#little does he know she’s forgiven him for that bullshit. she forgave him a long time ago but he still beats himself up over it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bruh--wtf · 4 years ago

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hi can i anonymously request a jess mariano imagine where its something similar to the scolding he does to rory but instead reader does that wake up call for him because he is not acting like himself. i hope that this makes sense but to summarise a angst where reader scolds him for his unusual behaviour but with a happy ending

Yes, definitely! I hope I did this right, I didn't think it was confusing but if I read it wrong, feel free to call me out.

Reason for Return

Masterlist

Jess Mariano x Reader

Liz and TJ were getting married. Luke told you it was Renaissance themed. He was enthusiastic about it, of course. Well he didn't tell you specifically. You were getting lunch with Lorelai. And he told both of you.

Lorelai Gilmore. She was your surrogate mother. You'd asked her to adopt you, and you were sure your parents wouldn't know the difference if she did.

You went to college, of course. But you live at home because you're school was close by.

Tomorrow's the wedding. You were watching Kirk yell at Miss. Patty. You rolled your eyes, walking oast the gazibo, towards Lukes. Then you see him. Sitting on the bench.

He meets your eyes, his expression was flat. You tried to hide your shock, but stumbled a little. You quickly walk towards Luke's. You glare at him as you walk in. He puts his hands up.

"What did I do?" He asks. "I really don't need anyone else to give me shit."

"No warning. No warning whatsoever?!" You hiss, sitting down at the counter. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath.

"I forgot," he says. You gape at him.

"You forgot? You forgot to tell me Jess was coming?" You ask. He puts his hands on the counter.

"It's his mom's wedding," he says.

"What did he say when you told him that?" You ask. He nods, not answering. He knew you were right. "He looks pissed. Why does he look pissed?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I walked past him in the park and he looked numb. What's with that?" You ask. He sighs, giving you a sympathetic look.

Before Jess moved, you two were close. Really close. He was close with Rory, obviously. He was the reason her and Dean broke up. Well, Dean read the situation wrong. But he was right about one thing. Rory wasn't in love with him anymore. But if he had said "Y/N's into him," instead, that would be correct.

You weren't completely sure if Jess liked her or not. But, they never dated.

You were closer to dating the boy than your friend. But that too, never happened.

"He's just here for the wedding, Y/N," he says. You nod as he sets a mug down infront of you. Then he looks up and pulls the cup away. You gape at him.

"You're really depriving me of coffee now?" You ask. His eyes widened a fraction. You look behind you at where Jess was now walking into the diner.

He briefly looks at Luke and you. Mainly you. But it was still brief. He goes upstairs. You clench your fists. You stand up and Luke walks infront of the stairs.

"Really want to do that right now?" you ask. He sighs, moving to let you up the stairs. You go up to the apartment.

You step inside to see Jess grabbing a new book. You didn't have time to see what it was, but it looked like Luke's.

He looks over at you and rolls his eyes, not looking at you for long.

"I don't even get a hello?" You ask. He closes the book, which looked to have another one inside of it, and tries to walk past you. But you close the apartment door. He clenches his jaw, still avoiding looking at you.

"Nothing. For over a year," you say. He looks at you finally. "Say something!"

"What do you want me to say?" He asks.

"At least try to defend yourself," you say. He reaches around you for the door handle. You push him back, further into the apartment.

"I don't need to defend myself to you," he says. You raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, no? Who was it that left me right before graduation completely broken?" His eyes leave yours again. "Want to defend yourself now?"

"This town was never for me, you know that," he says. You scoff.

"Bullshit," you say. He glares at you. "You liked it here, I know you did."

"You don't know anything about me," he says, again trying to get passed you.

"Like hell I don't!" You yell, pushing him back yet again. "I forgave you. Of course you wouldn't know that, because you weren't here. But I did. Months ago. Because Luke explained it to me. And I knew you well enough to figure out why you thought not graduating was even remotely intelligent," you say. His jaw was still clenched.

"If you forgave me, then why do you want me to defend myself?"

"Because you're acting like a complete asshole! You should at least want to try and talk to me. But you can barely look at me! And I want to know why!"

He couldn't meet your eye. You tilt your head slightly, trying to get him to look at you. You raise an eyebrow. You noticed how his hair had grown out a little bit.

"What the hell is going on with you?" You ask. He looks at you.

"I didn't mean to break you, and you shouldn't have forgiven me," he says. You stare at the boy.

"You're kidding me, right? You're acting like this because you want me to be pissed at you?"

He meets your eyes again, showing you were right. You scoff. "Tell me what's going on with you," you say. He doesn't say anything. "Tell me!"

"I can't give you an answer that you would like," he says. You scoff, giving a sarcastic smile.

"I can't promise I'd like any answer. But I still want one," you say. He blinks, looking down, avoiding looking at you yet again. You bring a hand up to his face, trying to turn it slightly, but he turns his face further away. You bring your other hand up. He looks at you. "Please, Jess."

He lets out a breath, and you felt the hot air fan your face. Your breath hitched slightly, but it wasn't enough for him to notice. "I didn't talk to you because I knew that talking to you would make me want to come back."

You stare at him for a moment. Your hands become loose and they slide down slightly, landing on his chest. You tried to understand. You didn't know what it could actually mean. He sees the confusion on your face and shifts more, to face you.

"I liked it here, you're right. Only because of Luke, Rory, and you. Mainly you. And if I heard your voice, if I knew you weren't mad at me, I would have been back here instantly."

You stare at him. You were hoping his words meant one thing, but part of you doubted it. The bigger part. "What's so wrong with that?" You ask.

"Nobody wants me here. Not Luke, not the town-"

"I do!" You say. He watches you. "And... even if you didn't stay here, I want you to at least talk to me!"

You realize your hands have probably sat in their spot for far to long, so you let them fall yet again. This time they landed at your sides, as you let out a sigh.

"I don't deserve you," he says, almost quietly. You meet his eyes.

"Jess-"

"No, I knew it when we started getting close. I knew that this would happen. I hurt you and you still somehow want to talk to me," he says, like he can't believe it.

"Well it's true. You're right, the town doesn't want you here. But Luke does. And I'm sure your mom does. And I do. If you want to be somewhere else, that's fine. But don't pretend like you didn't spend years here, like we don't exist."

"You think that's what I've been doing?"

"Sure seems like it."

"Well, it's not." You stare at him and raise an eyebrow. "I think about you every single day. You are always somehow popping into my head."

"Jess... what are you saying?" His fingers trace your wrist lightly, as if he's hesitant to hold your hands.

"I'm saying that if I had stayed, I would have wanted more than just being friends," he admits. You felt your mouth fall open slightly.

It took you a minute to process and question. "You-"

"I'm in love with you." Your eyes widen even more.

He looks nervous, waiting for a response. You couldn't fully process it. Jess Mariano. The boy you were the closest with for so long. The boy who you fell for a few months after he moved to your town. He was in love with you. And you'd wanted to hear it for so long, but you couldn't form the words to say it back.

He takes your silence as the wrong answer. He takes his hands away, nodding, looking down at his book, then up at the door. He takes a step around you, out into the stairway. You finally leap into motion. You turn, grabbing his wrist.

"Y/N-" he is cut off by you rising up slightly on your toes, connecting your lips with his. He didn't take long to react. His lips felt slightly chapped, and moved gently against your own. His hands found the side of your face. One of your hands gently rested intbetween his chest and abdomen. And your other hand reached up, lightly tracing his arm.

When the two of you finally pull apart, he rests his head on yours. "I don't know if you noticed... but I love you too." He chuckles, one of his hands mindlessly playing with your hair.

"I might need you to show me that again," he says. You tried to hide your smile by biting your lips. A small blush crept onto your cheeks. "Would you be my date to the wedding?"

You pecked his lips, still smiling.

"I'll take that as a yes?" You laugh slightly, nodding.

"Yes. It's a yes."

#gilmore girls fic #lorelai gilmore #gilmore girls #rory gilmore #jess mariano x y/n #jess mariano fic #jess mariano x you #jess mariano x reader #jess mariano #lukes diner #luke danes #liz and tj

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angsty-omi · 4 years ago

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PART 2 OF RAINFALL.

part 1 here

oikawa x fem!reader angst

warning: toxic relationship, verbal matches, no happy ending, swearing

lowercase intended.

“i will never put you over volleyball again...” you couldn’t leave him. he only did it this one time. give him a break. you led yourself to believe this. to pity him. but little did you know, forgiving him also meant that you were okay with being second to volleyball. oh, you naive little girl.

two years later.

“look at us now? isn’t it funny?,” you chuckled to yourself, thinking back to the moment where you just ate up his words and forgave him like that.

nowadays, you don’t even fuss over the fact that he continuously stands you up. he doesn’t listen. he’s doesn’t even try to hear you out. everytime he says the same thing, “i mean c’mon y/n, i play in the big leagues now. this isn’t high school anymore, practices go on for a hours. and then after, the team always wants to celebrate. can’t you just be supportive for me?” and to which you reply, “you’re right.” not saying anything more or less. even though you truly know what he’s saying is wrong, you didn’t want to believe it. just not yet.

one morning, it was pouring outside. and when you say pouring, it was flood warning worthy. you smiled, knowing when it rains, tooru is forced to come home. the team didn’t like celebrating in the rain. it ruined their hair and mood. you looked to your left and saw a sleepy tooru. sneaking a peck, his lips tasted like alcohol. your chest got tight. however, you shook it off, as he slowly started to open his eyes. the brown specks greeted you with a small grin. pulling you into a deeper kiss. this. this made you forget every thrown word and fight in the past. you pulled away, “it’s raining. hopefully for dinner we can stay in, yeah? i’ll whip up some recipes and we can just relax?”you hid your face in his chest. assuming he’s gonna shut you down. he moves your chin up to look at him. “i’ll be there,” he said with such words. as if they meant something. again, your heart was so happy, you could die right then and there.

a few minutes later, he got out of the shared king bed, and prepared for the day. you didn’t really want that moment to end. but you didn’t mind that much because you got to spend time with him later in the day.

but later in the day never came.

where are you tooru? it’s six-thirty and practice ended at six. the food is getting cold. “he will be here. he promised,” you reassured yourself. six-thirty turned to seven and seven turned into nine. you decided again, to take matters in your own hands. you called a taxi to take you the court. no way he’s again prioritizing volleyball over you. even then, you don’t even care that he does; you just wanted him to at least priotize you. there you walk in, thinking he’s going to be by himself. at least then you could yell at him in privacy. but, no, low and behold he’s with the manager. she’s been throwing balls with him. they looked like the perfect couple.

when you went to tooru’s games, you couldn’t help but notice the manager was just so pretty, you just couldn’t help but compare yourself with her sometimes.

they don’t hear you walk in. until tooru was about to set yet another ball, and you swerve it before he could push it back up in the air. those same brown specks, widened as he saw you. he then remembered the promise he made you this morning. he was truly so screwed. but maybe he thought that since you’ve forgiven him so many times maybe this time is just like that. “let’s wrap this up. tooru, home now,” you said with such urgency in your voice. why the urgency? you were about to bawl right then and there. but no. not in front of her. you walk out, and waited outside the locker room.

while waiting for him, you thought to yourself, “this feels familiar, huh? the rain, check. waiting for him outside, check. and you having to take initiative, check.”

the cab ride was silent. with tooru stealing a few glances at you, you only had a straight face. not happy, not sad. just monotone. as soon as you guys walked into your shared apartment, with you behind him slamming the front door. there. now you can cry, scream, and any new emotions you haven’t unlocked yet.

“I’ve put up with enough of your bullshit, tooru. I’ve waited two years to see if you’d change. NOT EVEN CHANGE, JUST TO LISTEN TO ME...” you gasped trying to breathe.

“i always think back to that day when we met at the park, your face, was so panicked. how you promised me you’d propose, or how you would never stand me up again. that statement bought you two years of me looking away” you started to smile, however only for a quick second. “and to my mistake that was too long. but i was willing to wait, y’know? because i loved you.. do you even realize how selfish you are?” at this point, tears were slowly flowing down.

“I’m the selfish one?” tooru scoffed, “you know what you’re ridiculous y/n, look at what you’re standing on. i got this for us. this big ass apartment for YOU. this TV for you, this BED for you..” as tooru continuously points out things he’s purchased.

as he pointed to the last thing for his example, he was greeted with a china plate slamming only a few inches to the left of him. more and more plates smashed on the wall. you’re not even thinking, finally letting your emotions lead you. no way he’s blaming you.

“you’re a fucking psychopath,” oikawa screamed.

you’re lying. you couldn’t even believe his words. you belted, “YOU MADE ME THIS WAY, the way i needed you the most and you chose volleyball over me. the way i ignored all the warning signs of this toxic relationship because i loved you so much, i couldn’t deal with the reality. but i’m so so tired of it. did you know? every new years, i prayed that you would find time for me. can you believe it? i could’ve prayed for my family to be healthy, or that we could get rich. but no. i wasted my wishes on YOU, you bastard,” smashing plates onto the ground. until you couldn’t even see the floor.

your eyes blinded by raindrops, rather than love anymore. oikawa grabbed your wrists with a brute force. halting the plate-smashing machine. “stop y/n, let’s have a civil conversation,” he tried to calm you down.

but this only ignited the fire even bigger.

“oh my god, you’re so right.” you start to laugh, but with tears still free falling. “why didn’t I think of that?” you said aloud and wiggled your wrists out of his grasp. frantically walking to your shared bedroom. grabbing a suitcase on the top shelf and just started packing. not even knowing if these were even your clothes.

you just needed your point across.

you could feel oikawa on his knees behind you and hugging your waist. feeling his tears on the back of your shirt pained you. you just kept on packing and packing. not even fully consious of what’s going on, but you knew that it was right. finally zipping up the last thing, you tried to walk to the exit. tried. it was a pain to walk from your bedroom to the door, due to a 6 foot man clinging onto you like you were the tree to his koala.

as you were directly by the door, you turned around to face him, with his grasp loosening on your waist. you wanted one last look before this story ended. you kissed his tears, savoring them. and then his lips. the kiss was electric, and in his head, he thought that this was a close one and that you’re not leaving. kissing you so happily. however... you were saying goodbye forever.

as you pulled away, you gripped your suitcase and quickly exited out the door.

oikawa quickly followed behind you. following you. he couldn’t lose you. not when he finally was going to try changing. not when it finally got through to his head. he finally listened. there was a taxi already hailed and you rushed in, “drive” you said. as the car starts to move away, you see oikawa running out of your apartment complex. you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. him standing on the road, in the rain, but this time he didn’t have you by his side.

crazy, how all the dramatic parts of your relationship occurred in the rain. the beginning, the first fight, and the bitter ending.

tags: @a-one-eyed-ghoul

congrats on being my first tagged lol!

a/n: that concludes my first fic! sorry if they’re grammar mistakes i’m still trying. you won’t see many happy endings on my page if i can’t see one. like this story for example i can’t see a way for this to be happy. anyways, if you liked this, please like, repub, or follow for more angst!

#haikyuu angst #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #oikawa angst #oikawa x reader #haikyuu fanfiction

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ben-the-hyena · 4 years ago

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Yeah. The fact that they sympathize with people who corrupted so many gems because they had a hissy fit is kind of sick. Like, Steven hates Kevin but he doesn’t hate the diamonds? What kind of double standard bullshit is that?

THIS

IF AT LEAST (EMPHASIS ON AT LEAST BECAUSE IT WOULD STILL HAVE BEEN SHITTY) HE LOVED KEVIN TOO AND TRIES TO REFORM HIM ANS FORGAVE HIM SURE

BUT HE'S THE ONE PERSON STEVEN ABSOLUTELY LOATHES AND GETS ANGRY AT AND INSULTS UNDER HIS BREATHE

OK I TOO HATE KEVIN HE IS A HUGE ASSHOLE

BUT KEVIN DIDN'T SLAUGHTER FULL PLANETS AND TORTURE PEOPLE

AND NOTE THAT WHILE REBECCA SUGAR STUPIDLY SAYS "evEryBOdy HaS gOoD iN tHEm" TO EXCUSE HER AWFUL WRITING OF RUSHED CHARACTER ARCS (THEY WERE SADISTIC AND EUGENIST AND FASCIST AND ALL ESPECIALLY WHITE DIAMOND WHO EVEN LOBOTOMIZED HER OWN FAMILY BUT SHE BLUSHES AND SAID SOWWY SO NOW SHE IS UWU KAWAII DESU) FOR HER VILLAINS TO PUSH HER DUMB LITTLE BELIEF THAT WILL BE MORE NOCIVE THAN ANYTHING TO KIDS IN THE LONG RUN (EVIL PEOPLE WHO ARE EVIL FOR THE SAKE OF BEING EVIL *TRULY* EXIST AND TO KNOW KIDS WILL WANT TO HUG THEM AND PUT THEMSELVES IN DANGER IS HORRIBLE TO THINK OF) AND RESULTS MORE FROM A HOLIER THAN THOU NEED THAN A REAL MESSAGE, KEVIN GETS NOTHING AND IS HATED UNTIL THE END. SURE I DIDNT WANT HIM TO BE FORGIVEN HE WAS AN ASSHOLE BECAUSE HE COULD BUT WHY IS IT THE MORAL FOR THE MAIN VILLAIN AND THE WHOLE SHOW BUT IS AN EXCEPTION FOR JUST A HIGHSCHOOL BULLY !? STAY CONSISTANT IN YOUR WRITING AND MORALS LOGIC DAMMIT

THAT DOUBLE STANDARD IS HYPOCRITE AS FUCK AND JUST MAKES THE SHOW AND IT'S SUGARY (NO PUN INTENDED) SMILES AND MESSAGES WORSE OH MY GOD I HATE

BUT TO BE FAIR I WOULD HAVE STILL HATED THE SHOW EVEN IF KEVIN WAS FORGIVEN LIKE THE DIAMONDS BECAUSE THEN THAT WOULD ENRAGE ME THAT ONCE AGAIN THEY THROW FORGIVENESS TICKETS OVER THE WINDOW AT EVERYONE NO MATTER ALL THE FUCKED UP THING THEY DID. THE TORTURED AND OPPRESSED GEMS BATHING WITH THEIR EXECUTIONERS WHO ARE NOW ALL UWU FRIENDLY AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED, OH GOD IT'S SO INSULTING TO VICTIMS. WHAT DOES IT TEACH !? THAT VICTIMS WHO DON'T WANT TO FIRGIVE ARE JUST BITTER BITCHES WHO CAN'T MOVE ON !? FUCK YOU, FRANCHISE !

AND FUCK THAT HYPOCRISY FROM STEVEN AND THE WRITERS

FUCK IT ALL

#I USED TO LOOOVE THAT SHOW AND SEASON 5 BROKE MY HEART OH MY GOD #SEASON 4 WAS GREAT AND EVEN IT HAD SOME RED FLAGS AT MOMENTS #AND NOW I HATE IT. I AM SO SAD AND MAD. SMAD #GORDO MAMON #steven universe #ask #anon #tv show #moi #forgiving #angry #WHY #kevin #the diamond authority #corruption #this #fans don't look

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takerfoxx · 5 years ago

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She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Season 5, Episode 6, “Taking Control,” First Impressions!

OKAY! OKAY! WHAT THE FUCK?!

DID NOELLE WRITE THIS SEASON FOR ME SPECIFICALLY? LIKE, DID SHE GO, “HEY, I LIKE THAT TAKERFOXX DUDE, I THINK I’LL WRITE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING SEASON TO APPEAL TO HIM IN SPECIFIC!”

=breathes out=

Wow.

Um, guys. I don’t know where to start. Usually I’d have one thing I’d like to gush about so I’d go ahead and comment on everything else first, but this time I want to gush about EVERYTHING!

Okay, fine. Let’s go in order.

Catra, so far, is being handled brilliantly. Like, even after having her life collapse all around her, despite having her soul crushed and being forcibly brainwashed, despite EVERYTHING, once she was safe she starts acting out again, because that kind of toxic behavior is literally all she knows. She’s so used to responding to her heavy feelings of guilt by doubling and tripling down that even those she’s hurt are trying to help her, she can’t help but lash out at them. She feels so bad about everything she did to all of them that she can’t bear to face them. I love that one line Glimmer had: “This is Catra we’re talking about. Did you think she was instantly going to be a totally different person?” It shows that Catra still has so much work to do to better herself, and it’s not going to be easy, nor should it be easy.

But damn it, she’s trying! She’s hurt and broken and scared and losing her mind, but she’s trying, even going so far as to use her link to the Horde Hivemind to try to see Horde Prime’s plans (more on that later), even if it did take Adora threatening to leave her for her to come to her senses, because after everything, she finally has Adora at her side, and she realizes how much it would destroy her to push Adora away again. Oh man, I so wanted to give her a great big hug, even if it’s a good thing I can’t because she’d claw me to pieces out of spite. This has revived the River Tam woobie feelings again. It’s been so long.

I really liked her and Entrapta’s little moment too, and I don’t have a problem with how easily Entrapta forgave her. Firstly, it’s Entrapta, and she’s just like that. Secondly, Entrapta needed to be forgiven pretty recently too, so they’re both coming along.

And that little moment at the end...awwww. Like, okay, at first it was a little weird that Bow was so welcoming to Catra after being so cold to Glimmer. But then I realized that he had more reason to be disappointed with Glimmer because he expected more from her, and he’s always been quick to reach out to defecting enemy soldiers.

And can I saw that Wrong Hordak is adorable and I love him? He’s been around for two episode but if anything happened to him, I’d kill everyone in the room and then myself.

Well, maybe not myself, but I’d feel really bad.

So! Saved the B-Plot for last because it had the last scene.

Poor Micah. He’s just trying so hard to reconnect with his old life, but everything has passed him by. Glimmer’s coming back, and how is he even going to be able to connect with her? She was a little girl when he last saw her, and he can’t even relate to the actual little girl that they have around, and Frosta probably wasn’t even born when he was exiled! At the very least she was probably still a toddler.

Also, anyone getting some real Cirno vibes from Frosta? Anyone?

I am happy to see Netossa and Spinnerella, and like that they’re looking after Frosta. And what’s this? A same sex couple casually kissing in a children’s show? GASP! Those horrible gays and their gay agendas with their openly having healthy relationships and looking after kids and helping support a worried single father! The SIN!

Man, they just give no fucks this season, do they? It’s like they saved up all there “might get us in trouble with the censors” points and cashed them in all at once.

This is further shown during their rescue mission to...I forgot how to spell it, but the place where they first met Double Trouble (and where the hell are they?)(It’s Elberon! That was some risky Googling). Of course Swift Wind wants a party, because that went so well last time. But anyway, I figured out that the whole town had been taken by Horde Prime pretty quickly, but that didn’t stop the “party” scene from being incredibly unsettling. Like, are they tried to have a major creep-out scene every episode now?

Not complaining.

But you know how this song and dance goes. Trap, Horde Prime does his thing, and everyone is surrounded. Micah and Frosta finally connect on the battlefield, and...things get WAY creepier when the enslaved townsfolk try to break into the ice sphere! Though why did they go for a shield instead of an exit? You have Spinnerella right...oh, right.

Fortunately, at that exact moment, Adora finally gets super-pissed enough when the Horde that she figures out how to tap into She-Ra and make it stick! And oooooh my God, that first sword? Turns out, it was holding her back, like some kind of stabby power inhibitor, because She-Ra fucking went Super Saiyan! She straight up whooped that Horde squadron’s ass and looked magnificent doing it! And don’t @ me about her being overpowered or some other bullshit, this is totally earned and it felt SO satisfying!

You know, I figured out part of this show’s brilliance. Spend four seasons making both the good and the bad guys varying levels of complex and sympathetic like most good kid shows do while building up a super-duper bad guy, have him show up in the last season, then put EVERYONE all on the same team, and that way we don’t have any trouble rooting for the good guys!

Except Shadow Weaver. Please don’t redeem her.

BUT ANYWAY, Adora going all Captain Marvel did the trick of not only saving them and their ship (and really turning Catra on, my God), but also giving Swift Wind enough of a power up to let the B-Players escape. And...well...

I guess we now know why Netossa was crying in the trailer.

Fuck.

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roominthecastle · 6 years ago

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post--“620″ ramblings about stuff & things

so 620 picks up one week after the succulent goose incident. Despite those 7 days, our Red remains as angry and hurt as he was before (if not more), which is our first key point. “I can neither kill... nor trust... nor forgive.” It’s quite an unsettling thing to hear, to say the least, and Liz, unsettled, immediately counters w/ “You forgave Dembe.” This Liz vs Dembe thread that’s been earnestly pulled on since 618 gives us the second key. It reaches all the way back to the first episode of this season where it gets established why such a comparison is not working as an argument: “That’s different.”

In both 620 and 601 we have a moment where Liz and Red try to drag poor Dembe in between them as an “example” to deflect pressure, but each immediately rejects this stunt bc they both know that the nature of their relationship is different. The forgiveness of a parent (figure) is not forthcoming for Liz bc Red’s feelings for her are not really those of a parent. This exact issue emerged after her faked death, too, and Bokenkamp touched upon Red’s point of view already, i.e. how the parent figure would have to forgive but the romantic partner is, in fact, conflicted [x]. But I’ve already written a longer piece on this duality, so I won’t get into it here.

And Red’s been struggling. He is heartbroken again and not as a parent. A parent’s heartbreak is equated to “being impaled by a unicorn” and -- still barred from being in her life -- it’s little Agnes whom Red watches riding a unicorn on the carousel. :)

With Liz, Red is suffering through something else that 100% parallels what Liz went through w/ Tom re, love, betrayal, and forgiveness. She was in limbo where she couldn’t kill, she couldn’t trust, she couldn’t forgive. She lost control and cold fury was the only way to get some of it back. And then she gave in to hope and “forgave every lie and believed every promise” only to get betrayed again. Red describes his predicament the same way: she “has lied and deceived me and I've forgiven her every time” and “I knew but I let my hopes convince me that she wouldn’t betray me.” This ties straight back to the idea of being in love == being rendered powerless, which is part of a larger quote from James about self-deception vs true romantic love. Part of this had a cameo in S2 and another is echoed at the end of this episode (the greeting card bit).

The topic of appearance vs truth is the third key that slides neatly into the broader question of Red’s identity. We have two important scenes that poke this issue:

one w/ Ressler when he questions Dom’s story and Liz’s willingness to gloss over the holes to preserve a neat surface appearance: “But is it the truth? Does it make sense that this is the answer?”

and the other is w/ torture master Teddy who points out how Red lives a charade: “The code's like the suit and the hat. You feel good wearing it. Look good, too. Million bucks. But, and I gotta think deep down you know this, it's like lipstick on a pig. It can cover a lotta sins. End of the day, it's still trayf.”

and all this nicely echoes Dom’s words from the previous episode (the “architect of this charade” who’s “stepping into the lie”) and the way Red kicks off the whole show in 101: “Everything about me is a lie.”

Red wears a disguise, is the point. “Raymond Reddington” is a lie he’s been inhabiting for a yet to be fully uncovered purpose. But ever since he met Liz, he’s been longing to break from this. It’s clearly expressed in all those emotional moments he shares w/ her, e.g.:

“I haven't been home in years. But if anyone can give me a second chance, it's you.”

“Sailors have been navigating by the stars for thousands of years. Odysseus spent a decade at war. But his biggest battle was finding his way home. That's Polaris, the North Star. That's how sailors used to find their way home. When I look at you, that's what I see. I see my way home.”

“It may be hard for you to imagine, but I once had a relatively normal life... bills to pay, play dates, family, some friends, people to care about. Lost all that. // Lost how? // In Mexico, there are these fish that have colonized the freshwater caves along Sierra del Abra. They were lost. They found themselves living in complete darkness. But they didn't die. Instead, they thrived. They adapted. They lost their pigmentation, their sight, eventually even their eyes. With survival, they became... hideous. I've rarely thought about what I once... was. But I wonder...if a ray of light were to make it into the cave, would I be able to see it? Or feel it? Would I gravitate to its warmth? And if I did, would I become... less hideous?”

When Red looks at Liz and Agnes, the deep longing for that past self w/ a wife and daughter stirs in him. It surfaces when she tells him her simple yet distant dream of walking in the park w/ her husband and daughter. They want the exact same thing. This is consistent throughout the seasons. He’s been gently signaling this to her and she’s been fleeing from it bc he is just... too much and the idea of him in that role in her life is an attractive yet scary image (see her steamy dream of him in S2 that blends sensuality and dread as Red, having murdered her husband, stalks up to her bed asking what she really wants).

Red’s anger as a way to reestablish a semblance of soothing control and Liz’s refusal to face the truth to protect herself are what we have in that last scene in 620. “father figure” is a buffer zone, always has been, it’s part of the charade Red lives while wearing Reddington’s identity. Despite having pushed for the truth, she is now trying to lock him into this lie, telling him that that’s what he will always be. And if you keep in mind those quotes above that show how Red longs for a past life around her, then you can see how her words likely inflict more pain.

This brings another quote from Red to mind:

“You said something before. The truth doesn’t matter, that the only thing in this world that matters is just the appearance of truth. I fear you might be right about that. Lately I find that the truth has become… so elusive. Often imaginary. But in the end, it’s all that we’re left with, isn’t it? What is real, what you can taste and touch and feel. The words that pass between us as we look each other in the eye are… all we have to hold on to. The truth. I hold it dear.”

In their first scene where Liz talks about finally having the opportunity to be completely honest w/ each other, they sit face to face. And then promptly dance back from it all, esp Red. Then she soon admits to Ressler that she might be closing her eyes to the whole truth to keep things simple, safe and "sweet”. And so in their last scene, there is no eye contact at all as she tells Red that it doesn’t matter who he once was (never mind that months ago she was willing to put him in jail to find out) bc this fake identity is who he is and who he will always be, which apparently dictates that he must play father and grandfather.

The sheer arrogance and presumptuousness of this statement are already begging for a strong rebuttal but it also nicely reflects Liz’s tendency to make things about herself while brushing aside how others might feel or think. She did this w/ Tom when she refused to see who he really was and tried to convince herself he’d changed. And she does this to Ressler, too, when she tells him she knows he did everything bc he thought it was what was best for her, never mind that that was not Ressler’s motivation at all and he, in fact, said that to her already. Her last scene w/ Red has this vibe to it.

The fact that Agnes is part of this park scene is no coincidence, imo. Red is not comfortable w/ playing Liz’s dad. If he were, he wouldn’t have denied being her dad when she asked him in S1 (since wearing Reddington’s identity provides the wiggle room here), he wouldn’t have winced and cringed every time she referred to him as “father” in S5, and he wouldn’t have had the same reaction at the end of 620, either. He doesn’t embrace it, he doesn’t like it, he just endures it. There was a (sadly discarded) line back in S1/S2 about how he would be willing to play any role she wanted him to play but I believe something has changed since then. Even back in 102, he enthusiastically offers her the role of girlfriend and when she refuses, he flatly tells her that she can play daughter then. The preference on his part seems consistent but it will always be up to Liz to give the green light. Or the red one.

He wants to be a father to Agnes and he’s already confessed it in 319 (“I would give anything to be a part of that child's life... hold her... watch her grow.”). And the only time during the park scene when we can see the cold tension melt off him is when he sees the little girl. And when he hears Liz’s decision to bring Agnes home, his stony demeanor crumbles completely.

This is also where another part of that quote from James mentioned above seeps into the dialog: when Red remarks that Liz’s code is not a code but a greeting card -- confused, self-deceiving bullshit (just like Teddy called his code part of a charade designed to hide the scary truth). They are still not being honest w/ each other, they don’t look each other in the eye, they are still dancing around the actual truth at the core of their relationship. Red is deeply hurt, all his hopes seemingly dashed, which drives him to clam up even more and detach to mitigate the pain. He can’t kill but he can try and kill his true feelings for her, I suppose. And Liz is still afraid to face what it is exactly that fuels his intimate commitment to her, so she draws a line in the sand, declaring it permanent. But...

“You know the problem with drawing lines in the sand? With a breath of air, they disappear.”

James stated -- while talking about TBL -- that he’s not interested in material that doesn’t have a romantic/sexual aspect to explore. He also said that he is fascinated by Red and Liz’s relationship, that Red’s feelings for her are strong, complex, and complicated, and that neither is sure of the true nature of their relationship.

so bottom line (to quote Ressler who’s fast becoming the only voice of reason now that Dembe left): Red locked in the surrogate parent role just bc he wears Reddington’s identity for a different, still mostly unknown purpose -- is it the truth? does it make sense that this is the answer?

nope.

And I think it’s interesting that Cooper was designated as a “spokesperson” when he is in the dark about what happened between Red and Liz: the one who is mostly in the dark speaks about a family bond but his assessment (of love, faith, commitment) could easily pass for a wedding vow, too. It’s nothing but fitting, imo.

This latest fallout created a huge fracture in the Red/Liz relationship and I don’t expect them to repair it in the 2 episodes we have left this season. But Agnes is back and I think she will be the glue for these two idiots in the long run, allowing them to slip into a family rhythm that could potentially coax some buried feelings to the surface -- feelings both are trying to ignore at the moment.

#tbl spoilers #tbl spec #long post #lizzington

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needlekind · 6 years ago

Text

power like mine: some meta hollering about Tiki

what is friendship, if not this

rosia here came back almost thirty minutes later and i was still going

tiki is one of my all-time faves and one of the first characters my friends, especially my non-fire-emblem friends, associate with me—young tiki was my first fire emblem and first sewn cosplay! i had four different people @ me at once when she was announced as an assist in smash. i love her so much. so obviously i had a WHOLE LOT OF WORDS TO SAY about my best lady over here, and now i am condensing them for all you lovely folks

this post will assume knowledge of fire emblem: awakening without offering any explicit spoilers! it also will not contain any plot spoilers for fire emblem: shadow dragon or fire emblem: new mystery of the emblem, but will discuss tiki’s backstory, and a couple things you can reasonably expect to happen by virtue of playing a 90s jrpg! while not image heavy, there are a chunk of them interspersed throughout.

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHY I LOVE THIS LADY SO MUCH

first, let’s go over Young Tiki’s appearance in the Archanea games, since most people are likely more familiar with her appearance in Awakening. it alludes to some parts of her backstory, as do her various quotes in Heroes (which, alongside Warriors, is likely where most people are familiar with Young Tiki), but let’s just get all our bases covered!

Tiki is the daughter of Naga, who is more or less just Literally God—just by virtue of sheer power, Naga, though not necessarily worshiped as a god just yet, is ruler of the powerful divine dragon tribe, and exalted and revered by humans alike even in ancient times. Naga dies ("dies"—ascends to godhood or an immaterial plane or whatever due to being TOO STRONG) very shortly after Tiki is born, a thousand years before Marth’s time, and on their* way, Naga puts Tiki to sleep, because the thing about dragons and Manaketes is that they are too fucking powerful, and their power will eventually drive them insane and turn them into feral beasts, which is why Manaketes are even a thing: by putting their power away into Dragonstones and taking on human forms, Manaketes can keep themselves stable, whereas if they lived life as dragons, they'd inevitably lose their mind completely and become monsters, no different than wild beasts.

* while Naga is portrayed as a woman in Awakening, and it’s commonly accepted as far as I know that their title “divine dragon king” is just a mistranslation due to nonspecific gender pronouns in Japanese, there is old Archanea-era official art which portrays Naga as male, so I personally like to think Naga is whatever the fuck they want to be and they just sort of decided to shit out a child of their own accord at some point, but that’s neither here nor there

Because Naga is, as previously established, so incredibly powerful, their daughter, Tiki, is, of course, fucking INSANELY bullshit powerful—and, of course, since she’s a newborn, she has absolutely no control over those powers. If she were to degenerate, she would effortlessly destroy the entire continent. Naga loves humanity too deeply to risk such a thing, so, as previously established, they put Tiki into a magic slumber to prevent this from happening.

She spends a thousand years in this sort of stasis, having constant nightmares about becoming a monster and hurting humans without having any control over it. She is woken up for brief periods of time at infrequent intervals so she can be comforted and/or fed by Gotoh (who i’ve complained about before, he’s just what if dumbledore was even WORSE because he’s SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL), Xane (who i absolutely adore but will not be mentioning again), and/or Bantu.

she certainly has some amount of awareness about her existence, even in sleep, because she can, of course, talk and has a basic level of cognizance—one day, after a thousand years of sleep, Tiki asks Bantu (she affectionately calls him Ban-Ban) where vegetables come from, and Bantu, taking pity on her, makes the decision to bring her out of the temple. and Tiki, who has spent a fucking millennium all alone having these terrible traumatic dreams, goes out into the world for the first time and she is immediately like I Wanna Do A Friendship

and boy howdy does she!!! Tiki spends basically the entire Archanea games effortlessly endearing herself to absolutely everybody—Archanea only has a few supports, but when you look at her Heroes quotes and see how eager and excitable she is, and you see how quickly she makes friends with the Warriors cast, it isn’t hard to extrapolate how beloved she must have been as part of Marth’s army. within a few seconds of meeting him, Tiki calls Marth, prince of Altea and leader of the Archanean resistance forces, “Mar-Mar,” and he is really only briefly shocked by the whole thing before realizing that she’s too cute. he can’t say no to her. she attaches herself to absolutely everyone, especially Mar-Mar, and all she wants to do is play and hang out and be pals with people! she spent so long in isolation but instead of dwelling on it, she really quickly jumps at the chance to make things happy and fun!

FE11/12 are sparse on supports, like i said, but she does have this really cute exchange with Bantu i want to highlight:

Bantu: Tiki, my child. Tiki: Oh, Ban-Ban! Bantu: Are you having a fun time with everyone? Tiki: Yes! I'm having so, so much fun! Bantu: Ooh, that's good to hear. It's very important you're having fun. Tiki: Oh, but... Bantu: Hmm? Is something the matter, child? Tiki: A while I ago, I, umm...I broke Mar-Mar's precious mirror...... Bantu: Oh dear...That's a bad thing you did. Tiki: Yes. I did something bad... Bantu: So, what did you do after that, child? Tiki: Oh...Mmm. I told him. I said "I'm sorry" to Mar-Mar. Bantu: ...And then, Prince Marth forgave you. Tiki: ...Yes.

and i love this so much because this happened, like...days ago. but she is so CONSUMED BY GUILT over her mistake that she’s just BRINGING IT UP UNPROMPTED, DAYS AFTER THE FACT, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT'S BEEN ADDRESSED AND FORGIVEN!! she’s a good girl! she’s a sweet kid! but she also gets loud and impulsive and a little bratty sometimes: in her A support with Bantu, he tells her he’s going to leave her when the war is over to help other Manaketes across the continent. she gets terribly upset, and he redirects her:

Bantu: It isn't like we'll be apart forever. That's right. I'm sure I'll be back when you're a bit taller. Tiki: Huh...How tall? Bantu: Hmm? I guess...about my height. Tiki: Okay...Then, I'll transform and become bigger right now. Bantu: W-wait, Tiki! Tiki: ...Sorry, I lied.

my other favorite support of hers is with Navarre in Warriors, who is precisely as good at friendship as he looks—

Tiki: Hiya, Navarre! I heard you don't like to fight girls? Is that true? Navarre: Who told you tha-- ...Ah, Caeda. Tiki: So, I'm a girl... But what about my dragon form? Would you fight dragon Tiki? Navarre: Ridiculous. Tiki: But I'm curious. If dragon Tiki attacked, what would you do? Navarre: Unimportant. I only fight strong opponents. Tiki: So you'd fight me, because I'm super strong as a dragon. Navarre: You, strong? You're just a child. A rather conceited child... I have faced death time and time again, but never succumbed to his cold grasp. You have no such experience. Even as a dragon, you'd be no match. Tiki: Oohhh! I don't really wanna fight, but you're making me angry! Navarre: Just forget about it, Tiki. Tiki: I can't! I won't! You and me! Right here, right now!

"no, i won’t fight you in your dragon form because i don't fight anyone weaker than me” “WOW? WOW???? THAT WAS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL BUT NOW I ACTUALLY WANT TO FIGHT YOU FOR REAL. PUT UP YOUR DUKES BUDDY”

young tiki is peak Sassy Lost Child, but then not even four lines of dialogues later she’s distracted from her righteous fury because Navarre goes "i'm not going to fight you because you're precious to Marth" and Tiki goes OH!! SO IF I'M MARTH'S FRIEND AND YOU'RE MARTH'S FRIEND THAT MEANS WE'RE FRIENDS

and Navarre is like oh my fucking god

Navarre: That's not how it works, but... Believe what you want. Tiki: Teehee, yay! I'm so glad to be one of your dear friends, Nar-Nar! Navarre: Ugh... I'm leaving.

so she is just Like This all this time. at the time she’s recruited in FE11, she only has twelve years of human memories, so she’s treated like a child, and she acts like it, for the most part! but one thing that really gets me—and it gets overshadowed very often, because she's mostly like!! let's stay together forever!!! i love you so much i love all my friends!!!!! i love the beach because the ocean is big enough for ALL my friends to play with!!!!!! one of her character select quotes for her legendary version in Heroes is just "i love you all!!" she's SO cute—but one of legendary Tiki's dialogue quotes is "I heard someone say that I'm going to live much, much longer than everyone else... How much longer, do you think?"

they shelter her in this way, a little; she says she heard someone say that—when Tiki insists on her maturity, like in her Warriors supports with Corrin, it’s often in a humorously indignant way, but the fact is, by the end of FE12 she’s been a soldier in an army in two wars. none of it hits her sunshiney disposition, but the fact is, Tiki is aware of her own mortality or lack thereof, or, more importantly, her friends’ mortality—but she doesn’t seem to really know what to do with or about it.

FE12 ends with Tiki living her life happily as a part of the palace town. we don’t see Marth’s death; we only hear about it when we first meet her in Awakening. we don’t know what happens in between, either. we miss about 2,000 years of Tiki content. a lot changes in two millennia, of course, but the thing that sticks out to me most is this:

FE11 Young Tiki classic mode death quote: “No...I don't want to be...alone...”

FE13 Adult Tiki classic mode death quote: “I won't have to be alone...anymore...”

geez louise

so: enter Awakening Tiki!

hey not that i don’t LOVE her look, but, like. here’s a question. that’s a REALLY high slit. what do those garters clip onto

anyway

like i said, this post assumes Awakening knowledge, so we’re just going to breeze through where she’s at when we meet her as a quick refresher: by now, Naga worship is the cool new prevalent thing now and, as we’ve discussed, Tiki is the daughter of Literally Just God? so here we have a lady who is one part jesus, one part the oracle at delphi, and one part a deity in her own right. by now, degeneration isn’t so much a concern; Awakening doesn’t address how this happens—Young Tiki is permitted to leave the temple and travel with Marth because he assembles the Fire Emblem, then known as the Shield of Seals; of course, it’s split into the different gems by the time Awakening happens, so it’s likely some combination of her aging and therefore acquiring greater control of her power, and her putting those powers away (i.e. needing to perform her paralogue’s ritual to access any part of them)

anyway, so we have Tiki, thousands of years out from the deaths of her first friends—including Marth, who she calls the best friend she's ever had two thousand years after the fact—and now being worshiped as a prophet and oracle

and Tiki's defined by her loneliness in a lot of ways; keeping herself from being lonely again was the thing that drove her completely while she was still a child after waking up, and, throughout both FE11/12 and Heroes, she expresses a lot of fear of being left alone again, but by Awakening she's sort of...resigned to it? when you recruit her in FE12, she says she’s afraid of falling asleep at all again, that she worries if she closes her eyes they’ll never open, she’ll never see her friends again—meanwhile, Awakening Tiki is the queen of depression naps. she's more jaded, and she even openly speaks disparagingly of humanity, such as in Harvest Scramble:

So this is how the denizens of the Outrealms celebrate. People are scarcely different, whatever realm they inhabit. They pray for bounty, then despair when those prayers go unanswered. At times that despair gives way to war... Alas, festivals are but man placating his gods only to selfishly curse them later.

fuckin. for god's sake, tiki

but she's resigned to the fact that she is on a whole separate level from humans these days, that she's an object to be worshiped, the Voice before herself, and she still serves the role she's been given to its fullest? like, she resents being the Voice, but it brings people peace, so she does it. despite her ruder comments, it’s clear she does have a lot of love for humanity—she must, to do so much work and allow herself to be placed in such a lofty position so far away from them all for their sake

still, it’s made very clear she’s just sort of...accepted her lot in life, even if she has no love for it. again, from Harvest Scramble (all underlining mine):

Tiki: *Sigh* Raise your head, Say'ri. Please? Yes, I'd retired to a position of uninvolved security in my sleep. I merely observed. I intended to never again play a hand in the affairs of others. ...I thought that was best for everyone. Say'ri: And I violated that choice, ran contrary to my lady's wisdom! Tiki: Well, yes. Perhaps you did. My legend was meant to fade, as legends do. To scatter like sand in the wind.

it was around this point that rosia came back from her shower:

note the almost 30 minute time stamp difference

i wasn’t done

anyway

all of this, but she joins Chrom's army because destiny calls or whatever—Grima is an active threat, and she cannot leave the world to be ruined, so she's just kind of like yes all right i guess we're doing this and wipes the sleep out of her eyes and gets right back to it, but it isn’t until she has regular human company again that she realizes how much she missed it! a direct continuation from that last support bit:

Tiki: The choice I described before, to sequester myself away. That was how I felt back then. Back when we first met. But that is not how I feel now. Say'ri: Oh? Then...might I ask your mind now? Tiki: I'm thankful to you, Say'ri. Say'ri: Th-thankful?! ...To me, my lady? Pray, what could you mean? Tiki: Yes, to you. Without your intervention, I'd never have met all these wonderful people. And you've made me see that I am still relevant. That I can still be of use. Even to those resigned to live out their days in hermitage, warm company is a blessing. It was you who reminded me of that, Say'ri.

side note, she is secretly a HUGE goofball and it really only comes out when she's interacting with people on the regular again; she shoves an apple right into Say'ri's mouth mid-sentence and blows raspberries at her because she's being Too Serious and Tiki wants Say'ri to be honest with her and be just a regular FRIEND instead of a servant. i also want to talk about her complete lack of chill real quick, because that’s a DELIGHTFUL aspect of, again, Jesus But A Dragon’s silly personality; we discussed this with her Navarre supports and her solving the problem of not being tall enough for Bantu to stay by threatening to transform on the spot but oh my god do i ever love what a formal affair she makes out of threatening to EAT ANNA

Tiki: Is there aught you would like to tell me, Anna? Anna: You mean other than...um...how AWESOME you are?! Tiki: I hear you charged admission to my speech on the unending power of good. Additionally, it seems you are hawking my signature like a common market trinket. Anna: W-well, common market trinkets usually don't sell for 50 gold a pop! ...R-right? Look, come on! There was DEMAND, Tiki! The people just want to be a part of you! You get to spread your message, they get hope for the future, and I get a little coin! ...Er, or a lot of coin. Tiki: If your actions were so altruistic, there was no need to hide them from me. Yet even now, I see the shame of your deeds writ upon your face. Anna: But wait! Wait! I didn't do it for my own personal gain, I swear! Tiki: Such deceit only compounds your folly. Anna: T-Tiki? Wh-why are you pulling out a Dragonstone?! Tiki: To teach you that deceiving an oracle bears a hefty price. Now still your lying tongue and prepare to be eaten.

other people she threatens to eat: f!Robin, who realizes Tiki will answer questions in her sleep, starts with some history, escalates to ~were you in LOOOOOVE with prince marth~,

Avatar: (Er, Tiki? Hello, can you hear me? I want you to listen very carefully. Remember when you told me about ancient King Marth and how he saved you? Well, I was wondering... Did you love him?) Tiki: ...... Avatar: Hello? (This is odd. Usually she answers right away.) Hey, Tiki? Can you hear me? I'm asking you a question. Were you in love with King Marth? Did you want to marry him? Come on, spit it out! Tiki: Tiki...is not home. Avatar: Hey! What kind of dreamspeak is that?! You're supposed to answer my question! Tiki: *Snort* H-huh?! Whooza wozza?! What's going on?! Avatar: Aw, nuts. I woke her up. Tiki: Avatar? Is there an emergency? Is the camp under attack? Avatar: Er, well... I mean, that is to say... You were...moaning! Yes, that's it. Moaning unhappily in your sleep. I thought you were having some terrible nightmare and decided to wake you up. Tiki: Really? Thanks, Avatar. ...I think it was a nightmare. I vaguely remember being hounded by some awful hag. She wouldn't stop pestering me with personal questions. Avatar: O-oh? F-f-fancy that! What a funny dream! Heh hah! Tiki: *Yaaawn* But I'm still pretty sleepy. You don't mind if I doze off again, do you? Avatar: Oh. No. Of course not. Be my guest. Tiki: Just another forty winks and I'll...be ready...for action... ...... Zzzzzz... Avatar: (Whew! I dodged an arrow there! I couldn't very well tell her I was asking such private questions in her sleep...) Tiki: Zzz... *mumble* Avatar: (She's talking in her sleep again! Let me just bend down here so I can get a good—) Tiki: Avatar...mind your own business...or else. Avatar: WAAAAAAAAARGH! Tiki: Zzzzzz... Oh, and before you leave... fetch a cloak to...lay over me... It's a bit chilly...down here... Zzzzzzzzzzzz... Avatar: Oh! Uh, right. Of course! Whatever you say, Tiki! (Avatar leaves) Tiki: Hee hee... Zzzzzz...

a real highlight is yet another Harvest Scramble quip, when Lucina suggests Tiki wear her childhood outfit for the festival and Tiki

jams herself into the clothing

for a twelve-year-old

Tiki: ...... Lucina: ...... Tiki: ...... Lucina: Tiki. I...I don't really know what to, uh... I'm sorry... Tiki: Yes, well, that's quite enough dress-up for now. Or ever. Lucina: I was so focused on faithfully re-creating the outfit you wore in the past, I... I suppose I failed to anticipate how silly children's clothes would look on an adult. Tiki: Silly? I think that was a far cry from just silly, Lucina. Did you never stop to wonder how I would even fit into clothes that small? Lucina: I'm so, so sorry... Although it WAS you who decided to force your way into them anyway... Tiki: What was that? Lucina: N-nothing! I said nothing...

BUT ALSO

Tiki: Good. Honestly, three millennia alive, and I've never been so humiliated. Lucina: I was just... You've lived in such a different world than us all the time. Even now that you're traveling with us, you seem so distant at times... I'd hoped to help close that distance, but I fear I've done the opposite. For that, I'm truly sorry, Tiki. Tiki: ...... You're wrong about that. Lucina: Come again? Tiki: Yes, the result was...less than ideal. But the fact that you were trying to treat me like a peer, as your equal... You didn't put me on a pedestal or treat me differently than the others. The costume was embarrassing, yes, but on the contrary, I feel...happy. Lucina: You... Really? Tiki: I do. It's...quite liberating. Thank you for that, Lucina. I've forgotten how wonderful human friendships can be, fleeting as they are. I shall endeavor to do what I can to grow closer to the others. And I hope you'll continue to introduce me to new firsts, good and bad alike.

LIKE... HOW CUTE!!!! she's spent SO much time as an object of devotion before anything else that she's kind of forgotten how to be social, and being with Chrom's army reminds her again, and she's really quick to be silly and stupid and sassy about it, and she kind of just relearn hope and optimism in that way, too—a really good example is YET AGAIN present in Harvest Scramble, where like, she's talking to Nowi and she talks about how the dead become stars and that's the afterlife, and she's always seen it all these years as her loved ones being just out of reach, and Nowi's like wow cool!!! it's like they're ALWAYS with you because you can always look up and see them and they see you!!!!!

and Tiki's like

holy shit

three thousand years of existence and this nevER OCCURRED TO ME

i’m gonna segue into talking about her conversations with Nah real quick, too, which are honestly some of her sweetest; Tiki calls Nah “dear” and such in a way she doesn’t with anyone else unless Morgan is her daughter. she’s quick to answer all Nah’s questions, takes a lot of delight in seeing the usually-reserved Nah all sparkly eyed and overjoyed about the harvest festival, and takes her under her wing in a way she doesn’t really with Nowi; Nowi doesn’t particularly care about all her various Manakete lineage, but Nah has so much she wants to know but doesn’t have the resources to figure out. Tiki is very honest with Nah, telling her the truth of her lineage, of immortality and the loneliness that comes with it, will be painful, and she’s frank about how much it’s hurt her in a way she isn’t, always? but i think this quip from their A-support really demonstrates the Big Thing about Tiki and her character growth:

Tiki: ...Hear me, Nah. Remember when I said I had to tell you something difficult? We manaketes are destined to suffer because of our love for humankind. Nah: Destined to...suffer? Tiki: We live for millennia, while humans flicker out like candles. The greatest friendship I ever knew lasted just a few short decades... And when King Marth died, I was left to wander the centuries alone. Nah: ...I see. I have to be prepared to lose everyone I love. Tiki: The dragon blood in your veins curses you to such a fate. Nah: ...Wow. That's...depressing. Tiki: it can be very sad, yes. But it can make you strong as well. You will learn to cherish the memories of those wonderful people you meet. You will make them a part of you so they can give you courage always. Nah: Like a family inside your mind? Tiki: Yes, exactly! You will be able to pass on the memories to your friends' children! And then to their children and to countless generations to come. In this way can you keep them alive through the long march of time. Nah: ...... Tiki: Do you understand? Nah: ...I think so. Tiki: Never allow your fate to dissuade you from living a full, rewarding life, Nah. You must go out into the world and seek out friends. ...Seek out love. And when their end comes, as it will, you must keep them alive forever. You have the gift of near immortality, and you must find a way to share it. And what better time to start than now? Nah, let you and I be friends.

anyway the real thesis statement of this whole thing is: i love Tiki because we get to see her transition from this overly energetic optimistic ball of friendship and sunshine and joy to someone much more jaded and quiet who fills the necessary role of oracle with reluctance. she's defined by her loneliness more than much else and she goes from afraid of it to resigned to it to kind of accepting its inevitability but relearning that joy and optimism to make the most of the time she DOES have and reintegrating herself with human society and friendship, and the juxtaposition of someone who knows she's going to lose everyone she loves again and again and again and again and has accepted and made a sort of sad peace with it, against that same someone deciding to wholeheartedly throw herself into those fleeting friendships and sometimes in the stupidest possible ways, is VERY GOOD

tl;dr I Love A Girl

#Tiki #Fire Emblem: Awakening #Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon #Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem #FE:A #queue #fe meta #i have to go back and tag my other stuff w this too #anyway @ the person who got real excited about my linde meta and referred back to my old ass emmeryn meta post: blows a kiss #i hope you appreciate this too

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chirpingtiger · 7 years ago

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anonymous asked:

1) Re: Wanda and her lack of redemption arc- One of the MCU's biggest fuck yous was that they allowed Zemo to apologize to T'challa for his Father's death as collateral in his revenge scheme, but didn't have the decency to allow Wanda to do the same to the Avengers for stripping them of their autonomy and using them to hurt other people (of which the primary victims were Tony and Bruce). If they wanted to redeem her and make her more sympathetic, they really should have allowed her _____________________________________________________________

ambitious-witch answered:

I’m really sorry that I didn’t answered this last night, nonny but it was very late here and I was on mobile.

1) Exactly. But honestly I like Zemo more than Wanda for that. They allowed him to apologise, but also they showed him not being so bat-shit hateful blaming all the evil on his life to the Avengers (just the death of his family) and he neither played the victim. Like Wanda did.

The problem with Wanda lays directly in her “tragic backstory”, I mean, just listening to it, it’s ridiculous:

This is a backstory that doesn’t work for an anti-villain/anti-hero to go straight up a hero. Because it’s illogical. The audience that has a minimal knowledge of how the world works knows that blaming the person that made the weapon is stupid an illogical.

Second part of the ask:

2) to make real amends to her primary victims. Also, having her sit and talk to Tony about her anger against the American military industrial complex (which was what killed her parents) and how she conflated that with Stark. She has serious trauma that needs to be laid out. I mean, Tony could have talked about how he too realized the faults in the MID and is trying to make amends for his ignorance and inaction. How it has led him to believe in accountability and checks and balances

Part three:

3) LIKE THE FUCKING ACCORDS. It would have been 10x better than Steve’s convo w/ her in the beginning of Civil War, where he treats her unintentional murder of 12 ppl as a small hiccup that can be corrected w/ “try try again”. But no, all we end up w/ is a character marketed as a child half the time, and an adult the other half. It’s character assassination and it sucks. Either show her struggle w/ redemption and accountability as a member of the Avengers, or keep her a villain.

The problem here nonny, it’s that the dynamics are terribly flawed and bad placed. With Wanda, her deed of joining the Avengers it was not for goodness, it’s was common sense and self-preservation. We never see her re-thinking about Tony or showing a single little remorse about hurting him, neither she seems to want to stop and think about the situation. Tony talking to her would have required she trying to go closer and talk but to the first moment that we see her on screen with him her intention are clearly hostile:

Look at the corporal language of this part. This is a hero? No.

This is an anti-hero? No.

This is someone who is conflict?

I dare say: no.

The point about anti-heroes and anti-villains is they know, very deep in them, they have a doubt, a conflict. Wanda doesn’t. She knows what she is doing. She knows that she is hurting someone and she knows what she did. Take a look to Bruce too:

Also take her reaction when he calls her out for mindfucking him:

Her expression seems to be the one of someone who regrets her bad deeds.

But…

Her face hardens when he threatens her and she doesn’t speak about the topic again. Not with him, not with Clint in their oh so marvellous pep talk.

Someone that answered one of my posts said that showing Wanda’s struggles were that ridiculous scene whit with her crying in front of Clint, so the audience have to see her as a poor misunderstood child that was very scared and didn’t know what she was doing…

That’s not how it works!

Wanda should have showed struggle and conflict since the beginning of the movie! She should have interacted with people that she hurt as you said but she didn’t!

And before somebody says something…

Clint doesn’t count! Steve doesn’t count!

Clint was not attacked by Wanda, he didn’t suffered in her hands. Steve? He forgave her at the instant. He attacked his armour-less teammate because of her word. He told Natasha, one of Wanda’s victims “she with us”, like she hadn’t some right of feeling uncomfortable by her presence!

They don’t count!

The base, the point for an anti villain to be redeemed and made an ally or friend in front of their enemies is the interaction and and the villain admitting that they hurt the protagonists. It’s simple, take Regina Mills in Once Upon A Time. She never became in a full hero but she earned trust by admitting her bad deeds. She showed struggle and doubt. She became a wondeful anti-hero Wanda didn’t.

Just look at the moment when she decides to side with the Avengers:

What choice do we have?

This is someone that learned form her mistakes. No.

No.

No!

This is somebody that wants to fucking live. She wants to keep herself and her brother alive. There’s no doubt here. Not struggle in the loyalties. No conflict! She switched sides in the beginning and she does it again because it’s convenient for her. Not for goodness or anything that changes that she hurt people during all the movie!

She doesn’t doubt for a fucking instant to go to the “winning side”:

What kind of anti-hero can you get of that?

Which leads to CW. You said that she siding with Tony would have been the better, and yes, it would have been a good character development she being remorseful and keeping her initial supposed believes about accountability but with motherfucking Johannesburg, how it’s that possible?

How?

Like, that’s what the Russo and M&M tried to to do and failed miserably. They tried to sell us an anti-hero. They washed her awful deeds and make her look as conflicted when she never hesitated at the beginning.

They tried to us to believe that she can’t control her powers.

And that

bullshit.

And just bullshit.

They also made her clothes more clear, her hair too. Miss Elizabeth was wearing a wig, it was not difficult have one as her hair was in the previous movie.

They tried to vanish the darkness of her. Why? Because it its more difficult present a redemption for villain than a anti-hero. Or as that idiotic writers seem to think: that poor kid that did no wrong.

Because it was more easy to forgive this:

Than this:

So, they invented this new Wanda, and put all the blame in Tony’s shoulders. The funny thing it’s that the audience it’s stupid enough to believe it. That might talk about the power of the female characters of being forgiven for everything as long they have a pretty face and a delikate body.

Even if it’s a character without struggles or good intentions, or remorse.

So, nonny, my opinion is firm. Wanda Maximoff’s redemption arc was a fuck you because she didn’t deserved or needed one.

Because Wanda Maximoff is better as a villain.

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An interesting take, to be sure, @ambitious-witch. But as with most of these types of posts, you’re leaving out a few key details that vastly change the meaning of the extracted clips.

Let’s start at the top.

Wanda as a villain in AoU had one stated goal - destroy Tony Stark in revenge for her parents’ death. (The Avengers were kind of lumped into that revenge plan because they were acting as ally and protector to Tony.)

However, what you’re failing to mention is that this isn’t just a ten-year-old girl experiencing an intense, two-day long trauma that scars her for life and imprints the name that she had to stare at the whole time in her mind as the culpable party.

This is an entire country that believes that Tony is at fault for their loss.

In the beginning of AoU we are shown the Avengers attacking Strucker’s lab. In one of the scenes, Tony lands the Iron Legion in the middle of Sokovia and has them announce to the citizens that the sector is not safe.

The citizens are extremely wary - a few of them fleeing the area - but as soon as they figure out that the suits are just standing in place talking, they all start throwing things and attacking the suits.

Why is this?

Because HYDRA has been set up there for years, using stolen (or purchased) Stark tech to terrorize the city and kill people.

This isn’t just one random bomb. This is years of weapons emblazoned with the Stark logo being dropped on the city, knock-off iron legion suits shooting people in the street...this is and has been an all-out war, and the only clue that anyone’s had is that all of the weapons say “Stark” on them. And coming from an American weapons tycoon, that’s pretty damning evidence, as far as they’re concerned.

So damning, in fact, that when Strucker is looking for human test subjects for a highly dangerous and potentially deadly experiment, he gets dozens of volunteers, all of which die at his hands.

Except for the twins.

Destroying Tony is Wanda and Pietro’s main goal, yes, however at this point it is no longer just about revenge for their parents.

Maria shows video clips to Cap of the two of them leading riots in the street, trying to fight back. In response to Maria’s comment of “we aren’t at war anymore,” Steve tells her “they are.”

This isn’t two kids with a crazy revenge plan. This is two young adults who have suffered bitterly and are determined to see the cause of that suffering stopped before it can do any more damage to anyone else, even at the expense of their own lives. Because even if Tony Stark is not the one personally pushing the “fire” button on the missiles, he is the one creating them. And with no arms supplier, there will be no more weapons to use on Sokovia.

If the story had been shot from the perspective of someone in Sokovia, Wanda and her brother would have been the heroes of this story all along.

We as viewers are purposefully kept in the dark about what’s been going on there until the twins are established as the “villains” of the story - making sure the revelation is received as a sad explanation of why they’ve set themselves up as opponents to the Avengers as opposed to starting with a goal that we as viewers can get behind.

In fact it’s not until near the end that we figure out that Sokovia isn’t just some HYDRA-loving anti-Avengers stronghold, but victims of numerous and immeasurable crimes committed in the Avengers’ names.

Making Wanda and her brother “unlikable” before making them sympathetic was done purposefully to make sure that the viewers didn’t pity them or sympathize with them too quickly, or else the Avengers would seem far too harsh going into later fights.

The twins had to throw the first stone, or the Avengers would come across as unsympathetic.

More importantly, we are only ever shown the twins acting villainous toward the Avengers.

Maria states that Wanda only ever seems to inflict non-lethal damage to her victims, leaving them temporarily traumatized but alive and more than able to recover. (Ultron is the only one killing when they are stealing their resources, and he is leaving very telltale signs that it was him.)

A number of the places they hit up are run by HYDRA or smugglers - all of them “bad” people doing bad things.

The twins are kind to and friendly with the poor people in Sokovia. Wanda is protective of Dr. Strucker. The two of them are hesitant and uncertain when Klaue doesn’t immediately cower in fear, not wanting to escalate the situation any further than they have to.

And the second that they find out that Ultron’s goal is more than just the death of the six Avengers, they pull a 180 and attack him.

They follow a very common movie arc: fight against problem, join “ally” to fix problem, find out that “ally” is lying/backstabbing and that enemy isn’t quite as bad as we thought, team up with former “enemy” to stop the bigger threat, form a new alliance with once-enemy, save the day.

(Hell, a number of these themes show up in the plot-line of movies like Iron Man and Black Panther.)

These two are not villains. They’re a pair of teenagers fighting in a war to save their people.

A pair of teenagers who have been manipulated and abused and made to think that they were doing the right thing since they were ten.

(And yes, I realize that the actors are in their mid twenties, but canonically Wanda and Pietro are closer to 18 or 19 during the events of this movie, and thus are not yet legally “adults.”)

I don’t see you throwing a fit over Zemo torturing and eventually drowning that one HYDRA agent. Or Stark blowing up a terrorist group. Or Fury shooting the people attacking his ship in Avengers.

The difference? We as the audience know that they’re bad guys, so it’s okay to do whatever to them, because they clearly deserved it.

We don’t care, nor are we made to care, if the person being thrown down a flight of stairs or stabbed in the face was just a desperate man who needed money for his family, or someone who was there because some higher-up had blackmail over their head.

We don’t know, and quite frankly (as far as most viewers are concerned) it doesn’t matter.

This is the same situation, just seen from the other side of the coin for once.

Wanda and Pietro know that the Avengers are bad. Therefore why would they question if what they’re doing - attacking them - is wrong?

The other problem with painting these two as hardened criminals is that they don’t ever really act it. Every scene that they’re in, the two of them are hovering around one another, uncertain. Seeking reassurance. Comforting. In Wanda’s’ case, quite often, hiding.

In fact, Wanda’s always shown to be the more hesitant of the twins.

Pietro is quick to rush off into a fight, while she lingers behind until it comes to a confrontation that she cannot avoid. This is shown three times. First, in Strucker’s lab, where Pietro rushes outside to mess with the Avengers and Wanda hides in the base until Steve tries to get Strucker. Second, in the scrapyard, where Pietro zips off and Wanda hesitates at Ultron’s side until he tells her “time for some mind games.” Third, in the tower scene, where Pietro is first to take action when he unplugs the cradle, but Wanda doesn’t join the fight until she’s the last one on her side that’s still standing.

Even in the very first scene, you see them holding hands, and Wanda chewing her nails with nerves.

Immediately after that we get a close up of their faces, showing the two of them looking scared when they hear that the Avengers are on their way.

They aren’t out there actively hunting the Avengers down. They’re waiting for orders, because they don’t really know what they’re doing. They’re frightened of what’s about to happen. They’re both in this way over their heads.

They may not be ten anymore, but a lot of what they do is very child-like because of the rough and traumatic childhood the two of them had. They never grew out of it.

These two put on a bold act, but the minute the real teeth come out they’re just a pair of frightened and uncertain children. Often, until Ultron shows up as the “adult leader” of the group, the two of them don’t even take action.

And again, I’ll bring up the scene with Klaue.

The two of them step into his office and pull their go-to “be afraid of me” act to get info, but Klaue straight up brushes it off.

He laughs at their threats. Talks down to them. Offers them candy. Teases them. Dares them to do their worst.

And Wanda and Pietro are at a complete and utter loss because they don’t know how to approach a situation where their threats have not been enough. Ultron’s instructions did not include a caveat for “if the dude straight up laughs at you instead of spilling everything he knows and begging for his life.”

Therefore, the two of them are left standing in the doorway, looking to one another in confusion for what to do next, and Wanda even starts moving back into the shadows where she’ll be more safe.

Similarly, in the end fight, Wanda constantly looks to Clint - the nearby adult - for instruction.

Wanda and Pietro don’t even attack the Avengers at the scrapyard until Ultron gives the command.

It’s the same scenario in the scene right after they go to the tower with Steve, when they confront the other Avengers alone - the twins ultimately let Steve make the calls for them.

Unfortunately, the still-shot you have of Wanda doesn’t quite do justice to her reaction in the scene.

This isn’t “closing off.”

See the way she leans back a little? The little hitch in her chest? The way her throat tightens? This isn’t this isn’t her hardening off, this is her trying not to show fear. She’s seen the Hulk. She knows that Banner is the only one who might be able to tear her in half despite her powers.

It’s why she immediately stops fighting and freezes up when he grabs her.

You can clearly see the terror in her eyes the second she realizes who it is that’s got their arm around her throat.

In this scene, the twins have walked into the lion’s den - the Avengers’ home base - and even though they’re trying to look tough and keep their cool, they’re both terrified for their lives.

You can hear the fear in Wanda’s voice when Clint shoots the floor out from under Pietro. You can see the two of them sticking right by each other’s sides and looking around nervously in case they’re attacked.

They don’t argue or make excuses when they’re confronted, they back down because they know that they’ve wronged these people and the Avengers are under no obligation to listen to them.

The two of them are risking death at the Avenger’s hands so they can try to warn them about Ultron and prevent things from getting any worse.

And I would beg to differ with your interpretation of this scene. This is in no way self-preservation. This is suicide.

Her last little act of defiance barely a scene before nearly wound up with her and Pietro being shot.

And yet here she is, standing up to Ultron again. But this isn’t her siding with the Avengers to save her skin.

This is her picking death with the losing team.

Because in this scene?

ULTRON IS THE WINNING SIDE.

Ultron’s plan for a new world included Wanda and her brother. He was going to wipe the slate clean, and leave the two of them as the “better” humans in his new world. The “evolved” race that would rule at his side. If they’d stayed with him, they would have been guaranteed safety, because as we saw at the scrapyard, the Avengers are no match for the three of them, and Ultron is fond of the twins in his own strange way.

But they don’t stay with Ultron, where they are guaranteed life and safety.

This line here is Ultron’s last warning that she either assist him, or die with the rest of the Avengers trying to fight him. This was far less “oh well, Ultron is losing, guess I’ll change sides because I’ll get to live” and more “I don’t see how there is a choice here because unless I stop him he’s going to destroy the world.”

“What choice do we have” is a statement of morals, because as far as she’s concerned, there IS no choice. She has to stop him or die trying.

Helping him any longer is not even an option.

Now, as far as your point about Steve and Clint’s trust in her being “worthless” because:

“They don’t count!“

It’s quite frankly ridiculous.

There is one person who even comes close to fully trusting them before the final battle starts in, and that is Steve.

Steve has been playing devil’s advocate this whole movie, because he understands what the twins are going through. He’s not so caught up in his own country and his own issues that he can’t look at a situation from another perspective and say “I understand why they’re doing this.”

In fact, he even offers the twins a chance to walk away right before the fight at the scrapyard.

He didn’t magically start trusting them out of the blue, he’s been willing to hear their side of things from the start.

“Clint was not attacked by Wanda, he didn’t suffered in her hands. Steve? He forgave her at the instant. He attacked his armour-less teammate because of her word. He told Natasha, one of Wanda’s victims “she with us”, like she hadn’t some right of feeling uncomfortable by her presence!”

And here is where you start leaving out key details again.

Of the Avengers, Clint was the only one to fully escape having Wanda play with his fears, because he beat her to the punch. However, despite the fact that he’s the only one unscathed, he’s the most vocal about not trusting her.

It is not until much, much later - when Clint has already seen her in action, desperately trying to save the civilians from Ultron’s clones despite her own fear - does he step in to talk her down and keep her from having a panic attack because he realizes her heart is in the right place.

Even then he doesn’t actually decide to trust her until she saves him from being cornered and killed by the robots.

Out of the remaining Avengers, three of them suffered major trauma from Wanda’s actions, and two of them got off relatively okay.

The one who got off with the least damage from the encounter was ironically Tony Stark, who was shown a vision of what was supposed to be his worst fear - him being responsible for the death of his team - and who proceeded to shake it off and walk away, none the worse for wear.

(Note, this is one of Wanda’s early attempts at this kind of thing, a point which relates to a section further down about Wanda’s skill with her powers. She’s not very good at the whole nightmare vision thing just yet in the story, but by the time the scrapyard scene rolls around she’s gotten plenty of practice.)

Tony never actually voices any opinion on whether or not they should trust the twins. He just rolls with it.

The other Avenger who got off pretty light was actually Thor, who took his vision as a warning that something big was coming and went to investigate further. He also doesn’t specifically voice an opinion on the twins, but seems to be A-okay with trusting the two of them.

Of the three that had it pretty bad, Steve was able to recover the best. Perhaps this is part of the serum - his body fixing the physical symptoms of mental trauma - or perhaps he’s just better at coping with his particular fear because he’s been doing it since he awoke in the present. Either way, Steve is at least relatively functional after his run-in with Wanda.

He’s also the first one to trust her, because she and her brother risked their necks fighting Ultron to save both him and the innocent people that Ultron tried to kill as a distraction. Like I’ve mentioned before, Steve is still willing to give them a second chance because he knows there’s backstory there and he can sympathize.

The two that had it the worst were Natasha and Bruce.

Natasha, who straight up went out of commission when all of her heavily repressed trauma got dragged back to the forefront, isn’t really around for the scene where the twins switch sides. She comes in after the fact, when they’re already mid-fight, to find that the twins are fighting against Ultron with them.

Steve reassures her that the twins are on their side, and Natasha rolls with it.

She takes Steve’s word for it because she trusts Steve as much as she trusts Clint - absolutely and entirely.

You forget, these two just went through the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier together, where “everybody we know is trying to kill us.” Natasha and Steve had to trust in each other completely, it’s the only way they lived to see the end of that movie. Natasha’s trust in Steve is not reset just because the film title changed.

However the real key here is that Natasha’s trust in the twins is not complete.

She’ll trust the twins for this fight, because Steve said they were there to help, and then she’ll make her own call on whether or not she feels like forgiving them. This wasn’t Steve saying “I’ve cleared these two, I expect you to magically be okay with that.” It was Steve reassuring her that during this fight, their only attacker would be Ultron, and that the twins were helping to fight back.

In a battle situation, that’s all Natasha needs to know before her attention turns to saving people, because there is no time for a debate or questions during an all-out attack.

There is, however, a good amount of time that passes between the end of the Sokovia fight and the credits scene where we see Wanda with the other “new recruits,” and we are left to assume that something has been worked out between everyone because they all seem okay with each other now.

It is also a full year before we really see Wanda again, in Civil War, and the first thing we see is Natasha coaching her through a stake out, as a mentor.

Clearly there is no lingering animosity here.

As for Banner, well...

Bruce basically says that he could kill Wanda without remorse. He’s pissed, and rightfully so.

However, he ALSO doesn’t deny needing the twins’ help when fighting Ultron. He never says “we shouldn’t trust them” or “we shouldn’t let them come with us;” and Hulk flies off into space (literally) before Banner gets a chance to actually sit down and think about whether or not the twins should be allowed to join the Avengers.

In fact, the only one who straight up says that he doesn’t trust anything to do with the twins is Clint...

The only one who didn’t get affected by Wanda’s nightmares.

So I’m honestly not quite sure where you’re getting your argument from.

As far as I make it out, the people who got the nightmare treatment were aware that they were seeing their own memories and thoughts and fears played back to them. Wanda wasn’t showing them anything new, so most of them didn’t take the attack as anything personal, and in fact we see Natasha having a bit of a personal crisis over the not-so-great bits of her past that are being shoved back in her face for the second time since CA:tWS.

She’s not mad at Wanda for bringing it up, she’s mad at herself for being the way she was before Clint saved her.

Clint, who isn’t sure what the others saw and is watching everything from the outside, is pissed. He watched his friends suffer because of whatever the witch did to them, and he’s not only angry with her, but dead set on not forgiving or trusting her, either.

At least until she and her brother both save him, and he starts wondering if they might not be so bad after all.

”You didn’t see that coming.”

As for Wanda being in control of her powers, I would say it depends on what aspect of her powers we’re talking about.

In AoU she has been sitting in a cell for God knows how long, practicing the same four moves:

Move small solid object. Shield. Look through people’s heads and pull certain thoughts to the forefront. Throw her power around like an energy burst.

Of these four, by the time Civil War rolls around, we only ever see her use the first two.

Age of Ultron:

Civil War:

When she does this trick, she does it with great proficiency and incredible accuracy. She’s good at this one. Her shield has also improved to the point where she can multitask while holding it.

In Civil War, however, she’s picked up a number of new moves:

Levitation/flying with her powers. Moving non-solid objects like poisonous gasses. Forming a net with her powers to lift teammates. Manipulating large solid objects with her telekinesis. Manipulate object behavior.

However, we no longer see her using throwing her power directly at anyone anymore. She picks up objects to throw at them, or grabs them by a hand or foot and tosses them back, but she no longer throws the raw energy around.

She also doesn’t go into anyone’s heads.

Do you have any idea how easily she could have pulled something like this at at the airport battle? Re-routed team Stark on some wild goose chase while Team Cap all waltzed over to the jet and flew off with no problem?

Stark and Co. wouldn’t have even known what hit them until Team Cap were loooong gone.

But she doesn’t.

Because Wanda doesn’t do that anymore. She’s not that person anymore.

Even with Vision, she’s not going inside his head, she’s just changing his density - first to de-materialize him and make him let go of Clint, and second to make him so heavy that he fell through the floor.

Wanda doesn’t throw her raw powers at people anymore because it’s too dangerous and unpredictable, and she doesn’t go into anyone’s heads anymore because of privacy issues and “brainwashing” and the other negative connotations that come with it, even if it means taking the hard way out of a situation.

She’s changed up her whole fighting strategy.

That being said, I would argue that she is NOT in control of her powers as a whole.

She is in control of certain aspects of her powers to certain extents - namely the ones that she’s practiced repeatedly - but in the grand scheme of things, she really has no idea what she’s actually capable of, therefore she cannot control exactly what her powers will react like if she tries something that’s not on her list of “the eight tricks I’ve practiced for the past six months.”

Thus, Lagos.

She probably didn’t even realize that she could bubble that much raw kinetic energy into such a small space - she was just reacting to the fact that a bomb had gone off in the middle of a packed marketplace and she needed to do something or hundreds of people would have died...likely including everyone in the building, had the foundation gotten destroyed by the blast.

(And would you demons please stop saying that she murdered people in Lagos? I mean really. Do you consider it murder when firefighters can’t get everyone out of a burning building? Or when rescue workers can’t find everyone buried beneath earthquake rubble in time to save them? Or when ambulance workers can’t rescue everyone from the remains of an awful car wreck? Wanda was stopping a bomb from killing people by containing it, and couldn’t get it far enough away to save all of them before the bomb went off. She did not murder anyone.)

In the grand scheme of things, no, Wanda doesn’t know how to control her powers, because she’s not entirely sure just what her powers can DO.

She’s still learning.

I also understand where you’re trying to go with the “lightening the color scheme” angle, but I highly doubt that’s a “nefarious plot to trick the audience into thinking she’s good when she’s not” so much as it’s a stylistic choice to show that she’s in a better place now, both mentally and physically.

Her hair is not only lighter, but has far fewer tangled curls at the bottom, and sports two highlights at the bangs. This isn’t an attempt to portray her as “suddenly good now” so much as an attempt to make her look a bit less like an orphaned street rat. Her hair is clean and brushed and bright and with an actual style, much like Bucky’s hair was actually kept when we saw him in Civil War as opposed to Winter Soldier. It’s to show that she’s taking care of herself better now because she now has the means and mental presence to do so.

Case in point: Her hair appears lighter here than at the final battle. It’s all cinematic, to make her look more or less filthy as the scene requires.

As for the outfit, she’s wearing lighter clothing in that one picture because it’s summer and she’s trying to blend in. Just like how Natasha, who normally sports black, is dressed in pale colors and wearing very little makeup.

In many other scenes in the movie, Wanda retains the black/grey/red color scheme that she’s had going since AoU, such as in the knife clip I linked above:

Black clothing in a similar overall style (short dress, boots, and jacket) just with less heavy eyeliner because she’s grown up a little and is keeping herself a bit more maintained than before.

Claiming cinematic trickery here is really reaching for threads.

So, to wrap this incredibly long post up...

NO, Wanda is not, and never was, a villain.

Up until the truth is revealed, each party (the twins, and the Avengers) believes themselves fully in the right. When the truth does come out, it is revealed that to some extent, both parties are in the wrong.

Wanda is not conflicted about facing the Avengers because she’s fighting to protect innocent people from them. She becomes conflicted when it turns out that the Avengers weren’t fully to blame for what was going on in Sokovia. (Side-eyeing Stark, here.)

Wanda is neither villain nor anti-villain...

She’s the hero of her own side of the story.

Wanda and Pietro are both heroes, whose story - through the lies and manipulation of people claiming to be allies - intersected with that of the Avengers.

Case in point: these two are alone.

The other Avengers have left the area.

If they were really doing this to save their skin and not to help people, wouldn’t this be the ideal time to say something like “make sure you get on the ship before it leaves” or “as soon as the Avengers aren’t looking, we run” or “the minute the crisis is over, we turn on them?”

There is no reason for Wanda to lie in this situation.

This is why I argue that she was never truly a villain.

In fact I’d go so far as to say that these two are no more the villains of this story than the Avengers were the villains for them.

It was all a big misunderstanding.

Wanda and Pietro were only ever in this to help the people of Sokovia, and they got screwed by the lies and manipulation of the only adult influences they’ve had in their lives since they were ten.

The second that they found out Ultron’s real plan they tried to stop him, even going so far as to approach their enemies for help.

They both act selflessly to rescue civilians and even to rescue the Avengers in the fight for Sokovia.

Throughout the film Wanda and Pietro rather pointedly avoid all collateral damage where they can, and never intended to cause any harm to innocents in their quest for revenge.

(And because I know this is your main screaming point: Johannesburg was 300+ miles away from the shipyard. How was Wanda to know that Hulk was going to run over 300 miles to attack a city when all of her other victims went comatose when shown their greatest fears? It doesn’t logically follow that she would expect anything else, because only the audience knows that making Banner agitated enrages the Hulk, and Banner even says in the movie that Johannesburg was when the world saw the “real Hulk” for the first time. The destruction in Johannesburg was never Wanda’s intended outcome when she went after Banner so you really can’t treat that as intentional.)

In the end, they were willing to overlook their own lust for revenge in order to do the right thing.

And both of them were willing to die fighting to fix what they’d done wrong.

Wanda missed the escape boat because she went to finish off Ultron.

She is shocked when Vision comes back to save her, because at this moment she was entirely ready to die.

Pietro does die.

They were both willing to put their lives on the line to make what they’d done right, and Wanda just got lucky enough to get saved.

Because of all of the above reasons, I think we can firmly state that Wanda was never meant to be a villain in the MCU.

Although on that topic, let me ask you...what exactly do you think would have happened if the writers had decided to go your route? If they’d decided to make her the villain instead of going the redemption route?

She single-handedly takes out every member of Team Stark at the airport battle in Civil War. The only one who even managed to land a hit on her is Rhody, and he only did so by sneaking up behind her while she was preoccupied holding up thousands of tons of rubble, and shooting her point-blank in the back.

And all of that was Wanda being gentle and holding back.

If she was a villain - if she was actually going all out - would any of the Avengers even survive a fight against her?

Based on the way she disintegrated those robots with just a second of lost control, I severely doubt it.

You do not want her as a villain in any capacity. I guarantee you that.

That being said, by strict definition, no, Wanda is not an anti-villain.

But she’s not a villain either.

She’s a unique and complicated character, whose story was approached at a fairly new angle as far as script writing is concerned, and who managed to be both protagonist and antagonist at once.

There is not a doubt in my mind, however, that by the end of Age of Ultron, that girl was just as much of a hero as anyone else on that screen.

Chirpingtiger out.

#pro wanda maximoff #wanda is a hero #wanda is an avenger #gotta love the antis who run away from fights #i'm kinda hoping english is not their first language #aou #marvel #avengers aou #typical for them to claim that anyone who attacks tony is irrideemable #what I really don't understand is how the blog is so full of hate for Wanda #but their AO3 is full of Tony/Wanda??#I don't understand people

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gold-from-straw · 7 years ago

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Hypocrite - A Brotzman siblings fic

So, I have Feelings about the Brotzmans, and Todd in particular. (Not just because I rediscovered my 16 year crush on Elijah Wood!) Especially his special relationship with guilt and forgiveness. This is me sorting out my own issues and projecting wildly onto both of them at the same time. TW for mentions of child abuse and homophobia, and lots of swearing, of course. Find it on AO3 if you prefer!

“I went to see Dad,” says Todd, and he hates how pitchy his voice gets. How even the words make his emotions prickle his skin.

“What?” Amanda’s head snaps up and she stares at him in - is that disgust? “No, no, why would you do that?”

Todd shrugs. “Uh. I dunno. He said he wanted to see me.”

“You fucking idiot!” She clutches her forehead, her eyes shut in despair and he feels his shoulder slump a little, because he’s not strong enough. He disappointed her. She sighs, and he’s pretty sure she’s rolling her eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing much. Just talked, you know how it is.”

“Uh-huh. You know I’ll just ask Dirk, right?”

Ice creeps down his spine and he feels bile rising in his throat. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He’s so fucking weak, why did he think telling her would be a good idea? Did he actually think she’d be proud of him for trying to forgive their father? She hates him more than Todd ever did, he doesn’t know why. Whatever Dad did to her must have been awful but they’re Brotzmanns, and he’s never asked.

There's the sound of cloth on leather and the touch on his arm makes him flinch enough to take her hand away, and he’s so angry with himself! He should have stayed still, that’s the first time she’s touched him since Wendimoor and he ruined it. “Todd, tell me what Dad said.”

‘Fucking faggot.’

Todd flinches like the words were spoken aloud again, like they’re not just in his memory. “He’s not feeling so great. The cancer’s spreading.”

“That’s not what I asked. Why did he ask to see you?”

‘After all you did, you can’t even face your old man?’

“I think he just wanted to reconnect, you know? I haven’t spoken to him in years, I guess it’s time I let it go.”

Amanda snorts. “Fuck, no! Why would you think that?”

“You don’t think I should forgive him? It’s been years, it’s in the past.” And he has to. He needs to know it can be done.

“Does he even want forgiveness? Did he ask you to forgive him?”

“Not this time. He has done.”

“Oh yeah, I remember what that’s like. ‘Aren’t you ever gonna get over it? Quit being such a pussy and forgive me already.’ Sound familiar?”

“He never—“

“No? Cos that’s what I heard that Christmas. What were you, twenty five? He was standing over you with his fists clenched and demanding you forgive him! That’s not an apology, Todd!”

“He’s… he’s got a point…”

“No he hasn’t! Has he ever said he’s sorry for being a homophobic ass? Has he ever said he’s sorry for splitting your lip when you were ten?”

Todd takes a deep breath, scrunches his face up. “I mean, I know why those things happened. He’s never been… well. He coulda benefitted from some therapy back then, you know? It wasn’t all his fault—“

“You were ten! Don’t you make excuses for that asshole!”

He clasps his hands between his knees. “Sorry, ‘Manda. I shouldn’t have said anything, I know he was worse to you.”

She cocks her head, he can just see it out of his peripheral vision. “What? No, he wasn’t. Never laid a hand on me.”

Todd blinks down at his knuckles, turning white. “But then… why do you hate him?”

She’s silent for a moment. “You’re such an asshole.”

He knows. He always has been. He’s surly and ungrateful and a complete hypocrite because he can’t forgive but he expects to be forgiven. The air feels like ice and fire in his lungs, not in an attack sort of way, but in a not-enough-oxygen sort of way and he wishes he could stop existing, just blink out of reality. He wonders if Amanda will say anything else before she leaves. He wonders if he can bear the pain of it, but he has to, because he deserves it, for what he did. He wonders how long it’ll be before Dirk stops lying to himself and realises Todd’s not worth forgiving.

And then there are arms wrapping tight around him and he gasps, and at some point it turns into a sob. Amanda’s leather-clad arms are tight around his back and her hand cradles his head against her shoulder as he trembles and the sobs escape with the smallest of sounds, just like they’re back in that old house, hiding in his bedroom after Dad went crazy again. And he knows he doesn’t deserve this but he’s so fucking grateful for this. He can’t hold onto her like he wants to, he has to make sure she doesn’t feel trapped by his needy bullshit, but she’s rocking him and hushing and he is breaking in her arms and as much as it hurts so bad he doesn’t want it to stop.

“I know what you’re doing,” she whispers into his hair, and he wishes she’d tell him, because he hasn’t a clue.

She pulls back and he sways towards her, craving more, before pulling back and wiping his face angrily. He glances up at her, and her mascara’s smudged. His heart sinks, because he never wanted to make her cry, never again, and he can’t help pulling all these people he loves into his shitshow.

“You’re nothing like him, Todd,” she says fiercely, tiny, strong hands gripping his upper arms. “Don’t put yourself in the same category as him.”

“I’m not—“

“You are, you fucking asshole. I know exactly what you’re doing. You think if you can forgive him, that means you’ll be worthy of forgiveness, but it doesn’t work like that and I can’t believe you’d think so little of me!”

His blood runs cold, his eyes widen. “I never! I didn’t— I don’t—“

“Oh, stop!” Her lips are wobbling and her eyes brim over, and his hands hover around her shoulders because he’s broken something again and he doesn’t know what to do, why does he never know what to do? She gulps and wipes her eyes and he’s terrified she’s going to push him away, shove him on his ass like she did the first time he went with the Rowdies. “You’re not like him, Todd,” she whispers.

“I… I know I’m not?”

But he is, isn’t he? A voice curls inside him like a venomous snake, speaking nothing but the truth. He hurt her, and then he demanded forgiveness for the unforgivable.

Amanda looks at him and read something in him, he doesn’t know what. But it’s obviously bad, because she puts her face in her hands and cries, and he hasn’t seen that since before Dirk showed up. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers, and puts his hand on her back tentatively.

“You did some bad things, Todd,” she sobs. “But you know they’re bad, you know, and you’re better. You fucked up, but you’re changing. And our relationship isn’t ever going to go back to what it was, but that’s… that’s OK, you know? You know I don’t hate you?” She grabs his hands suddenly, looking at him desperately out of tear smudged eyes. “I forgave you, you know that, right? Back in Wendimoor?”

He swallows, afraid to break the moment, afraid to find out he’s dreaming.

“I know we’re not like we were, and we never will be, but that’s… OK. It’s different, but it’s because we’re different. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean forgetting what they did, but it does mean you’re willing to love them anyway, and I do love you.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers again, because he is, and he can’t quite believe this - he certainly doesn’t deserve it.

“I know, asshole,” she laughs wetly, and hugs him tight again. This time he puts his hands up and curls his arms around her ribs. “But that doesn’t mean you have to forgive everything that’s been done to you.”

“But how can I expect anyone to forgive me if I can’t forgive other people?” he whispers, almost to himself.

“Because it’s different,” she says, pulling back but leaving one arm draped on his shoulders. She’s calmer now, as she wipes the smudged tears and makeup under he eyes with her thumb. “I think… if you hadn’t given me space, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive you. But you understood my new boundaries, you were cool with me going off with the guys - well, maybe not cool with it, but you accepted it. You let me forgive you at my own pace.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to forgive me,” he admits. “I wouldn’t be able to.”

She snorts, and it’s pretty disgusting. He hands her a tissue and crinkles his nose, and she smiles and gives him the finger. “You tried to forgive our dad, the man who’s been calling you cissy, pansy and fairy since you were about eight, I think you need to give yourself more credit.”

“I couldn’t though,” he says, and he’s angry with how his own tears well up again and fall. He turns his face. “I couldn’t forgive him. How can I ever expect that from other people?”

“You can’t. That’s not how it works. If you’re expecting forgiveness, you probably don’t deserve it, because it doesn’t come on your terms.” She rubs the back of his neck between fingers and thumb. “He expects it of you, doesn’t he?”

He can’t answer, because he’d bawl like a pathetic baby. He nods instead. She hugs him again and he holds her elbow, and there’s a knot lodged behind his chest that loosens and drifts away as she kisses him on the back of his head.

#dirk gently #todd brotzman #amanda brotzman #dirk gently's holistic detective agency #dghda #tw: child abuse #tw: homophobia #tw: homophobic language #guilt #forgiveness #my writing

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jessieleaf · 7 years ago

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Episode 99 reaction

Like everyone else, I have lots of feelings. I will most certainly go in order for this. First off, Pike is fucking amazing. Skipping ahead a little, I loved that Tary got full control over the house. It lets him legally decide what to do and it legitimizes his control. Now his father can't really say no since Tary is the one officially letting his family stay in the house. Sleepover part 2. Joke all you want about Vax and Keyleth being weird with animal forms, I personally think it's cute and harmless and they do what they wanna do behind closed doors leave them be. Also Pike got to be apart of the pillow fort this time. I'm going to draw all the things. The next morning's conversation. Holy moly I knew that it would be bad, but Matt's face, that silent rage that grew as Tary talked. That was scary and I'd hate to get on Matt's bad side that was scary. Tary also coming out with everything he has learned and wanting to right the wrongs his Family did? I...like man I love how much he has developed. And then going through what everyone has taught him? I can kinda see how Vax can be like a father but Grog kinda stumps me...but everyone else was dead on and then....Percy...like we all knew but to hear him confirm it was...that was excellent. I was very happy to see Howart finally come around. I'm glad there was a concession on his part. There was nothing he could do and he needed to accept it. The deed was done and he probably got the best he could have given the circumstances. Moving on, I was really sad to hear Tary say he wanted to stay, but I also perked up at that, because that would either mean another new character from Sam, or it meant...Scanlan. That whole deception thing threw me through a loop. I thought it was him with an illusion coming down the stairs, but Matt was playing him, so I didn't suspect...until he finally mentioned the origins of his name. Then I knew. Man...As soon as Vex knew, he...that little move to Modify her memory? No. You've been using that spell on the regular. You've been wiping minds and changing people's thoughts to get what you want and it's become second nature. And now you use it in the people who trust you the most. Who accepted you despite all your faults. Your family...the girl who looked to you like a father. Glad you didn't succeed. But the intent was there and Vex was hurt by that. You are in for something when that girl snaps, and trust me, it's gonna hurt worse than most. So everyone comes out and there is now a realization from Grog and Pike. And silence. You could feel that energy, it was palpable though the screen. Grog then seeing Lionel with Scanlan? That. Is. Fucking. Terrible. You can argue that Vox Machina replaced Scanlan with Tary, but that is so not true and they've made it abundantly clear what Tary is to them and how unlike Scanlan he actually is. So Grog now feels betrayed. After he stuck up for Scanlan, this is how he is treated? Like he could be replaced with another Barbarian who is also a Bard? Grog helped bring you back, he respected your privacy for a while. He wanted to give you space. But now it looks like you've replaced him with a better version So now we can get into everyone's reactions. Tary, who is indifferent, focuses more on how accepting Vox Machina are of Lionel than they were of him. Vax was...well Vax had forgiven Scanlan long ago and was elated. He knew they'd meet again and wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to catch up. Keyleth recognized the tension and was probably the most outwardly angry, but it was still pretty subdued and she was probably a little bit in shock. Percy trying desperately to maintain the high ground. Like Grog, and probably the rest of VM, he felt betrayed but was having a hard time trying to figure out why he wasn't more angry. He was even trying to sort out his thoughts and seek advice from his significant other. The comment about Sybil was amazing and a great gut punch. His gradual coming to terms will probably lead him to forgive a lot sooner but the way he left that tavern speaks volume for how he will treat Scanlan in the future. Moving on to the silent crowd...Pike and Grog. Scanlan knew that they'd be difficult to crack so he didn't address them first. He saw their silence and accepted it for a while. But Grog's seething rage as Lionel sat down to drink with him? That was so palpable, I was leaning closer to the screen the whole time. Then, as soon as that Awkward fight came to a head with some strange moves from Lionel, It shook Grog enough to take him out of his rage and send him away. CAT! C-A-T! That was everything. That broke my heart. Pike dragged Scanlan. She dragged him so hard and I applaud Ashley, that girl can do no wrong. Scanlan was right about a few things when he left, but Pike deserved none of that. She hadn't done anything to have Scanlan inflict those hurtful words on her. She called all of his bullshit and took him down. Good on her. Nothing is forgiven, but at least they understand one another and can work from a common ground of understanding. And lastly...the other amazing Liar in the group. Vex, so clearly acting as if she forgave him, fooling her brother, fooling her significant other...but she is so broken. She has to be. Scanlan insulted her personally. He has been on her mind for so long and as soon as he shows up he wants her to forget? To cover up his ruse? Oh man that was the final nail in the coffin for me. She was acting through the whole ordeal that she was trying to forgive, and it may turn out that she does. But...I can't see that happening. He came back and the first thing he does is try to modify her memory. A family member. Someone she thought he trusted. Someone she looked to for advice sometimes. Someone who she loves. He tried to break all of that with a single spell. I'm...to me that is the worst betrayal. He never apologized for that. He assumed Vex was fine, with her open attitude and jubilant words, welcoming him back. But I see a Vex haunted by that moment, a Vex reliving the words he said when he left. I see a Vex hiding it until something snaps and she goes beserk on him. I don't see the forgiveness lasting. I see a broken girl desperate to try and hold things together. I Can't Wait. Now, as for the rest of the stuff that happened, we now have the beginning of the final arc. With no message from the Raven Queen, Vax has begun to see the fates beginning to align. Scanlan is back and Vecna's ritual has now been successful in another temple. Who knows what has happened in that two week span. We also have Vex and Percy with a little secret. Pregnancy? Marriage? I wonder what those two are keeping from everyone else, and why Vex has chosen to keep it from her brother. Lionel was perfect, I applaud tonight's guest and found his performance immensely entertaining. Sam was freaking phenomenal. He hit all the right story points and played all of his cards as best he could. He performed at 110% and evoked so many emotions. Thank you man, and you and Matt are terrible people who toy with our minds. Sigh Ok I'm done.

#critical role #cr spoilers #critical role ep 99 #Thoughts

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my-mystic-messenger · 8 years ago

Note

rfa+ v & saeran's reaction to MC having a lisp (preferably from a dental device)? Thanks! Keep up the good work!!

|| REQUEST ARE (ALWAYS) OPEN!! ||

Zen

♬ when you talked to him over the phone he didn’t hear anything

♬ neither when you met for the first time as he saved you from thestrange guy in Rika’s apartment

♬ not even when you stayed over did he ever hear anything strange

♬ at the RFA party, where you talked to a lot of people and guests;still nada

♬ it was only after the first time he’d slept over at your place thathe finally noticed

♬ it was early in the morning, both of you still half asleep as youroll out of bed

♬ your hair is a mess and you have a white line of dried drool runningdown your chin

♬ Zen meanwhile looks like he was just reborn

♬ asshole

♬ anyway, he finds you really adorable like that

♬ definitely not a morning person, but adorable

♬ both of you make your way to the kitchen for something to eat

♬ and a coffee, in your case

♬ as black as your mood

♬ when you ask him to hand you the cup from the top drawer he freezes

♬ your voice…it had sounded off

♬ something was different about it, but he couldn’t quite pin pointwhat it was

♬ after that you barely spoke and whenever he asked you questions you’donly kind grunt in return

♬ when you’d finally drowned your cup of coffee you leaned back in yourchair with a satisfied sigh

♬ things were good in the world again

♬ you said so too, which is when he finally realized that you had alips

♬ for a moment Zen isn’t sure whether he noticed correct or not

♬ and if so, how come he hadn’t noticed before?

♬ was he a shit boyfriend?!

♬ I mean, he didn’t even notice something like you having a lips and hetalked to you every day!?!

♬ “I didn’t know you had a lisp”, it finally burstout of him

♬ you froze, eyes widening by the minute until they looked like theywere about to pop out

♬ you cursed, scrambling up to run to the bathroom

♬ when you returned your face was burning hot and you avoided Zen’s eye

♬ when you apologized the lisp was completely gone and Zen was confused

♬ “I havedental retainers. They make me look like a ten year old and lipsabout and I though you’d find that unattractive so I usually don’twear them when you call or when we meet. Today I forgot because Ihave them in my nighttime routine and forgot to take them out thismorning. Sorry.”

♬ that confused Zen even more, to be honest

♬ like why were you apologizing for something like having retainers andlisping?

♬ “Listen, princess, not everyone can be asnaturally flawless as me”, he said, grinning at you cockily

♬ you couldn’t help but roll your eyes and huff a laugh

♬ “but there really is no reasonto apologize for that. Wear them, get the flaw in your teeth fixedyou want to get fixed and get rid of them, if you want to. If youdon’t I don’t mind either way. You having a gap in your teeth orsomething like that doesn’t make you any less attractive. Your beautygoes beyond the physical.”

♬ it was cheesy and you were 99% sure he just quoted a line from one ofhis plays at you, but it was effective

♬ now being able to shamelessly wear your retainer 24/7 quickened theprocess and you got rid of them much sooner thanks to your goofballof a boyfriend

Yoosung

★ his phone is rather cheap, so when you talked he didn’t hear thefaint lisp at first

★ actually, he still struggled to hear it sometimes, even when youspoke after

★ it was just so damn faint

★ which made him even more surprised to find out you were ashamed of it

★ you first met at the RFA party, where you shared your first kiss

★ it felt a little weird, but Yoosung didn’t have anyone to comparewith so he figured it was just how kisses felt

★ afterwards when you actually had the chance to, you know, talk inperson you barely spoke

★ he talked at you more than with you

★ you listened, happily so, but you mostly just nodded and hummed inagreement

★ he figured you were just shy with so many people around

★ also, you were totally cute with your rosy cheeks and shy glances

★ when he asked you on your first date you suggested the cinema

★ after that a club

★ a dark café

★ and an arcade

★ after a while Yoosung seriously started to question your choices ofdate

★ it was always so dark

★ and you really didn’t seem like one of these dark kind of people

★ you didn’t even dress that way, from what Yoosung could see

★ after a while he just had to ask

★ he was literally worried you found him ugly

★ maybe it was his hair? Not everyone liked people with bleached hair

★ when he eventually got the balls to ask you, you looked guilty andashamed

★ his heart sank because he really thought it was him

★ then you explained it was you and showed him your teeth, covered inmetallic braces

★ he then remembered how you’d always covered your mouth while laughingor talking

★ and that there was a faint lisp to the way after all, and he hadn’tjust imagined

★ when it all finally sunk in Yoosung hugged you tight and kissed youagain, finally understanding that the ‘strange’ feeling were thebraces

★ “You don’t mind?”

★ “Mind what? The braces andthat barely there lisp? No, not at all! It’s kind of cute, actually.Makes you look younger, which makes me look older.”

★ it wasn’t the most romantic thing to say, but you got the point andfrom there on you didn’t have to hide in dark places and barely talkto hide your little lisp

Jaehee

♨ Even after moving in with her it takes her the longest time to notice

♨ mainly because you don’t actually share a room for a long time

♨ until finally you do after you get over the first gay-fright

♨ only then does she actually become part of your final going to bedroutine

♨ which includes putting in your mouth guard

♨ she’s very confused as to why you need, since your teeth seem fine

♨ you explain to her that you grind your teeth and need it to protectthem, not to fix them

♨ she understands and doesn’t mention it again

♨ until one morning a couple of months into sharing a bed you forget totake it out first thing in the morning

♨ you wake up first so you decide to go to the kitchen and make Jaeheecoffee

♨ she liked your coffee the best so you make it a habit to make it forher as often as you can

♨ when she comes in you smile at her

♨ and tell her good morning and that you made her coffee

♨ you’re surprised when you find her giggling

♨ when you ask her about it she only giggles more

♨ she then points towards her mouth

♨ “You maybe want to take that out. You have a lisp.”

♨ youfinally realize what made her giggle and quickly stumble to thebedroom to get rid of the mouth guard

♨ how awkward

♨ she tells you she finds it cute

♨ as long as you keep your mouth guard in it’s little box and shedoesn’t have to see it float about in a glass somewhere…

Jumin

♛ he didn’t know you had braces for the longest of times

♛ mostly because technically you never wore them around him

♛ once you moved in together, however, things like that becameimpossible to hide

♛ especially when your Orthodontist told you to not only wear them atnight, but day as well

♛ kissing became more complicated

♛ and fishing them out of your mouth during dinner was in no wayappetizing

♛ especially in the fancy restaurants Jumin took you to

♛ he didn’t seem to mind though, which confused you

♛ how could he not mind?

♛ When he first noticed the lisp you had with braces on he didn’t evenreact

♛ you wondered whether he just hadn’t heard

♛ but when you asked him about it, he said he had

♛ which confused you even more, to be honest

♛ people tended to be sure rude about it, sometimes downright cruel

♛ especially considering it wasn’t your fault and you couldn’t help it

♛ which apparently reflected his sentiment

♛ he told you that wearing braces was your decision and theconsequences of them were yours to bear

♛ which was true, but he still had to listen to the lisp

♛ which apparently he’d learned to tune out after about aweek

♛ “Admittedly, it was rather annoying and distractingat first, but you learn to ignore these things when you live likeme.”

♛ oh well…

♛ when he noticed that you still tended to be very secretive about yourretainer around him he eventually spoke up about it

♛ “I think you asking me myopinion merely reflects your own feelings about your lisp andretainer. If you dislike wearing them so much, why do you?”

♛ that was a good question

♛ why?

♛ well mostly because a huge gap between your teeth was’t pretty andyou disliked looking at it

♛ “Alright. I shall call yourOrthodontist and get you an appointment right away. You’re gettingInvisalign right away. Non noticeable and no lisp.”

♛ sometimes it really was nice to have a rich boyfriend

Saeyoung/Seven

☼ when he first heard your lisp he thought you were messing with him

☼ mostly because you’d complained about all the prank calls and hefigured you were just getting back on him

☼ when he told you that you were being silly and should stop – in hismind still thinking this was some joke – you called him an asshole

☼ “I’m sorry Ihave a lisp because of my braces. No need to be rude about it,asshole!”

☼ once you’d hung up on him he’d checked your medical history and lookat that, you actually did have braces

☼ well…fuck

☼ he called and apologized a lot of times

☼ you forgave him after about a dozen

☼ but made him say it two dozen more times

☼ for good measures, you know?

☼ of course once he was back in your good graces he abused it

☼ the second you’d forgiven him he began giving you reasons to regretyour life choices

☼ because Seven can be a dick like that

☼ you still love him, of course, but he’s a dick nevertheless

☼ he starts teasing you about them

☼ imitates your lisp

☼ reminds you just how annoying it is to constantly have to fish thatdamn thing out of your mouth

☼ let alone the cleaning of that bullshit

☼ “Ew, look at that thing. I can’t believe you put that in yourmouth”, he said, exaggerating on purpose to annoy you

☼ “Well I mean I put your dick in my mouth as well, so this reallyisn’t as bad.”

☼ that silenced him for a while

☼ of course that peaceful state didn’t last forever and once Seven hadgathered his wits he began his teasing once more

☼ “You know, you should really clean that more often with how muchyou drool with it in”, he said and then hissed like a snake toimitate your lisp again

☼ you’ve had it!

☼ you got it out of your mouth and threw it right at his face, droolall over it

☼ he never said a word again

Saeran

☀ when you first met there admittedly wasn’t much talk on your part

☀ it was mostly him talking at you

☀ making demands

☀ threatening you

☀ youknow all that ~romantic~stuff girls just ~love~guys doing

☀ (foranyone who has difficulties understanding these things; this wassarcasm)

☀ but eventually you forgave him and you started dating

☀ funnilyenough, suddenly he’s not the one talking at you anymore

☀ nowit’s mostly the other way around, Saeran completely withdrawn andsilent

☀ mostof the time you wonder whether he even listens, whether he hears whatyou say

☀ atfirst you’re a little self cautious about talking to Saeran

☀ mostlybecause barely anyone does – other than Seven – and he neverresponds anyway

☀ notto mention that your voice, with that stupid lisp, probably isn’t allto pleasant to listen to anyway

☀ youstill talk to him, every single day

☀ youwant him to get better and if this is something that might help,you’ll try it

☀ abouta year later you finally get rid of your braces and with them yourlisp is gone

☀ whenyou go to see Saeran you’re even more excited than you usually were

☀ as you first start to talk you notice him shift

☀ thereis also a crease between his eyes like he’s focusing, confused

☀ youcontinued to talk, excited at his reaction because at least there isone!

☀ rightbefore you’re supposed to leave he suddenly turns, staring right atyou

☀ youfreeze, feeling like all air is suddenly sucked out of you lungs

☀ itfeels like he’s staring right at your soul

☀ youfeel vulnerable, but also…connected?

☀ “What happened to yourlisp.”

☀ those are the first words he’s spoken to you in an entireyear and you feel floored

☀ “Ieh…I…it’s gone”,you stutter nervously. “Alongwith the braces.”

☀ henods again, humming in understanding

☀ “Youdidn’t find it annoying?”

☀ “Oh, yes I did.”

☀ yourface falls and your heart sinks

☀ “butI got used to it. It made you feel less threatening, safe…”

☀ yourealize then, that his pale cheeks have a faint red colour to them

☀ andthat your words, lisped and all, were what got him out of his shell

☀ youwere never more thankful for it

Jihyun Kim/V

📷 when V met you for the first time it was also the first time heardyour voice

📷 he noticed the lisp, but chose not to comment on it

📷 after all he knew how self-conscious young women could be about thesethings

📷 men too, of course, but it was generally the women that suffered themost

📷 so he never talked about it, not realizing that you didn’t actuallyhave a lisp

📷 that it was just the braces causing it

📷 because he couldn’t see the actual braces in your mouth

📷 in his mind it was part of you and honestly it was kind of cute

📷 it gave you a sort of personality, a distinctive sound

📷 by the time you got in any way involved with one another

📷 romantically, that is

📷 you’d gotten rid of your braces and he didn’t feel anything whilekissing either

📷 only about a week after your braces were gone he noticed thatsomething was off

📷 you sounded different

📷 he tried to focus on the sound of your voice more so than the wordsand he finally got it

📷 your lisp was gone!

📷 now he wanted to know how you’d managed that

📷 but if he asked, you might feel shy about it

📷 eventually he couldn’t help himself

📷 “What happened to your lisp? A while ago it suddenlydisappeared.”

📷 he looked so pained and shy about it youwanted to kiss him

📷 “I had braces, babe. They were the only reason I had thelisp.”

📷 Oh…

📷 he kind of misses it for a while

📷 just because it used to be this big part of you

📷 at least for him, since your voice is especially important to him inhis blind state

📷 but he soon grows to love your lispless voice as well

📷 in fact, he really loves everything about you

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