have had to have been anything but an artless child, and her reputation as a ‘stone-cold killer’ is apt, as it describes the sort of character a person generally has to take on in order to climb the ranks of the corporate world. Gerri’s panic as the cruises situation unfolds is not due to the nature of the incidences (nor is Shiv’s for that matter)--it is due to the panic she feels at having to take the fall for what occurred. What actually happened, the facts of it, don’t really bother her. That’s what makes a killer. 
30 notes · View notes
ladycatofwinterfell · 3 years ago
Text
Raindrops, snowflakes, sunshine, part 3
Summary: Catelyn meets a northern boy in her algebra class during one of London’s many rainy days. Initially she doesn’t expect much, but this boy brings her a surprising amount of sunlight.
@leialannister and I discussed Scandinavian Starks and I realized I really wanted to write a fic so that’s what I did. Swedes depicted in media makes this Swede happy, and NedCat also makes me happy so why not combine it and publish him for everyone to see?
Ashara poked her head into the bathroom and squinted against the bright light. Catelyn got eye contact with her through the mirror and raised her eyebrows. Ashara had looked better. She was a beautiful woman, but at the moment she looked like seven hard years.
“Where are you going?”
“Did I say I’m going somewhere?” Catelyn asked.
She was going somewhere, but she hadn’t said a thing about it to Ashara and Cersei. She had planned to tell them about it, she really had, but then she had just never found an opportunity to do it. She had thought that she would be able to get out without them taking too much notice about it. That she thought because the two of them had a hangover from hell.
“You didn’t drink last night and you’re wearing makeup, you’re going somewhere.”
Catelyn turned around to look at her directly instead of through the mirror.
“I’m going out for coffee with Ned” she said.
Ashara smiled tiredly.
“You are?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m happy for you but I also hate you.”
Catelyn turned back to the mirror to examine her look a final time.
“What have I done to deserve that?”
Ashara leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Cersei and I are stuck here, hangover as fuck, but you’re all pretty and have a date with a cute guy.”
Ned had accepted her following request and Ashara and Cersei had deemed him cute based on the pictures he had. Not amazingly good looking, but definitely cute.
Together the two of them had also reached the conclusion that there was no trace of a partner on his social media. He only had pictures with more than two people in them, which made it hard to determine, but after careful consideration they had said that he didn’t seem to have a girlfriend. Which of course didn’t matter to Catelyn, but they had found it very interesting.
“Thanks, but it’s not a date.”
It definitely wasn’t a date, but she was looking good. Her skin was glowing, her hair cooperated. It was a perfect day.
“Then what is it?”
“I’m meeting a person for coffee, that’s what it is.”
Ashara rolled her eyes.
“That really just sounds like a coffee date, KitKat.”
She didn’t know when Cersei’s ridiculous nickname for her had stuck, but it annoyed her that it had. She had long since given up on trying to fight it. KitKat. Sometimes that was just who she was. A chocolate covered wafer bar.
“If you insist on it, fine, it’s a friend date.”
She walked past Ashara and out of the bathroom. The flat was gloomy and the air was heavy with the smell of what Catelyn guessed was lavender, but she wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter what scented candle it was that Ashara had lit, the only thing that mattered was that Catelyn had an intense dislike of it. She was glad for that she had a good reason to get out of there.
“Is he aware of that it’s a friend date?” Ashara questioned as she followed Catelyn to the hallway.
He had to be. She couldn’t imagine him wanting to date her because why would he want that? She hadn’t exactly made a good first impression. Or second impression. She had been given multiple chances and had managed to fuck it up every time.
“Yes. I don’t think he would want to date me anyway.”
“Why?”
Catelyn tried to keep her mind off the social missteps she had made during her conversations with Ned. If she started thinking about that she would die. Well, she wouldn’t die, but she would have some trouble getting herself to their… friend date. And if she actually managed to get there she would have a very hard time looking at him.
“There’s no need to talk about that.”
A sly grin appeared on Ashara’s face.
“No need to talk about it, huh? Why’s that?”
“I’m an idiot, that’s all there is to say.”
“That isn’t like you.”
“My brain abandoned me somewhere in the middle, I don’t know.”
Catelyn really didn’t want to be that person, but she was smart. She was book smart and also did well in social situations. She was simply overall smart. Therefore she would have liked to know what it was about Ned that made her act like she had never spoken to a person before. What about him was so terribly special that she couldn’t use her brain? He wasn’t special, the only thing that made him stand out from the other people in her life was that he was Swedish. And there were literally millions of other Swedes.
“Good luck with your friend date” Ashara said when Catelyn opened the door to leave.
“Have fun here” Catelyn responded.
She was once more very happy for that she was going out instead of staying inside feeling like a corpse all day.
“We’re gonna order pizza, it’ll be great.”
Catelyn didn’t believe Cersei was awake and based on Ashara’s yawn she she guessed she would go back to bed for a little longer as well.
“Save me a slice.”
“Can’t promise anything.”
“Come on.”
“That’s what you get for ditching us for a guy.”
“Is it somehow my fault that you’re hangover?”
“Cat, honey, shut up and let me be a little bit jealous over your date.”
Why was she jealous? She had a girlfriend. And it still wasn’t a date, Ashara knew that. Catelyn would get no boyfriend out of meeting Ned for coffee.
“You have a girlfriend, go on a date with her.”
“I can’t date anyone in this condition.”
“I want dinner no matter your condition.”
Ashara almost pushed her out the door.
“Don’t keep the Swede waiting.”
“Hey, I need–“
The door shut before she had finished her sentence. She supposed it was for dramatic effect, but it wouldn’t really work as Ashara had pushed her out before she could take her bag and phone. So she opened the door and went back inside.
“Did you not get my hint?” Ashara chuckled. “I was telling you to leave.”
Catelyn snatched her bag up from where it stood on the floor just next to the door.
“I appreciate your attempt at recreating a scene from a shitty movie, but I needed my bag.”
“I knew something would ruin it.”
“Want to try again?”
Ashara looked like she actually considered it for a moment, but then she scrunched up her face.
“Nah, it wouldn’t be the same” she said.
“Sorry for ruining it.”
“I hate you now.”
Catelyn descended the stairs, cursing the fact that the lift was still broken. She didn’t even know how long it had been since it broke. Weeks, maybe months. And when it actually worked it worked for five days at a time anyway. Catelyn was a world champion when it came to running in stairs. She was nowhere near patient enough to simply walk down those stairs, that took way too long.
When she had stepped out on the street she heard her phone’s text signal and smoothly fished it out of her bag. It was a message from Ned. She had got his number after they started following each other on Instagram so that they could have more direct contact.
Is it fine if Oden comes?
Her lips curled into a smile, he wanted to bring his dog. That felt like an honor. She didn’t know if it was, but it certainly felt that way. And she was fine with his dog. It was a large dog, she wasn’t a fan of large dogs. But Oden seemed very polite.
Yeah, it’s no problem
Okay, see you soon
See you soon
She put her phone away again and happily walked towards the subway. She had hoped it would be sunny, it was not. Maybe it would have been if she hadn’t thought of it. The weather seemed to work that way. But it wasn’t raining, and according to her weather app it wouldn’t. It was just cloudy. Which was fine. Cloudy was fine. But it made her a little sad because her hair was at its best with some sunlight at it, if she could say so herself.
She arrived there before Ned. The bookshop was closed Sundays so she couldn’t browse for books while waiting. So she looked at her phone for a bit, tried not to stare at people walking past her. She didn’t know where he lived, so she had no idea about from which way he would come.
But before she knew it he was standing in front of her with Oden next to him.
“Hey” he said.
She smiled.
“Hi.”
“I hope Oden isn’t a problem.”
She crouched down slightly and scratched Oden between his ears.
“Not at all. We’re best friends, right, Oden?”
Not that a dog could answer her, but it seemed like he liked her. He wagged his tail. She didn’t speak dog, but she believed that meant he was happy. Or at least he didn’t hate her.
“He trusts you” Ned said.
She had been joking, but she saw no sign of that he was.
“I’m sorry, I’m bad with dogs, how can you tell that?”
“Oh that’s not about dogs overall, it’s just Oden. He usually doesn’t let people touch his head. His brothers and sisters were a bit mean to him, and they would chew on his ears so he’s sensitive in that area.”
Catelyn previously hadn’t believed that she would ever reach the point in her life where a dog trusted her. She didn’t like dogs, and dogs didn’t like her. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. And still she stood there with a dog who according to his owner trusted her.
“I really do not deserve that” she said dismissively. “At all.”
Ned looked at her for a moment before answering. She looked back into his eyes. Grey. They were grey. And she was certain of that she wouldn’t forget it that time around. Even more so she hoped they wouldn’t go so long without seeing each other that she had time to forget again. But she wouldn’t let that happen.
“I think you do.”
Maybe she was blushing. She had no idea. All she knew was that he was very sweet and that she liked that about him.
“Thank you.”
She had probably held eye contact with him for longer than appropriate but he didn’t seem to mind. When she snapped out of it and averted her eyes, turning her gaze to the street instead.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked.
Ned sighed.
“I’m going to confess something” he then said. “I don’t know a lot about coffee, where I come from we drink it plain and black. So you pick wherever you like.”
Interesting that he had asked her out for coffee then. Maybe that was simply the first thing that had come to his mind when he asked her.
“Okay. Well, this isn’t my part of the city, I’m rarely here, but if we walk around the area I’m sure we’ll find something good.”
She was only there when she was at the bookshop. She had no other reason to be there, she only knew they had a good bookshop there.
“Sounds good.”
They started walking down the street with Oden ahead of them.
“Don’t you have coffee shops in Sweden?” Catelyn said.
It seemed so much like an exaggerated stereotype that she couldn’t really believe it. Sweden wasn’t all winter and woods, was it? They had cities and in cities there were coffee shops. Or so she believed. Maybe Sweden was a stranger country than she had initially thought.
“We have in the cities, but my family is from the country side so I didn’t have easy access to them. I learned to drink my coffee black. In the wrong company you could get shamed for drinking it with a little bit of milk.”
“Really?”
“Proper people drink their coffee black” Ned said in a heavy Swedish accent.
Catelyn couldn’t keep herself from laughing and he smiled.
“I drink my coffee black too sometimes” she said. “But that’s mostly when I’m too tired to put anything in it because I’m studying.”
“Everyday I thank myself for quitting math.”
“I get you, sometimes it’s all pain, but I like it.”
“I’m a bit jealous, I wish I was good at it.”
She was somewhat flattered by that. So he wanted something that she had too, she wasn’t the only one who was a bit jealous of the others talents? Maybe she was a bad person for feeling that. She didn’t really care.
“Do you?”
“I have always admired academic people, but I’m definitely not one of them. My brain’s not wired that way.”
“That’s funny, because I thought the same thing about you when you said that you draw” she confessed. “I wish I was good at that.”
Ned didn’t answer, so she looked at him to see if something had happened. He didn’t look back at her, seemingly deep in thought. Which confused her. Had what she said really been that thought inducing? She didn’t believe so. They stopped at a red light, waiting for the light to turn green so that they could cross the street. The moment she wasn’t walking she realized her hands were getting quite cold. She should have brought gloves, she realized as she stuck them in her pockets.
“I could teach you, if you’d like” he offered.
By then she had almost forgotten that she was talking to someone.
“What?”
“I could teach you, if you’d like” he repeated. “I’m not amazing, and I don’t know how good I am at teaching, but I can try.”
Catelyn wasn’t a person who lost her tongue. She could always talk, even in situations where she got nervous or embarrassed. She always had her words. That wasn’t always something she considered positive, but it was true. Though she believed that what she felt then was the closest thing to speechlessness she would ever come.
They had only met a few times, that was the first time they had actually agreed to meet up. They didn’t know each other too well, they were only acquainted with each other. And still Ned offered to teach her. Still he offered to help her learn something she had wanted to learn for many years.
“Would you do that?” she asked, feeling herself smile.
“If you want to, sure” he responded, shrugging as if it was no big deal.
“I have nothing to give you in return, but thank you. I would love to do that.”
“You don’t need to give me anything in return, it’s just a fun thing.”
It could definitely be a fun thing.
The light turned green and together with the other people who had gathered at the crossing they hurried across the street with Oden leading the way.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“What? No, I’m not cold at all” she lied.
There was no need to fuss about that. She was just too stupid to dress for the weather. Maybe she should have learned to after having been alive for quite some time, but she never seemed to do so. Her father would have shook his head if he could have seen her, he had always stooped her in the door and given her a hat and a pair of gloves.
“Are you sure? Because it really seems like it.”
She should have taken a scarf and a pair of gloves, she could definitely admit to that, but it was a little too late to think of it then.
“What makes you think I’m cold?”
“The fact that your shoulders are up at your ears and your hands are very deep down in your pockets.”
“Okay, I’m a little cold, but it’s nothing.”
If she hadn’t known herself as well as she did she would have looked in her bag to see if she by any chance had a pair of gloves in it. But she did know herself, and was therefore aware of that she would never put gloves in her bag. Looking was therefore unnecessary.
To her great horror he first handed her Oden’s leash, and then took of his own gloves off before offering them to her.
“Ned, there’s no need for that, you really don’t have to” she protested. “You shouldn’t have to be cold because I’m bad at wearing enough clothes.”
Ned didn’t listen to that. He merely took Oden’s leash back and instead gave her the gloves. When he did so his hand touched hers and she felt how warm it was. It could just have been the contrast to her frozen hand, but it felt like he was very warm. They would have made a good match if they were dating in that sense.
“God, your hands are warm” she said.
“I know, that’s why you need the gloves a lot more than I do” he said. “Put them on.”
The need to get her hands warmed up came out victorious in the fight against the want to keep protesting. And she was actually very grateful for the gloves when she put them on and felt an instant relief. They were way too large, but they were a lot better than nothing.
“Thank you, this is very kind of you, but never leave your dog in my hands again. He’s a nice dog, I like him, but I draw the line there.”
“Okay, thank you for letting me know.”
“I’m usually not this bad at planning” she then said, feeling that she had to defend some of what little dignity she had left.
“Just like you’re usually not late?” he quipped, obviously amused by her words.
So he remembered that, did he? That hadn’t been a lie, she was always on time. But the latter was a truth with modifications. She was a good planner, but not when it came to dressing for the weather.
“Yes, like that. I don’t know what has gotten into me lately.”
“I hear that’s what London does to you if you stay here for too long.”
“I think it’s Britain overall, it’s been too long since I was home.”
How long had it been since she visited home? It must have been in the beginning of the summer and at the moment it was the middle of autumn.
“Where are you from?” he asked. “More specifically.”
“Galway. Where are you from?”
“I doubt you would know it, most Swedes don’t know it. It’s a small town. And we didn’t even live in that small place, we lived a bit away from it.”
He was right, she knew exactly two Swedish cities. The two largest ones. And he said he was from a small place earlier so she had known it wasn’t one of those, but it had seemed polite to ask.
“I know Stockholm and Gothenburg, which one is it closest to?”
“Good question, uhm… Gothenburg, I think. But it’s about the same distance to both of them. It’s close to the Norwegian border, not too far from Sweden’s largest lake.”
Just then she realized that she knew absolutely nothing about Swedish geography. She had no idea about the name of the largest lake or where in the country it was. And knowing it was close to the Norwegian border didn’t exactly help, Sweden did have a long border towards Norway. That she knew.
“I’m completely lost” she admitted. “You’ll have to show me on a map.”
Ned laughed.
“Absolutely, but then you’ll have to show me Galway on a map. I have no idea about where that is” he said.
“Don’t you know Galway? There’s eighty thousand people living there.”
“I have heard of Galway, I just don’t know where it is!” he said defensively.
“Okay, small town boy” she chuckled.
He pulled a face at her, making her laugh even more.
“I know I’m not the most academic person, but you’re being unfair, big city girl.”
Catelyn smiled.
“Small town isn’t negative. I like small towns. They have an atmosphere and a feeling that cities don’t have.”
She thought of her grandparents’ house in the country side. She had been there all the time when she was a child, sometimes she had thought it was better there than in the city. Wherever Ned was from was probably lovely.
“Small towns are very different from London” he said. “My siblings dreamed of leaving, but I liked it there. It was calm, not much happened. A good place to make art.”
“You said your older brother lives here, right?”
“Yes. My brother Brandon lives here. I have two younger siblings, as well. A sister, Lyanna, and a brother, Benjen. They’re back in Sweden with my parents. Do you have siblings?”
“I have a younger sister, Lysa, and a little brother, Edmure. He’s twelve, he thinks I’m a total nerd for studying math. He thinks I should get a cool degree instead, like criminology. He still calls a lot and wants to come here to visit though.”
“Despite that you’re a nerd?” Ned chuckled.
“Yeah, despite that I’m a nerd. Apparently I’m still likable and a pretty okay older sister.”
“You’re likable. Och vacker.”
The first thing she understood perfectly, but those last two words she didn’t know. That was Swedish. Why had he started speaking Swedish suddenly? And what did it mean?
“Thank you, but I’m sorry, I don’t know what that second thing means” she said.
Ned gave her a look. She didn’t know what that meant either. There were many things about him that she didn’t know or understand.
“It was nothing” he said.
“No, that wasn’t nothing. If it was nothing you would have told me what it meant” she said, nudging him in the side. “Come on, tell me!”
“No.”
“You’ve made me cur–“
“This might be a good place, don’t you think?”
Catelyn shut her mouth and looked up to see that he was right, that was a coffee shop. She wasn’t sure of exactly where they were, she didn’t recognize it so she had probably never been there before. But they had coffee and that was the only criteria she had.
“You wait here with Oden, I can go inside and order” she said. “What do you want?”
“You already know what I want.”
“Are you sure you don’t want something more fun?”
“Proper people drink their coffee black, big city girl” he reminded her.
She laughed and then took off the gloves, handing them to him.
“Thanks for letting me borrow them, I’ll be back out in a few minutes.”
She opened the door and was met by a wave of heat. It was quite crowded, seemed like everyone had decided to get coffee at the same time. She placed herself at the end of the long line and then took her phone out of her bag, immediately taking up a translator. And then found that she couldn’t remember what that word was that he had said. Or those words. She was pretty sure of that there had been two words, but she couldn’t for her life remember what they were. And it annoyed her. It was annoying that he refused to tell her. Had it been something really insulting? But why would he say something insulting, she didn’t believe she had done anything to deserve that.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee was one she had mixed feelings for. She had worked in a coffee shop for almost a year, and had quit just before starting to take classes that autumn as her working schedule didn’t work out with the classes, and she wasn’t allowed to change it. Coffee was a good scent, but some of her worst interactions with other people had also happened in that environment. She had to get a new job though, she was starting to run low on money.
When it came down to it she got him a latte because she couldn’t bring herself to order black coffee. It was too boring, she had to teach him to drink other kinds of coffee as well.
“What do I owe you?” he asked when she came back outside.
“Nothing, it’s on me this time. And you didn’t get black coffee” she informed him.
“I knew it. Is it a latte?”
“It is a latte.”
“I’ll accept it.”
“You sure you won’t get all soft from the steamed milk?” Catelyn said teasingly.
He took a sip from his mug.
“If I don’t survive the winter it’s your fault.”
“I’ll be sure to let your family know that.”
“Thank you, I’m sure it will bring them much comfort as they’re grieving me.”
“Most definitely.”
“Do you want the gloves?” Ned asked when they started walking again.
She didn’t know where they were going, and she supposed he didn’t either. Just walking could be nice too.
“No, I’m good. I have the warm mug now, and besides they’re your gloves, you should have them.”
“I’ll bring an extra pair next time.”
He wanted to see her more times. Things couldn’t be going bad then, could they? He liked her as well as she liked him.
“Or maybe we’ll see each other indoors” she suggested.
“That works too.”
They crossed a street once more and came out to a park. Why had she never been in that park before? It was a nice park and it was probably even better in summer. She would have to remember that. Maybe she could go there with Ned again. Or she could take Ashara and Cersei there. They went to parks all the time in the summer.
“What do you do in your spare time?” Ned asked.
“If you’re fishing for hobbies now I won’t be able to give you anything. When I don’t study I read, and spend time with my flat mates, occasionally I go to a pub or meet up with other friends. Well, I bake a lot, does that count as a hobby?”
She was actually a quite good baker, but when she thought of it she lived a very boring life. She didn’t consider it boring, she liked it as it was, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. There wasn’t much variation.
“Why wouldn’t it count as a hobby?”
“I don’t–“
Suddenly he almost fell to the side and therefore right into her. Warm coffee splashed over both of them as she stumbled over her own feet. She would have fallen over if he had not quickly dropped her mug in order to grab her arm and hold her upright.
At first she didn’t understand what had happened or why he had lost his feet, but then she realized that it was Oden that had suddenly pulled at his leash.
“För i helvete, Oden!” Ned exclaimed before turning to her. “I’m so sorry, he must have seen a squirrel or something.”
She looked at him, coffee all over his chest area, then looked down at herself. She had equally as much coffee, if not more, all over her. Had she not worn her coat it probably would have burned her.
Catelyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t intentional. And no major harm was done.”
She hoped the stains would go away in the washing machine. Otherwise she wouldn’t be that happy, but she still couldn’t be angry at anyone. Neither Ned nor Oden had done it on purpose. And it wasn’t like he didn’t also have coffee all over him.
“Jag visste att jag inte skulle ha tagit med dig” Ned muttered to Oden. “Varför kan du inte bete dig när det behövs?”
The dog stood before them, looking at them with puppy eyes. Seemingly wondering why they had just stopped the walk. When Catelyn met his eyes he tilted his head, wagging his tail.
“And that means?”
“He’s not like this usually, I have no idea about what has gotten into him” he said apologetically.
She believed he had chosen to ignore her question and that wasn’t the translation for what he had said, but she couldn’t be sure about that as she didn’t know a single Swedish word.
“It’s okay, really. Accidents happen.”
He was still holding her arm, and they were standing quite close to each other. There was still some distance between them, but it was far less than when they had been walking. She was blushing, she could feel her cheeks burn. Why did she have to blush, why was that her first reaction to everything?
He noticed just seconds after she did and let go of her arm, then he backed away a step, avoiding her eyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for the coffee?” he asked, sounding deeply troubled about it all.
“I’m sure. Next time coffee’s on you, it’ll even out.”
Ned sighed.
“I really feel like I should in some way compensate you for this.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
It felt somewhat ridiculous to stand there and talk about whether or not he should pay her for the coffee while both of them were dripping with it.
She would have laughed if she hadn’t wanted to disappear into the ground, never to appear again. Both because of the ridiculousness of the situation and because it was so far from how it had played out in her head when she had thought about it beforehand. Nowhere in her imaginations had she come up with a scenario where they stood in a park together with his dog, both of them having coffee all over themselves. She should have expected it though. Of course she couldn’t see him one time without something happening.
“Look, I understand if you don’t want to see me again–” he started.
“Why wouldn’t I want to see you again?”
His expression changed from a very anxious one to one that indicated that he believed that she had completely lost it.
“Because I poured almost all of my coffee on you?”
“I poured coffee all over you too, this goes two ways. Oh God, we look ridiculous.”
She could always take some comfort in that they were looking ridiculous together.
“I know, I can see you clearly” he responded dryly.
As if he didn’t look just as stupid as she did. 
"Take a good look then, small town boy. I've never looked better."
She had probably never looked worse. At least when it came to her clothes. It was a good outfit, but the stains didn't really go with it.
"Det är ingen dålig syn."
The whole Swedish thing was fun, she liked hearing him speak his first language, but she was also already tired of not always understanding what he was saying. Communicating in Swedish didn't really work though because she didn't know a word in that language, otherwise she wouldn't have minded at all.
"I'm sorry, Swedish is a fine language, but I don't understand and this time you'll have to translate for me."
"That feels deeply unnecessary."
There was something about the look he had after he had said it that made her even more curious. Like a child who was pretending he wasn't guilty of something he had obviously done and was having a hard time keeping the mask up. What was he saying to her? And why did he refuse to translate it?
"Well, this has been very nice, but I suppose we'll have to continue some other time, because we're both in need of a change of clothes" she said.
She crouched down and picked up the mugs they had dropped. Then she walked over to a nearby trash can and tossed them in it.
"Once again, I'm very sorry” he said.
"There's not much to do about it, so no need to feel sorry."
They began making their way back towards where they had met up, trying very hard to pretend they were not covered in coffee. They actually managed to pass by fairly unnoticed, Catelyn only saw one person give them a look as they walked past. And that wasn't strange, she had seen so much weirder things than two people who had clearly had a little accident while living in London. Maybe it even passed as some sort of fashion statement. When it had just happened it hadn't felt like it, but it could have been worse. A lot worse. She still wanted to disappear from the face of earth when she thought about it, but at the same time she knew that it was definitely a thing she could get over. It had been an accident, it wasn't something she had done or said. That was always an improvement from the times they had met in the bookshop.
"Except for the mess I had a pretty good time" she smiled when they arrived at where they would walk different ways.
"We'll have to do it again without that part" he agreed.
"Indoors" she added.
"I'll bring extra gloves in the future, just in case we need to go somewhere."
She snorted, wondering if he really was that much of an outdoor person.
"That works too."
They fell quiet after that, unsure of what to do. What was appropriate? Could she hug him? That was what seemed most reasonable to her as a handshake was way too formal but she still needed to say goodbye in some way. Hugging also felt most natural to her. Though she couldn't be sure of that he was a hugger. She had never been more thankful for her phone ringing. Maybe a few times, but she was happy to hear her ringtone in that moment. She didn't have to answer it, but it gave her a little more time to figure out what to do.
"I should probably check who it is, I'm sorry" she said apologetically.
She wished she could have just taken up her phone, but it had somehow disappeared underneath everything else she had in the bag. Old receipts, two pairs of sunglasses, a charger, her wallet, a box with a broken bracelet that she had intended to get fixed, some pads. And that was only some of it. How had her phone managed to get down under all that? And when had she put all that crap in the bag? When she finally managed to find it she saw Edmure's name and picture on the screen, and she answered the call with a small smile on her face.
"Uncle wants to know if you're coming home for Christmas" her brother's little voice informed her before she had time to answer.
"Hello to you too, Ed" she chuckled.
"Are you coming home for Christmas?"
It was more than a month and a half until Christmas, why did Uncle Brynden want to know that already? And why wasn't he calling her instead of making Edmure do it? They had regular contact, why hadn't he asked her when they talked the day before?
"I am, but why does he want to know that now?"
"He said why, but I forgot to listen, I just know he told me to ask you that."
She had to keep herself from laughing again by biting down on her tongue. It didn't get easier when she locked eyes with Ned who proceeded to wave back at her despite that they were a meter away from each other.
"Okay."
She would have to call him later and see what it was about.
"What are you doing?" Edmure continued, quickly moving past Christmas.
"I'm out with a friend."
"Is it Ashara or Cersei? Or one of your other friends?"
"His name is Ned, you haven't met him."
There was a short pause from Edmure's side.
"Can I say hello to him?" he then asked.
She could imagine him in his room back in Galway. Sitting at his desk in front of the window of the room, picking at the flaking blue paint on his chair, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. He was always like that when she told him about new people.
"Do you want to say hello to my brother?" she said to Ned.
He shrugged.
"Sure, why not?"
She put Edmure on speaker and then held up the phone.
"Alright, you can say hello now, Ed."
"Hello, Ned."
Ned leaned forward slightly to answer.
"Hello, Edmure."
"Are you and my sister actually friends or are you her boyfriend?"
Ned raised his eyebrows in surprise and she felt the moment she stopped breathing, her eyes going wide.
"Pardon?"
"And that's enough!" Catelyn interrupted, quickly taking Edmure off speaker and putting the phone to her ear again. "Say hello to everyone back home and tell them I love them, bye!"
"But–"
She pressed the button to end the call. There was the reason for why not. She should have seen that one coming, she should have known. She could have spared them both the humiliation if she had just thought it through a second time. Edmure didn't have many boundaries, she had hoped that would grow away when he got older, but it never did. Though he still had some years left before he was a lost case, he was only twelve, after all.
"I had no idea that was going to happen, please forgive me" she said in a low voice as she put her phone back in her bag.
If she looked at him she wouldn't be able to see him again. She would have to delete his contact in her phone and erase every proof of that they had ever met.
"My older brother and my sister are exactly like that, I get you."
She had a feeling of that he wasn't looking at her either, but rather up at the sky.
"There's always some comfort in not being alone, I guess."
"There is."
She took a deep breath and then went in for a quick hug. Based on the way his whole body tensed at first she thought it had been a miscalculation from her side, but then he laid his free arm arm over her back and hugged her back. They were only in contact for a few seconds, but during that short time she once more got to feel how warm he was. His future girlfriend would be lucky to have him in the winter, it was nice. He was nice, all of him.
"We'll have to see each other again" she said when they parted.
"Definitely. Will I hear from you in the near future?"
Catelyn scratched Oden behind one ear. He had patiently been standing still and waiting while they had been standing there and talking. Why weren't all dogs like him? She would have liked them a lot better if they were
"You’ll hear from me as soon as I know when I can. Take care."
"You too."
She threw a glance over her shoulder when they walked separate ways. She did so every few seconds until Ned and Oden had disappeared behind a corner and she could no longer see them. She sighed, that sure had been a lot. They had done quite well, she would like to lay the blame with Oden and Edmure for that it had gone as it did. In the future she wouldn't answer any calls from Edmure while she was around people, it was better that way. Much better. When was back home and had climbed up all the stairs to the sixth floor she was met by ABBA. She hadn't even opened the door yet, but she could clearly hear "Dancing Queen". They were probably watching Mamma Mia!, Ashara loved that movie. Catelyn was almost positive she herself had seen the movie half a hundred times just because Ashara put it one at least once a week.
"What the hell did you do in order to look even more like crap than we do?" Cersei asked when she caught sight of her. "Really, what happened to you, KitKat?"
She felt like she was doing a walk of shame. Except for that she hadn't had sex with anyone, she had just spilled coffee all over herself and the person she had been meeting with. She needed fresh clothes. And dinner, she was starving.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, I need a while to process the whole thing."
"Sounds like a successful date" Ashara hummed to the tune of the chorus of the song.
"It was eventful, if nothing else.”
"There's pizza for you in the fridge, if that makes anything better."
Catelyn stopped to look at her, almost believing that she would start crying over some pizza.
"Really?"
"Yeah, go wild."
"I love you, I'll join you in a minute, I just need to change my clothes."
26 notes · View notes
bella-donna418 · 4 years ago
Text
I’m gonna get attacked lol
fiOfficially sacrificing my dignity for this.
Also this check this out because it’s basically everything I say here lol and no, I’m not after credit—but I want to state some of my opinions/thoughts where I’ll use that tweet as my reference.
~~~
Let’s get this done with.
So I was actually rereading the manga all over again, especially the arcs where season 4 that consists of 16? episodes won’t be able to cover.
Will be talking about 122, 137 and 138 (since I’ll be setting them as my reference points for the manga panels)
I love to ask myself questions, but I came upon myself asking;
“What does Ymir want?”
Yes I know that she does want freedom, but thing is;
“What does she really want?”
So imma do a take on this.
(I’m not as big brain as anyone lol srsly I’m already failing at school—but here I am)
~~~
In my POV, what I think she wants is what life is.
Like what does life bring? Why is living life important?
It’s as if she’s asking;
“What do they mean when they say, “Live your life to the fullest?”
In her timeline, growing up in a nature with cruelty and selfishness becoming a norm for people, she starts to slowly see that life is cheap and it could easily be thrown away as long as someone with enough power could do so.
Loving was impossible in such nature.
But one thing seemed to have an impact on her.
Tumblr media
A couple kissing, showing their love for each other.
This quite changed her perspective about life, regarding love or feelings for someone.
It was possible.
That no matter how cruel this world is, love will show the beauty of itself.
Because of course, when reading love stories or watching romantic movies we’d see it as beautiful (not all of us, I mean I, myself, find them cringy lol jkjk)
For her, even if it’s just a plain couple kissing, it was big enough to let her know that such thing exists no matter the nature of the world—whether cruel or not.
But let’s take a look at her backstory where she had quite the opposite of what she wants where she waited 2000 years for someone or some people to show her.
1. Freedom (What is its value?)
Tumblr media
They said she was “free”, but it turns out it wasn’t freedom at all. She was only used as a tool for people to practice hunting. She was still a slave, a tool to be used for something.
2. Purpose/Meaning of life (Why were we all born?)
Tumblr media
In this one, in her times after she got her titan powers, used as a tool for war to crush Marley, she became pregnant and bore the king’s child.
This is why when Maria (assuming it is because it looks like it) was born, she didn’t smile.
She’s probably wondering, “Whats the purpose of being born? To grow up and multiply? To have something to keep living for? Then die?”
Where this was also said by Zeke to Armin:
Tumblr media
But I also wonder what Kenny meant by here:
Tumblr media
The “something” he said must be what purpose is.
Maybe for Ymir, the reason why she kept going must be because she kept following King Fritz’ orders in order to try to live.
Even when King Fritz was gone, she continued following orders from descendants that were from the bloodline of royal blood (Fritz/Reiss is basically the same thing)
(Ok I just love Kenny lol)
3. Love (What is unconditional love?)
Something King Fritz never showed to her.
She was only a concubine, a low-class for him.
Not his wife—not even a queen to rule by his side.
Tumblr media
(Pic also connected to no. 2 lol)
For him, she was still a slave.
Not someone to share mutual feelings with.
Also connecting this no. 2, the king said, “Rise. Work. That is why you were born.” which is clearly her PURPOSE for him and which became her mindset.
(Gurl even she got that titan power, she could never defy him)
~~~
For 2000 years, she must’ve been seeking for the true meaning behind the 3 I have mentioned, why she longed for someone to show them.
For her to see or even experience it herself.
Even watching and knowing what it is will do for her.
Which now brings me to EMA, what they’ve done to show her the meaning of the three.
1. Freedom
My favorite guy, Eren Freedom Yeager—
Anyway, of course the one to show the meaning of freedom will be Eren (too obvious man)
But how did he show it?
Looking back to 122, he clearly said these which made Ymir finally make her first ever choice out of free will.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
No she doesn’t want to end this world nor does Eren want to (don’t take their words and actions literally)
“You’re no slave.”
She wasn’t a slave out of her choice, it was their system from before that brought her to being one.
“You’re no god.”
When she got her titan powers, it’s as if she was a walking goddess who had a choice to crush Marley out of the Eldian king’s prayers or something.
Basically if you prayed and prayed (depends on any religion if you do this, BUT for me, this is what I do lol) you’ll get your wish.
And his wish was to crush Marley using her power.
Which she clearly did making her look like a goddess or something in the range.
“You’re just a person.”
Now this.
This is when Ymir finally got what she also longed for, someone to treat her as a human, not a tool to win wars, not to be a tool to use to bear the king’s children.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
What was something Eren gave her to have be described as “showing her what freedom is”?
Eren gave her the right to choose whether to stay or end it all.
Knowing Ymir would still need an order to do so (idk I assume it again lol), Eren decided to order her to have her own free will and decide for herself. (Violet Evergarden intensifies)
And of course, since she was asked and given the right to choose, she picked the one where she feels like a better choice—end it all.
“You must have been waiting all this time. Waiting 2000 years just for someone.”
Yes, Eren. She’s been waiting 2000 years for you to show her what the value of freedom is and what it is like to decide on your own instead of following orders.
Her reaction to it.
It was a reaction of being glad that finally, after years of waiting, someone finally understood her and treated her as a human—someone who doesn’t see her as a tool to do something—not a fodder.
She finally understood the value of freedom, what it’s importance to life is.
So she could choose things she’ll regret the least or what she thinks is the right call in a situation.
2. Purpose/Meaning of life, what makes it beautiful?
In this one, let’s recall 137.
Armin and Zeke’s conversation.
So while Armin and Zeke while talking to each other about what is life’s purpose and all those stuff—I’m assuming Ymir was listening to their conversation.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
And maybe it wasn’t only Zeke who realized this, but Ymir as well.
That even if times could be cruel and you’d rather be doing the same thing, as long as it makes you happy, you’d still find yourself smiling despite being hurt by the world.
Since I assumed Ymir was listening to this, she finally understood that even something as simple and meaningless to others, as long as it meant something for you, it deserves to be cherished even if it were simple and boring to the eyes of others.
She finally understood another thing that makes life beautiful.
It’s the memories you made and cherished that could be your strength to move on and how life deserves to be seen all throughout—even if the world despises you.
That you set the purpose of your life, not others, because you have the freedom to do so.
She might’ve not experienced this, but at least she heard it from someone who did and what their thoughts about it were.
3. Love
And then this.
Something that she also wanted to see for herself.
She wanted to know if it was indeed possible to love in this cruel world.
If you can still love someone who decided to let you go to become a monster for others.
Tumblr media
And with a simple act such as “kissing” (ignore the fact it’s a severed head gfdi), it made her believe that through life, you could find someone to share mutual feelings with, to love someone.
And how it’s not easy to live life without someone to love.
Because a loved one is your source of strength.
Your motivation to anything.
And this exactly made her smile.
She saw it herself, unconditional love.
Even if they became a monster—or is a monster—as long as you love them, you’d be able to forgive them and show them that for you, they’re a human.
~~~
Let’s see what Ymir did after getting things she have longed for.
So since Eren showed her what it’s like to decide for your own, she helped him by lending her power to him.
Tumblr media
For Armin, he showed/told her that life itself has a meaning and purpose and that is yours to decide what it would be, and the beauty of the memories you cherished.
Therefore, she helped him by letting past titan shifters fight with them in order to stop the rumbling.
Tumblr media
But what would she do for Mikasa? Since she’s smiling, I assume it was because she finally completed the puzzle she’s been trying to solve ever since.
And it was about what life truly is and why people were born in the first place.
Manifesting my answer would be on ch.139 of what she’d do for Mikasa.
~~~
Goodbye my dignity I did something so dumb I’m embarrassed.
49 notes · View notes
wolfiafuntime · 3 years ago
Text
A rant/theory about MK and his family
Okay, so I've recently joined the LMK fandom, and after binge-watching the first two seasons on a shady website (bc I completely forgot I had Amazon), I have just one question:
Why does MK have his powers? Better yet, HOW does MK has his powers? And, while we're at it, where the heck are his parents, and WHY does he live above Pigsy's Noodles?? Does Pigsy live above Pigsy's Noodles??? I remember from one of the episodes that he had been working at Pigsy's for two years, and I remember from another episode that he's got a long-butt name, and that's why he goes by MK in the first place. I also took a quick look at his wiki page to find out more about him, but only found that he was a teenager, which is when I realized that MK literally never goes to school.
How old is MK? Who are his parents? I know this fandom isn't very inquisitive, but we've gotta start asking some questions at some point, people. But, at the same time, I don't want you to anyone any questions. Because if people start asking questions, the flow of the show might be disturbed. I mean, there's ten-episode seasons (all of which last about ten minutes), and two forty-minute specials. And I know that's not a lot of time to hint at families, but seriously, why haven't we gotten SOMETHING about MK's family???
Now, I don't want to disturb this fandom (at least too much, since I'm gonna post this rant, anyway), but I think I have an answer to the horrible question that I alone brought upon myself... And now have presented to you. Here it is:
MK is Monkey King's descendant. I wanna say that MK is Sun Wukong's son, but that doesn't make sense. Because Sun Wukong doesn't seem like the type of person (monkey?) to just be absent from his kid's life. And (I have no idea how to word this next part without making our dear Monkey King seem creepy) he doesn't seem like the type of person to not stalk his ex-lover. However, he does seem like the type of person/monkey to eventually stop interacting with his descendants... But he'll still stalk him, because he wants to make sure his family is safe.
Now, Wukong having kids brings a few questions with it. And conveniently, I have answers.
New Question 1: When did Sun Wukong have kids?
Answer 1: When he trapped the Demon Bull King under that mountain. I mean, it only makes sense, seeing as he disappeared immediately after. And why else would such a mischievous man suddenly disappear, other than the fact that he had a kid?
New Question 2: Why isn't Sun Wukong's kid alive? DBK's kid is!
Answer 2: Well, after watching the first episode of OSP's JTTW summary series, I learned that Wukong created a lot of havoc in the Celestial Realm. So, I imagine that once they learned that Wukong was having a kid, they panicked and did something to stilt the Monkey King's kid's powers, which made the kid, and the kid's kids, mortal and powerless. I imagine that the Monkey King eventually figured out that something was up when his kid(s) got basically NONE of his genes or powers, made a visit to some Gods to figure out what the heck was up, and discovered what they did. He got understandably mad about it, and made such a stink that the Gods agreed to give his kid(s) their rightful powers, but it was too late to give them their rightful genes. However, they (somehow) managed to convince him that a bunch of kids with nearly unimaginable power would be dangerous, so they all agreed that the powers would only activate once they touched Sun Wukong's staff-- which they couldn't, because it was sealing away DBK.
New Question 3: Why wasn't Sun Wukong in MK's life until the (first) special?
Answer: He stopped interacting with his descendants after his wife and children died, having fallen into an understandable depression because of it. He did manage to eventually climb out of it, which is when he made a movie franchise, and maybe a few games. He also started keeping an eye on his golden staff, secretly hoping that he would one day meet one of his descendants. A few years after this started, the Demon Bull Family went to free their father, and MK showed up. The Monkey King felt a familiarly powerful air coming from him, and realized that MK was one of his descendants. He might've found this out using his true sight, but I have doubts about that, seeing as MK would've found out the same way. However, it should be noted that I don't completely know how their shared true sight ability works - I know that in JTTW, it automatically reveals all disguised demons. But in LMK, it seems to reveal anything that's currently being searched for. So, if Wukong wanted to know if MK was his descendant, he could. But, seeing as MK never had any reason to search for his ancestors, he wouldn't be able to find out if Wukong was one in the first place.
Totally-A-New-Question 4: What happened to MK's parents?
Answer: Still no clue.
And with that, this has been a rant/theory about MK and his family.
12 notes · View notes