#meanwhile the Lions are stuck in a serious one
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Note
I don't feel like IS is over-correcting. Even their character descriptions of Rhea, Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri are consistent with how KT wants them to be presented. Claude even uses strategies that he asked the villains about in Hopes and repeats the Edelgard rhetoric in Heroes as well. I'm pretty sure they just want you to like everyone.
Ehh,
That's where we disagree anon, it's all about the presentation.
KT, in Nopes, doesn't even give a voice to Rhea - she's wholly unplayable, un-support-able, heck you can interact more with random npcs than with her.
Dimitri? Zahras' demolished him because he cannot tell the other two kids they're asshats - and this is taking into account how Zahras Dimitri can happen after Mattias's death, or worse, Ingrid's!
Claude is someone noted for his ambition, but also his curiosity and a need/want to understand things, something Clout lacks - as he buys the information campaign, and showed more reaction to Macuil being able to talk than to Rhea turning in the IO !
And even Supreme Leader, to some extent, KT wants us to believe she's free and fights her own battles... but the end of Supreme Bullshit ends with Captain Falcon vs Dark Shadow, with Supreme Sailor Fuku (hell do I hate the sailor fuku, we came from the armored Emperor from the Post TS, even in her red dress she had more class, to that? A school girl uniform with metal plates? Seriously??) watching from the bench.
Yes they want us to like everyone, but KT has, in Nopes, imo, a very specific definition of what "everyone" means.
Dimitri kills soldiers who want to invade his land? BaD BaD BaD.
Supreme Leader marches on Faerghus, the Alliance and GM? It's just a normal sunday.
Rhea exists? BaD!
Point taken for Claude though, even if I have to check the jp script because FE Fodlan showed everyone you can't trust lolcalisations when it wants to lol-calise, even some scenes or lines from FE16 and FEH tend more to his Nopes!Counterpart than the one we ended up with in FE16 - even if the FE16 one isn't all roses and sunshine!
(but that'd imply both IS and KT intended Almyra to be... what it was shown in Nopes, and I had a bit more faith in them lol)
#anon#replies#3 nopes#it's all about the presentation and framing lol#some people are burnt for things others just can do without any consequencs#iirc B!Lys also repeats that rhetoric#but when I'm talking about presentation#never once nabateans are asked their thoughts about how much humans see their crests as curse#the closest we have is Ingrid with Seteth#imagine sylvain telling flayn he hates his crest bcs people want to fuck him just bcs of said crest?#'yay cool story people want to vivisect me to steal my blood and you don't see me hating on my blood just on the people who want to kill me#some other blogger said it but the main conflict about crusts in Fodlan is way too artificial to stand#i compared Clout and Supreme Sailor Fuku's routes to a gag manga#meanwhile the Lions are stuck in a serious one#you can't call that equal loving between the three factions plus the lizards on the side of the road#welp i ranted
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Golden Snitches And Old Wounds
Pairing: James Potter x Insecure Reader
Word count: 2787
Request: Hi! I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. I wanted to ask you if your requests open. If so can i request a james potter imagine with a very self conscious reader? Thank you!
Warnings: Suggestive themes, references to anxiety and depression
A/N: I actually like how this one turned out. It's way sadder than intended but I hope you enjoy! If you want to be tagged, let me know! Requests are open!
Masterlist
Lily and you were sitting on a bench right on top of one of the twelve colorful towers around the massively wide pitch, waving your Gryffindor flags in excitement.
The scene before you represented a blur of scarlet and green and you struggled to spot your boyfriend of two years, James Potter, among the fourteen players.
His leather-gloved hands gripped the handle of his broom tightly as he was swiftly avoiding bludgers and students, rushing to catch the quaffle.
"Potter, on your left!"
On instinct, James drifted to the right a mere second before his head managed to collide with a bludger. The boy kept soaring high up in the clear spring sky, eyes focused forward.
"Brilliant! Potter tossed the quaffle into the ring!" the speaker roared, "The score is 120:120. Will Gryffindor's Chaser be able to score another goal and give their Seeker an opportunity to catch the snitch?"
"Oh, I sure hope he does," you muttered, sitting on the edge of your seat, eyes focused on the Gryffindor Chaser.
The commentator excitedly shouted, "Robertson passes the quaffle to Smith, he passes it to Potter- no! It was stolen from Taylor, that Slytherin son of a-"
"Joshua!"
"Sorry, professor," the boy sheepishly smiled at McGonagall though he wasn't sorry at all, and returned to retelling the match. "Potter's caught the quaffle! He's swooping down, the three Slytherin Chasers on his tail…"
Over the noise you heard Lily exclaim, "What's he doing! He's getting further away from the ring."
"I don't know, I think he's trying to get rid of the Slytherins, distract them maybe?" you shrugged. You really hoped James was doing this for a reason but yet again, when has he ever thought things through?
Meanwhile you noticed Sirius, a Beater of the team, covering his buddy, making sure to guide the bludgers in the direction of team Slytherin. You had no idea if those two had planned this beforehand or if Padfoot was just improvising.
"A bludger knocked Taylor off his broom!" Joshua happily announced. "That's the moment for Potter to strike!"
And exactly then James swiftly turned around and sped up towards his aim. He threw the quaffle with all his might, the ball piercing the air and going right through the ring.
"Yes!! He did it! What a brilliant attack!" the commentator screamed. Lily and you squealed and clapped, cheering him on. "Now it's up to the Gryffindor Seeker to catch the Golden snitch and that'll be the end!"
James tried to spot you in the audience and when he did, his grin grew even wider. He threw a wink your way but he didn't have much time to celebrate because his task now was to make sure Slytherins didn't score another goal and maybe get another 10 points himself while he was at it. He drifted between teammates and opponents, the summer wind ruffling his hair. He prevented numerous attacks from the opposite team, winning a good couple of minutes where the score was even and Gryffindor had a chance to win.
"Where the hell is the Seeker!" Lily groaned, "It's a matter of time until Slytherin strikes a goal."
You understood her frustration but had faith. You always supported your boyfriend and his team during matches regardless of which house they were up against. You were aware of how much stamina James had, especially when it came to Quidditch, and even more so now that he could almost graze the win with his fingertips.
Suddenly, the Seeker emerged from the depths, a small ball shining in his grasp.
"He's caught the snitch! Williams got the Golden snitch, Gryffindor wins!" Joshua roared, rising to his feet.
The air shook with the screams and cheers of Gryffindors and Gryffindor supporters. Some students hugged each other, squealing in euphoria, others whined and screamed in frustration. The audience turned into a sea of scarlet flags, the iconic lion on display for everyone to see. Professor McGonagall smiled, something rare for a woman as stern and serious as her. The atmosphere buzzed with excitement.
Lily and you high-fived and rushed down the stairs, impatient to greet the boys. When you ran along the pitch, the team was already surrounded by fans and you saw Sirius carrying James on his shoulders, their other teammates doing the same with Williams. Slytherins were quick to exit the scene, muttering curses and complaints.
"Not trying to steal my boyfriend, I hope?" you asked Sirius and laughed.
"Boyfriend?" he feigned being shocked, "Why didn't you tell me there was someone else, James?"
James only rolled his eyes and his friend let him down. Potter walked up to you, standing tall in all his red leather glory. His chest heaved with every breath he took, his spiky hair was disheveled beyond recognition and his uniform was wrinkled and covered in dirt. He was a mess but still managed to look so perfect in your eyes, he was absolutely irresistible.
"Did you enjoy the show, babe?" he smirked as he placed his gloved hands around your waist, pulling you close. You giggled and pecked his nose, "Indeed I did. You're such a show-off."
"But you love me nonetheless," he mumbled, out of breath, and leaned in but you pulled away before he got to kiss you.
"I suggest you shower first, you're quite sweaty."
He frowned and pouted his lips but couldn't help but grin, caressing your cheek. You were staring into his hazel eyes and when they focused on yours, your cheeks turned the same color as his uniform. James was incredibly confident, charming and charismatic and he never failed to make your heart flutter every time you caught him glance at you.
He seemed perfect to you and your expression suddenly darkened when poisonous thoughts clouded your mind. He was perfect, but what about me?
Before James had the chance to ask what was wrong, his friends pulled him aside, "The coach wants to talk to us." He couldn't do anything except for giving you a sad smile and a wave as he left.
A tap on your shoulder snapped you out of your trance.
"Let's go to lunch, I'm starving."
You nodded and followed Lily out of the now empty pitch.
Prodding your salad with a fork, you were still processing your thoughts from earlier, replaying them over and over in your head. You couldn't get rid of the image of James. You were smitten by his messy hair, goofy smile, the way his uniform clung tightly to his body, highlighting his broad shoulders and strong biceps. His physique looked way more impressive and massive and the sight made you lick your lips.
Your daydreaming was interrupted when the doors of the Great Hall opened wide, the winning team walking through. The Quidditch players were greeted with loud cheers and clapping which some of the teachers joined too. Even in just his plain Gryffindor cloak James managed to look astonishingly handsome and he did it so effortlessly. His black robes were flailing freely behind him as he made his way over to you and sat down on your right.
"Clean and fresh just for you," he smirked and pressed his lips to yours, lingering for a bit more than you expected. After that, you proceeded to eat your meal while he placed a steak, some salad, sauce and other different kinds of food on his plate.
"You did an amazing job up there, really."
He smiled, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, "Did you ever doubt me?"
Ah, that cockiness. It might have sometimes gotten on your nerves but it was a part of what made your boyfriend unique and you adored it. You laughed, trying to cover up how flushed he had made you, "Absolutely never, Potter. You're one of a kind."
"So are you."
His compliment caught you somehow unprepared and you slightly froze. You looked at him only to find him already staring at you with such loving eyes, it made you shift in your seat.
"What?" you giggled, dumbfounded.
"Thank you for being there. It really matters to me," he gave your hand a light squeeze.
Seriously, what did you do to deserve this guy.
He's amazing in so many ways, I just can't compare.
You noticed students sending you dirty glances from across the hall and you wished you could shrink in your seat. You lowered your gaze and silently finished your meal.
"Seriously, what's the difference between Felix Felicis and liquid luck? The professor crossed off "liquid luck" and replaced it with Felix Felicis! That's not fucking fair," you groaned, checking your graded essay. You were pretty sure you'd get an Outstanding but you only got Exceeds Expectations which you were slightly pissed about.
Lying on your boyfriend's bed, you were rambling on and on about school work, earning occasional chuckles from James as he was getting changed.
"I mean, Remus always gets the best grades, how on earth does he do that! I swear, he's like a walking encyclop-"
Your words got stuck in your throat at the sight of a half-naked James. His shoulders, toned arms, back and abs were on display while he paced around the room, trying to find his sweater. His muscles flexed under his flesh with every move and you could feel your mouth begin to water.
Once James found the clothing, he turned around. He grinned when he saw your blushing face and didn't miss the opportunity to put on a show for you - he slowly put on his sweater, his jeans falling low around his waist when he raised his arms above his head.
James wasn't only caring, loving and talented. He was also extremely hot. A kind soul wrapped in a pretty package.
Your mind started to wander and you thought about all the girls and boys who would die to be in your place; to be able to date the infamous Marauder and see him shirtless all the time like you got to. You knew many people envied your relationship and you tried not to care that much but you still somehow did. You always did.
"Are you alright, love? You're doing that again."
"I-uh… what?" you stuttered, embarrassed.
James, now dressed, sat in front of you on the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, "You tend to space out from time to time, you stop listening to me. What's on your mind?"
You shook your head and started to rearrange your books, attempting to appear busy, "Yeah, I do that sometimes, sorry. It's nothing though, I just get lost in my thoughts."
James was eyeing up and down your stiff figure and his heart stung when you lied. One of the things he despised most was being lied to and it hurt him immensely when you did. He knew you meant well but he wanted you to trust him and talk to him like he did.
The boy abruptly but gently grabbed your trembling hands and you froze.
"Talk to me," he pleaded, looking into your eyes for a sign, any sign to reveal how you were feeling on the inside.
Your nervous smile faded and you dropped your gaze to where his hands held yours.
The room was ghostly quiet and you felt trapped, unable to run away or escape the situation.
You opened your mouth to speak but your lower lip quivered and no words came out. James simply stood there, patiently waiting for you to say something while soothingly rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles. After taking a deep breath, you choked out.
"Why do you like me?"
He seemed slightly confused but his expression remained calm, "What do you mean?"
You chewed on your lip, considering how to proceed. He deserved honesty and he was genuinely worried so it wasn't fair to keep secrets from him.
"It's just… I am…" you sighed, frustrated. "You're amazing, James. People love you. You're smart, athletic, outgoing and your personality lights up the room. You charisma is undeniable."
You stopped to inhale again, your throat tightening as tears blurred your vision. Your voice was shaking and so were your hands. James only listened. "You're an exceptional person yet you're with me. I-I don't get it. You could choose someone more impressive, someone whose abilities can compare to yours… Someone who's not me."
A tear rolled down your cheek and it pierced through James' heart like a burning blade. He brought your hands up to his face and softly pressed his lips to your knuckles. James let you cry it out first before he dared to speak, knowing you needed this moment to simply let yourself feel before anything else. There was time for figuring things out, but it was not now.
You sobbed and he reached to brush a piece of hair behind your ear, "I've got issues, James. I'm hard to deal with. I struggle with many things and I'm afraid I'm just being a burden to you."
James immediately pulled you into his embrace, arms wrapping around you as you hugged your knees. He rested his chin on top of your head which was leaned on his chest. The boy could not believe a person as breathtaking as you would think so lowly of themselves. You both stood there for awhile, not talking at all. James needed time to take it all in just like you needed time to calm down.
"What makes you think like that?" he hesitantly whispered, voice trembling.
You stared off into the distance, tired eyes unseeing.
"I don't know. I just do. I've always been looked at as if I'm a disease, as if I'm wrong to feel happy," you muttered, using your sleeve to wipe your nose. "Something's wrong with me and I have no idea what. I'm just scared... and exhausted."
You heard James sob.
"How long have you been feeling like this for?"
You swallowed and took a breath, "Years."
James' arms tightened around you, sheltering you from the cold world. You took peace in the vulnerability, you had no strength to hide or pretend, you were free to simply exist.
"At some point I gave up on happiness. That was until I met you," you explained. "You gave me hope and though it was painful and risky for me, I decided to trust you. You never let me down but I'll always be afraid you'll leave me for someone less troubled than me. Like most people did."
"Then I'll always be here to remind you that I'm not going anywhere. I'll be by your side to help you."
You held onto his sweater, scared to let him go, "Thank you."
James rubbed your back up and down and pressed a kiss to your head, "You wanted to know why I love you?"
You hummed, turning to him.
He took a look at your bloodshot eyes and tear-stained face and he fell in love even more.
"I love you because of your pure soul. No one has ever treated me with such sincerity. You always support me, guide me and ground me when my head's up in the clouds. I'm far from perfect, I'm flawed just like everyone else. But you don't only make me a better person, you make me want to be better. For you."
A few tears rolled down your cheeks, this time from gratitude and love.
"I'm amazed at how torn you are, but still willing to give a part of yourself to those who need it. Your kindness knows no limits and I admire that in you. You might hate the hurt, damaged side of yourself, but I find its rawness to be astonishing. Because I love you. All of you."
Warmth spread throughout your body and for the first time you felt truly safe.
James slowly kissed your chapped lips. He stood still, just letting the moment take place. You savoured the feeling of his lips on yours and were surprised to feel something wet drip on your cheek. When you pulled away, you saw his glossy eyes.
"I love you too," you replied softly and nestled back into his lap. James hugged you, relieved to finally know what was going on with you. He vowed to himself to help you in any way he could and to constantly remind you that you're not fighting your battle on your own. You, on the other hand, were way calmer as well. It was refreshing to be understood and accepted, to not be judged or blamed for a change. You didn't have to act a role or lie. You let down your defences and let the rotten wound inside you bleed. And you smiled.
Reblog if you enjoyed my work!
Tag list: @self-ship-love
Masterlist
#james potter x reader fluff#james potter x reader#james potter x reader smut#james potter x reader angst#james potter fluff#james potter smut#remus lupin x reader#remus lupin x reader fluff#remus lupin x reader angst#remus lupin x reader smut#remus lupin smut#remus lupin#remus lupin fluff#sirius black x reader#sirius black x reader fluff#sirius black x reader angst#sirius black x reader smut#sirius black fluff#sirius black angst#sirius black#marauders fic#marauders x reader#marauders headcanon#young marauders
738 notes
·
View notes
Note
Took a real short break mid-chapter 6 and
Is it just me or is young!Vane's haircut almost the same as Gawain's?
RIGHT. RIGHT????
Okay so basically it's something that drives me nuts, but
Vane is based on Ywain (same pronounciation in japanese), the Lion Knight (which is also why Vane has a Lion skin for New Year). And Ywain is, in the myth, supposed to be Gawain's cousin.
Before Savior of Dalmore this fact has been living in my mind rentfree because we've known for a while that Gawain is linked to the 4kishi saga, as the Dalmore knight, but we didn't know much more about him except for his relationship with Wales and his sister Florence.
Meanwhile, we know Vane is an orphan, who was raised from a young age by his grandmother, and a bit before SoD came out, his 5* FE came out and we learnt that, more specifically, Vane's parents were killed by Wyverns, which traumatized Vane.
A friend, the greatest Vane lover i know, pointed out to me last time i mentioned "Wyverns seem linked to Merlin so far, re: Gunther and Lamorak using them", that in Vane's FE, Wyverns are attacking Arthur and Mordred's orphanage and it's why Vane gets involved and triggered remembering the death of his parents, all while mentioning that Wyverns are a rare occurence. More and more we're tying Wyverns to Merlin and it makes Vane's past something to worry about.
Thing is that with Vane's parents carefully put out of the way, either as collateral damage or maybe as something more, and the fact i think he's not a Feerandache's native?? could perhaps implies more secrets in Vane's backstory.
So for a while i remember we were theorizing that maybe Vane and Gawain were linked just like the original myth. they do have the same type of design esp when Vane was young so it's??? something to wonder about?? also they main the same weapon, they are both tank, it wouldn't be surprising?
but SoD came out and we got a lot more details about Gawain's childhood and his parents, and it would be odd to find a way to link it back to Vane, even if it's still because they're cousins. I feel like Gawain and Florence talked too much about their beloved parents for them to have others family members worthy of note. But i'd love to be wrong. Esp since SoD carefully kept Vane out of the picture. (Sieg too but he could just happen to be wandering around and also he would be out of place considering he's reponsible for the bad relationship between Wales and Dalmore. Percival being away is a little more surprising imo considering he should stick either by MC or his brother, but narrativewise i get why they wouldn't have him stuck around 1) with Gawain-the-tsundere, 2) when we have Lamorak in our party half of the event, gotta save the Wales drama for later). But Vane? Lancelot was here as the Captain of Feerandache, but no Vane, not even a cameo, while he's the Vice Captain?
Maybe it was just to not overcrowd the event, which is fair enough, it did have a lot of new characters that needed to be focused on.
But it still... is something i think about a lot.
A Vane event is long overdue. He's the only one who didn't get any serious knights event so far. And his 5* FE is exploring a darker part of his life than what we're used to, and is linking him to the current main threat of the 4kishi saga, and was done so right before officially introducing Gawain into this saga outside of his FE, with Gawain going through a similar incident (Wyvern invasion) as the incident that is important to Vane's backstory.
So this is basically the question: is it on purpose? Are Vane and Gawain related as well into gbf? or is that all a series of happy coincidence???
I hope Vane will get an event centric sooner than later, i mean, a real serious one. I wish we can explore all of that more in depth.
But i really do wonder if they'll follow through the myth or if they're determined to keep the Dalmore storyline apart from the Feeradanche's storyline.
So yeah good picking that up, it's really need that you did pick that up because i know i did because i'm too deep into many theories based on knowledge of the Arthurian myth too, and it's neat to be able to see "even without specifically thinking about it, those two seems linked". Feels validating.
But we'll. We'll see. I have so much questions still about all of that. but we'll see.
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Leo Compatibility - The Best and Worst Match
New Post has been published on https://www.astrology-india.com/leo-compatibility/
Leo Compatibility - The Best and Worst Match
A birthday solidly in Leo’s late July to mid-August range generally brings a fun, boisterous personality.
Leos might be too loud for some people, but those up for the challenge will be rewarded with Leo’s generosity and loyalty.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is in Leo in the hottest part of the summer.
It’s also the part of the summer when gardens and fruit trees are heavy with produce, and people are desperate to hand off excess vegetables and fruits to neighbors they hardly know.
Those born under Leo tend to have this sense of abundance in their background, though they may not be able to articulate it out loud.
They tend to be therefore generous, feeling that there is enough to share.
Even when fully grown, Leos retain a childlike sense of fun. Like kids, they can also at times be self-absorbed and immature.
Leo compatibility with more grounded and serious types can therefore be difficult. Some Sun signs, however, blend well with Leo’s unique combination of strengths and weaknesses.
Leo Compatibility – The Best and Worst Matches
In looking at Leo compatibility with potential partners, it is important to remember that the Sun sign speaks to a person’s basic life purpose.
The Sun sign is not the only thing that matters in astrology.
The full astrological chart plots the position of all celestial bodies, in relation to the earth, at the time of a person’s birth.
Many situations can be clarified including those close to the boundary between one sign and another, but a sun sign reading will give the basics.
The Best Matches For Leo Compatibility
Leo compatibility is greatest with air signs like Gemini and Libra, as well as fellow fire signs Aries and Sagittarius.
Leo and Gemini
Leo is capable of hogging conversation time, but Leo is actually a better listener than people might think when Gemini gets to talking.
Gemini tends to have loads of ideas but not the stamina to get any of them done. Leo has the opposite problem: a tendency to put all their eggs in one basket.
Leo can therefore sift through Gemini’s firehose of thoughts and find those that are capable of amounting to something.
If Leo, an action-oriented fire sign, is sold on an idea, Leo will actually try to make it happen.
Meanwhile, Gemini’s eggs in one basket tendency can get Leo stuck in a rut if something goes wrong with that one basket.
Typically it only takes one Gemini of any cultural heritage to top the old saying of “Two Leo’s, three opinions,”.
Gemini can then help Leo find a fresh perspective on whatever Leo has become intractably frustrated with.
Leo and Libra
Leo and Libra are both idealists who dream of a better world.
Libra, less innocent than Leo, sometimes gets depressed seeing how far the reality of the world is from their ideals of how the world should be.
Leo is more optimistic and tends to see a lot of good in the world, so Leo can help Libra be more optimistic about the future.
The hardest part of Leo and Libra compatibility might be having to decorate a home if they got to the point of living together.
Libra is more elegant and might prefer muted colors. Leo, the Lion, is simply wilder and likes flamboyant brighter shades.
Libra, concerned with portraying a harmonious image, might not want to admit to enjoying Leo’s more boisterous excesses.
Libra’s mock shock, of course, encourages Leo further. It’s hard for even Libra to live up to Leo’s high ideals, but Leo accepts Libra in a way that Libra needs.
Leo and Aries
The thing that Leo loves most about being partnered with Aries is that for once someone else is in trouble for being the loudest and most boisterous person in the room.
As much as Leo loves the spotlight, Leo is willing to hang back while Aries gets wild.
Then Leo can saunter in and look suave by comparison.
This sails right over Aries’s head, as Aries has already impulsively wandered off to the next exciting thing, so there’s no need to worry about Aries being offended.
Aries can have some rough edges, but Leo’s positive attitude sees the good intentions behind Aries’s brash exterior.
Aries women are especially misunderstood by the world in general as aggressive, so they could therefore benefit from the generous heart of a Leo partner.
Leo and Aries always have plenty of activity going on. They definitely feed off each other’s energy, so their duo can become greater than the sum of its parts.
Leo and Sagittarius
Leo and Sagittarius throw excellent parties together. Sagittarius might know the technical details of which kind of wine is the best, and Leo just trusts Sagittarius on that.
Both of them tend to love having boisterous fun with larger groups.
When Leo and Sagittarius are having one on one time, they enjoy travel. Sagittarius might lead their discussion of philosophical matters, but Leo is capable of keeping up.
Both have a basically optimistic attitude. Leo and Sagittarius also understand each other’s needs for alone time to recharge their fire.
Less Compatible Matches For Leo
While the rest of the astrological charts – or just hard work! – can make one of these relationships possible, the hardest matches for Leo are Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces.
Leo and Cancer
A person’s gender can’t be identified from their astrological chart. That being said, Leo and Cancer are a couple where gender differences can really make a difference.
Leo man Cancer woman would be the harder version of a Leo and Cancer pairing.
This tends to be because male socialization takes Leo brashness to the extreme and female socialization takes Cancer emotionalism to her extreme.
The Leo man would always be making the Cancer woman frustrated with him, even though he didn’t mean to, which could create an atmosphere of uncertainty.
Cancer man Leo woman, however, could actually work well because this pair would have a common background of colliding with the expectations for their gender.
The Cancer man probably grew up shamed for being too emotional, and the Leo woman was too loud for a female. In short, together both were always too much.
When they come together, neither wants the other to feel like they are too much.
They are therefore willing to put in the work to hear each other out and make each other feel appreciated, but it could definitely be a lot of work.
Leo and Virgo
“Sparingly” is not a Leo word. Leo’s have an attitude of abundance and generosity, and they live largely.
Unfortunately, this is not Virgo’s approach.
Using an analogy, If Leo and Virgo had to live together and share a shower, it would not work. Leo would be accused of using too much hot water.
Leo has a big picture view and tends to be overwhelmed and frustrated by Virgo’s focus on minor details.
Leo has faith that things will just work out.
Leo is generally right about that, but Leo also fails to appreciate some of Virgo’s skills at things in the physical world requiring precision such as sewing, woodworking, or technology.
Leo has a more positive attitude toward life in general than many other signs, but the tension between Leo and Virgo is enough to test even that.
Leo feels that Virgo assumes the worst of Leo, such as that Leo is intentionally trying to wastewater in the shower and therefore doesn’t care about the environment.
Leo of course pushes back, and then Virgo resents being seen as the killjoy. In Virgo’s mind, Virgo means well.
Leo and Capricorn
Capricorn is not as detail-oriented as fellow earth sign Virgo, but Capricorn is more serious. Leo’s buoyant enthusiasm can, therefore, be too much for Capricorn.
Capricorn begins to wonder when Leo will grow up and settle down.
Capricorn tends to have a narrow view of what success looks like. It usually involves progress in a stable career and meeting life milestones at an early age.
Leo can be more conservative than people think because Leo enjoys the perks of status, and status is the bigger half of the status quo.
Leo and Capricorn could therefore meet in a professional setting, but they would have reached that same mountaintop by two very different roads, and that would soon become apparent.
Leo is more likely to wander into Capricorn’s territory for the wrong reasons than Capricorn is likely to wander into Leo’s territory for any reason.
Leo can learn from this adventure that it is better for a Leo to be a true Leo than a fake Capricorn. Even a Capricorn could ultimately respect a true Leo in the right environment.
Leo and Pisces
Leo and Pisces are both idealists who tend to trust others, so this is what brings them together. Pisces, like Libra, have a tendency to get depressed when reality doesn’t measure up to their ideals.
While Leo is capable of cheering Libra up, Pisces takes it further than Libra does, to the point that Leo winds up getting dragged down into an emotional pit with Pisces.
Pisces, a water sign, has a capacity to recover from its own emotional extremes – the ocean can make some dramatic moves, but ultimately the tides go in and out.
While Leo has dramatic moments of their own, something about the particular emotional extremes of Pisces is Kryptonite for Leo.
If Pisces unleashes a wave big enough to put out Leo’s fire, Leo has a hard time getting it back.
Leo wants to help and wants to fix things. It feeds Leo’s pride to be the fixer. If Pisces puts Leo in a situation that Leo finds unfixable, Leo’s self-worth can therefore really suffer.
The Leo Man
The fun-loving Leo man is known to enjoy being the life of the party.
Occasionally there are more subdued Leo men who have found less dramatic ways to make their individual contributions to the world, but they do all have pride in what they bring to the table.
Leo men enjoy dressing up and looking good, especially if it involves a fancy hairstyle. They often have some creative ability.
Social pressures shape Leo men in different ways than Leo women.
Leo men might not be able to get away with being as emotional as Leo women, but Leo men can have a more bombastic persona than Leo women.
Leo Man Relationship Compatibility
An Aries woman would be an especially good match for a Leo man. As stated above, Aries women tend to be misunderstood because they may come across as aggressive.
A Leo man is, however, kindhearted enough to not get easily upset by an Aries woman. He could also be loud enough himself that an Aries woman would not look like an outlier in relation to him.
Leo Man Sexual Compatibility
Sagittarius, symbolized by the archer, can be athletic, so a Leo man might enjoy a Sagittarius woman for a specific physical connection. She would be the teacher, but he would be an eager student.
The Leo Woman
The generous and gregarious Leo woman is a lot of fun. She has a sunny, positive attitude and tends to see the best in people.
The Leo woman may have a distinctive lion’s mane of big hair. She is concerned with her appearance, but she does not limit herself to the latest trends – she adds her own creative touches.
Social pressures may have toned down some of the Leo woman’s louder and more self-absorbed tendencies over the course of her life, but she is a passionate and emotional person.
Leo Woman Relationship Compatibility
A Leo woman would get an ego boost from being the one to guide a Gemini man through his variety of ideas.
She would be so proud of her contribution that she wouldn’t realize she was doing the lion’s share of the work.
Leo Woman Sexual Compatibility
The Leo woman could appreciate an Aries man’s direct approach.
Even though Cancer and Leo are overall a harder pair, a Cancer man might actually work well with a Leo woman sexually because they are both on the innocent side.
Final Thoughts
The four elements in astrology tend to break down into two groups: fire with air, and earth with water.
Leo, a fire sign, therefore interacts most smoothly with fellow fire signs Aries and Sagittarius and with air signs Gemini and Libra.
There are not a whole lot of intrinsic differences between Leo men and Leo women, but the process of socializing people into their gender roles can wind up emphasizing different parts of the Leo personality.
Earth signs like Virgo and Capricorn, as well as water signs like Cancer and Pisces, tend to challenge Leo more. One can, however, often learn a lot from relationships that are more challenging.
There also may be other factors in both partners’ astrological charts that are compatible in spite of a difficult match between Sun signs.
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
Book 2, Chapter 9: Bitter Work
In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.
- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, here’s my thoughts on Bitter Work.
- It sorta makes sense that Aang never called Katara “Sifu Katara”. Aang knew Katara as a friend for a long time before she was his Waterbending master. Meanwhile, he was hoping for Toph to be his Earthbending master from just about the moment he met her.
- I like that the different bending styles all have different... well, styles. Waterbenders move differently compared to Firebenders, and as Aang has to learn, Earthbenders move much differently compared to Airbenders.
- This flashback with Iroh and Lu Ten gets me right in the feels. It sorta gives us a glimpse into what a loving father Iroh was, unlike his brother... And then we cut to Iroh at Lu Ten’s grave.
- If anyone needed more convincing of just how evil Azula is, even Iroh thinks that she can’t be reasoned with and needs to be taken down.
- This episode is about Aang learning Earthbending from Toph, but also the b-plot is Zuko learning more advanced Firebending techniques from Iroh. And the c-plot is... Sokka learning how much it sucks to be trapped in the earth from a “little meat creature”.
- “Get in your horse stance!” I, uh... I don’t wanna get too NSFW, but that sentence was really easy to mishear.
- I like how Iroh is telling Zuko about the other elements, and how the technique he’s gonna teach Zuko is inspired by study of the Waterbenders. It demonstrates that each nation, and each bending style, doesn’t just exist in a bubble. A bender of one style can learn from another and incorporate it into their technique.
- “I’m willing to be Sokka, the veggies and straight-talk fellow.” So... movie Sokka? (I don’t think we ever saw movie Sokka eating meat...)
- Iroh is telling Zuko that the lightning-redirection technique is only for emergency. “If you’re lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all.” And this sets up how serious it’ll be when Zuko does redirect lightning.
- I like that the thing which marks Aang as having an understanding of Earthbending isn’t any actual Earthbending he did, it’s how he stood his ground. Even though he used Airbending against the sabretooth moose-lion, he demonstrated the attitude of an Earthbender, and that was the thing he was stuck on, not the motions or the form.
- This gag of Aang about to use his Earthbending to save Sokka, before Toph interrupts him because he’s new to this and might hurt Sokka, always sticks in my head, and makes me laugh out loud whenever I watch this episode.
- To be honest, I would’ve liked to hear Sokka finish his speech.
- The image of Zuko, all alone on a mountaintop, shouting at the skies to hit him with lightning, is pretty sad. He just seems so desperate to know that he’s mastered this technique...
#TV#Avatar The Last Airbender#ATLA#Book 2: Earth#Bitter Work#Aang#Katara#Toph Beifong#Iroh#Lu Ten#Azula#Zuko#Sokka
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
short klance fic rec
phlogiston by corydalis (words: 2101)
When Lance was eight years old, his abuelita sat him on her knee and told him; love is a leveler.
At the time, Lance had no idea what she meant. Love was still a rather far-off and foreign concept, but he was enamoured with the general idea behind it, even if it seemed a bit confusing. The phrase stuck with him, but had ultimately been pushed to the back of his mind when he couldn’t figure it out.
Now though, his back arched against the wall and Keith burning caustic kisses into his skin, he thinks he might get it.
Like a Bolt from the Blue by Mytay (words: 5608)
Keith has a near-death experience, but he’s actually pretty okay afterwards — he considers it all part of the Paladin calling. Lance, on the other hand, is wrecked by it, and so he trains his butt off to ensure that Keith will never die on his watch.
let’s get started by Dragons4ever (words: 11956)
Five times Keith was able to maintain his Resting Bitch Face to hide his feelings, and one time he couldn't. // Unconsciously, he crosses his arms, and his face falls into what Lance calls his Resting Bitch Face. Keith thinks about what it would be like to hold Lance's hand, and stare deep into his shining blue eyes, and caress his soft cheeks as they kiss. Meanwhile, Pidge and Hunk wrap up their debate, with Pidge grudgingly agreeing with Hunk that it would make sense to cloak the Castle first, then add it to the lions. As their conversation winds down, Hunk looks over to Keith, who has been quiet for a long time, to find him frowning into the distance. "Oh, jeez," he whispers to Pidge. "Keith looks really angry."
Nightmares by Trashness (words: 14864)
Lance's nightmares are getting out of control. It's effecting his and the team's performance, but he's at a loss for how to fix this.
Apparently sleeping next to a warm body helps.
wish that i could take you to the stars by rosevdst (words: 7322)
“The love of your life?” Keith whispers eventually. His eyes are round with shock.
Yeah, Lance thinks detachedly. You’re the love of my life. You’re it for me. Everything I see and do is painted in red because of you.
❀.*。・゚
Or, Lance's body is covered in red roses and he pretends not to know what they mean, until he can't keep pretending anymore.
from the same star by czqy (words: 2300)
"Maybe someday someone will be telling stories about the two of them."
or, when Lance goes to thank Keith for defending him earlier, he accidentally ends up confessing, and gets a confession back.
My Baby Says A Lot Of Things by Barkour (words: 2608)
At a celebration thrown in thanks for Voltron, Keith and Lance have a very serious discussion about a number of miscommunications in their friendship.
lance’s guide to winning competitions by jilliancares (words: 3056)
Being competitive isn’t always easy, considering the stress, injuries, and occasional wild tumble down a zip-line shaft that can ensue, but Lance has finally found the perfect way to beat Keith in any competition.
you’ll always be my day one by skystiel (words: 7753)
“Everything,” Keith repeats out loud. “It’s only been a few years—”
“—five years—”
“—but I feel like we’ve changed a lot since the last time we talked.”
Lance hums softly under his breath. “Almost like we’re meeting for the first time all over again.”
just a shot compilation of mostly fluffy relatively short fics for @hiuythn!
#klance#fanfic: klance#klance fanfic#fic rec#klance fic rec#i filtered through my 220+ klance bookmarks for this#there's plenty more where this came from epijfvoe#the reason there's only nine is because one of them was hers lmao#caught it in time though
261 notes
·
View notes
Text
Alice and Edward sibling headcanons
--Edward likes to pretend he’s above the rest of the family’s prank wars, but in reality he and Alice have a longstanding prank rivalry, they’re just super subtle about it. Alice is always plotting in languages Edward doesn’t speak, or thinking up plans while she’s getting laid so he’s not listening in, and Edward always comes up with like 5 different strategies and doesn’t pick one until the last moment so Alice doesn’t see him coming. One time when Edward was out hunting, Alice replaced his entire CD collection with custom-burned CDs that only contained the song “Hips Don’t Lie”. In retaliation, Edward bought the exclusive rights to the distribution of all the new fashion lines from all the major designers that season, and prevented Alice from getting her hands on any of it. She still doesn’t own any clothes from Fall of 2007 even though the collections fit her aesthetic perfectly. Alice is always trying to manipulate the class assignments so Edward has all his classes with the students he finds most obnoxious, and Edward makes it his mission to become known as a mysterious cool-guy trendsetter at every new school so he can get the whole student body to follow his lead and wear clothes Alice absolutely hates.
--Even though they’re always fucking with each other, they’re acutely aware of the other person’s mental health and do little things to help them out-- On days when Edward has to deal with an onslaught of new minds (like the first days of school) Alice will recite his favorite books in her head all day to give him something soothing to focus on. Meanwhile, Edward is always grounding Alice when she comes out of her visions as best he can; he knows they’re super disorienting for her and he tries to guide her back to the present as gently as possible. He also lets her know if someone’s thoughts have been more erratic than usual, potentially indicating a string of unexpected decisions from them and unwanted visions for Alice. Outside of the prank wars, he tries to make his own decisions as predictable as possible. Alice will hum songs that Edward loves on bad days and get them stuck in the heads of their whole family.
--After Esme, Edward was the most devastated that Alice “abandoned” them in breaking dawn. Alice was the family member he relied on most, and her leaving left him feeling deeply betrayed and lost. He tried to be positive for Bella and Renesmee, but inside he was incredibly upset and pessimistic. He thought that even if the worst case scenario came to pass and the two of them were captured, forced to watch their families killed, and “recruited” into the volturi, at least they would be there together. The fact that she not only abandoned their family, but also abandoned him and his incredibly vulnerable daughter, knowing how scared he was, made him overwhelmingly angry. When the “battle” is over and they survive in no small part thanks to her, he hugs her for ten minutes straight and would cry if he could.
--When Alice first moves in with the Cullens, she knocks him off his pedestal a bit. Edward is used to being the one who knows everything about everyone, so Alice showing up out of nowhere armed with a ton of information about their whole family shakes him up somewhat. He wants to be affronted, but her amusement is contagious.
--Alice is always telling Edward to do or not do random things and refusing to give him an explanation. When it comes to serious stuff there’s always a good reason, but when it comes to everyday stuff she’s just as likely to make sure he encounters a particularly delicious mountain lion as she is to make sure he’s in the right place at the right time to be noticed by a new freshman girl who will spend the entire day thinking dreamily of his eyebrows.
--Edward gives Jasper tips on how to get around Alice’s visions to surprise her with gifts, and also tells him what she’d most like based on her thoughts.
--Edward tracks down Alice’s remaining human family and pieces together the story for her from what he learns from the thoughts of hundreds of different people who heard various parts of it secondhand. He also takes the time to gather as much info about it from James as he can before they kill him.
--Alice goes out of her way to go hunting with Jasper incredibly frequently while Bella is human so that Alice can bond with her (because she knows how much it means to Edward that Bella has someone to talk to about vampires outside of him, and how desperate Bella is for friends) and also so Jasper has more control around Bella too.
--Alice and Edward have a ton of fun sparring because they’re the only ones who really challenge each other. It’s like Their Thing
--Alice secretly burns the sweater that Edward whines about Bella wearing in Midnight Sun
--Edward is always trying to convince Alice to wear fortune-teller outfits and insisting that it’s in style. He buys her crystal balls and hides them in her stuff because he thinks it’s funny
--Alice discreetly adds books she knows Edward will like to his bookshelf so that he discovers them and gets excited about a new find while everyone else is busy at night
#edward cullen#alice cullen#alice brandon#mary alice brandon#twilight#twilight headcanon#twilight renaissance#twilight hc#twilight saga#tts#twilight in 2019#the twilight saga#contribute ur hcs i love these two!!!
239 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi! I had an idea about dumb M!Byleth x Shamir stuff where Shamir acts as a reluctant teaching assistant because Byleth recruited too many students and now all these kids are stuck with these emotionally distant and blunt ex-mercs for educators, I'm sorry, its just too cute and funny to me lol
Hey there, anon! First of all, I’m in LOVE with this request, and I’m gonna have a LOT of fun with this! And no need to apologize, it’s a great ask!
Alright, let’s get the fun going! Thanks for the ask anon, I hope you enjoy!
And honestly? I think you’re one of the only people I’ve seen that actually requested for Shamir in an ask. Props to ya for that!
————
Teacher’s Helper (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)
Byleth asks his dear Shamir to help out with teaching the children of his class.
She’s…less than thrilled to.
the things you do for love
Shamir pulled up a stool and sat down next to Catherine, throwing out a gold coin onto the counter.
“Ale, half ice please.” Shamir said, sighing.
“Jeez, had a fight with Byleth?”
She shook her head, turning to Catherine.
“Nothing like that. Byleth asked me to help teach the class tomorrow.”
Catherine almost dropped her drink, then laughed it off thinking she was joking. Shamir wasn’t smiling.
“…Oh, you’re serious? Well crap, that’s gonna be fun.”
Shamir and Catherine joined Byleth’s class as overseers a while back. Overtime they saw the class extend from the Black Eagles class to incorporating most of the Blue Lions and at least one girl from the Golden Deer. In other words, it was a very packed class. It’s no wonder Byleth needed help with it.
“So on that note, what are you doing here? Don’t think you should be hungover when you’re teaching his kids.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m just…kinda nervous is all.”
Shamir looked off to the side, slightly embarrassed that she admitted that.
“Hah, I’d be too, ya know! Byleth treats them as if they were his children! On that note, this’ll be good experience for you too! When you two have-”
Shamir punched Catherine in the arm, hard.
“Ack, sheesh! It’s a joke!”
“Ugh, what am I going to do…?”
She put her hands on her face, mumbling as she took a sip from her drink.
“Come on, this isn’t like you! How many times have we fought with them at this point? I’m sure you’ll do fine teaching!”
“I’m…not great with people, much less kids. You know that by now.”
“Tell ya what, I’ll do you a solid and help you out as well. How’s that sound?”
“…I’d appreciate that.”
Catherine patted Shamir on the back and went back to her drink.
“Get some sleep, teach! You’re gonna need it!”
She grunted and left the bar.
Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
The Next Morning…
The students began pouring in as Shamir awkwardly made sure her clothing was fine and nothing stood too out of place.
“Hey, you alright?” Byleth asked as he was getting a paper of everyone’s name out.
“Y-Yeah…”
Byleth pecked her on the cheek smiling.
“You’ll do fine. Just try to relax.”
Shamir blushed for a moment trying not to be too visibly shocked by his smile.
(Dorothea) “Hey…why’s Shamir at the head of the class?”
Some of the students took notice and talked to each other about what might be happening.
(Sylvain) “Hey, they might be getting engaged!”
(Felix) “I seriously doubt the Professor would be too childish to announce that during class…”
(Caspar) “I dunno, he’s done weirder things before.”
Catherine took a seat near the front, a grin overtaking her face as she waved to Shamir who facepalmed.
(Bernadetta) “I-I’m afraid to even ask what’s going on…”
(Ashe) “Come on, Bernie! I’m sure it’ll be alright!”
Byleth loudly cleared his throat once the bell rang, and he had everyone’s attention.
“Today’s lecture is going to have to be split into two today, seeing how complicated the task would be if it were only me giving it. So, half the class is going with Shamir, while I’ll be teaching the rest. The people going with Shamir will be:
Catherine, Sylvain, Petra, Ashe, Bernadetta, Caspar, Mercedes, Ferdinand, and Marianne.
Please split off to the side of the room with your group, and we’ll begin today’s lecture. Today will be the only time the class will be split like this.
The students gathered over to Shamir’s side of the room and she cleared her throat.
‘Alright…how hard can this be?’ She thought to herself.
——–
“Alright, so here’s the battlefield and the type of infantry the enemy platoon has. What’s the best way to approach this?” She asked as she pointed to a chalkboard.
(Mercedes) “You’d approach from the forest using our reserve of spear fighters, right?”
(Shamir) “No, they’d get slaughtered. Lances are weak to axe units.”
(Caspar) “Er…no offense miss Shamir, but how does that make any sense?”
(Shamir) “I…Huh.”
She honestly didn’t know about that. That was one of the first things she learned as a mercenary. That fact never stood quite right to her either.
How did swords beat axes, lances beat swords, and axes beat lances?
She remained silent for a moment before carrying on.
(Caspar) “She didn’t answer my question…”
——–
“Ashe, as a sniper how would you go about taking out a foe in a fortress wearing heavy plate armor. Assume no friendly reinforcements would come in time to help. How do you occupy the fort before the enemy regroup?”
(Ashe) “Simple ma’am. Crit them so hard they explode.”
“…What?”
(Catherine) “Um, surely you’ve noticed right? How sometimes your bow and arrows just one shot a general?”
“…I suppose that’s correct.”
That was another thing she never understood. It would explain that one time she saw a villager with a stick somehow kill an enemy bandit just by slapping him hard.
———-
“Ah, there’s your problem. Sorry to say, but that would’ve gotten your unit killed.”
(Marianne) “I-I see…”
She looked extremely troubled by the thought of that, which made Shamir flinch by her sheer depression.
She awkwardly walked over to Byleth and told him about the situation.
“…So she got sad is what you’re saying?”
“Yeah, sorry about that-”
Byleth kissed her on the lips and sighed.
“No worries, I can fix this. SOTHIS!”
���…W-Wha-”
[Ugh, are you seriously making me do this, Byleth?]
[Whatever…]
“Ah, there’s your proble-”
Byleth stepped in, tapping Shamir on the shoulder.
“You can go ahead and take a break, I got this for now, my side has been pretty quiet.”
“O-Oh alright.”
She took a deep breath as she walked outside the class to get a breath of fresh air. Catherine followed her out as Byleth was carefully explaining the mistakes to Marianne.
“It’s only been an hour and I’m already losing my mind…”
“That’s quitter talk! I think you’re doing a fine job, Shamir!”
“I appreciate it, Catherine but I don’t know how to properly talk to those kids. I think Byleth stopped me from doing so cause I might hurt someone’s feelings at this point.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“Hmph.”
“Come on, it’s only a few more hours you have to deal with, I believe in you and so does Byleth!”
“At least that makes two of you…”
Few Hours later…
Classes had finally ended after what seemed like an eternity. Byleth stood confidently waving some students off. Meanwhile Shamir sat in Byleth’s chair and faceplanted onto the desk.
“S-Shamir? Are you okay?”
Catherine walked up and laughed heartily.
“She’ll be fine after a few drinks!”
“Ugh…”
Byleth smilled and gently held her hand.
“You did great today, Shamir. Thanks for the help.”
She got up and kissed him, rolling her eyes after.
“I…won’t be doing that again. That was just for you.”
Byleth hugged her, which made Shamir go dead quiet while Catherine watched the two with a smile.
“Come on, why don’t we enjoy ourselves for a little bit, it’ll be my treat for helping out!” Byleth said, putting away his papers.
“Come on you two, we’re drinking proper tonight!” Catherine shouted, wrapping her arms around both of them.
“I’m uh…underage…I think?” Byleth said.
“Like hell you are! You’re…actually what are you?”
Shamir raised an eyebrow and looked at Byleth as well.
“Yeah, you never told me that too. You certainly don’t look much older than the kids but…”
“Bah, let’s say you can! No one’s gonna question! Come on, love birds!”
She went ahead of them and Byleth awkwardly followed along, leaving Shamir behind smiling to herself.
“…Maybe kids won’t be so bad now that I had firsthand experience with em…Heh, that’s a fun thought.”
She joined in with the two, and they all went to drink out in town.
#fire emblem#fire emblem three houses imagines#fire emblem three houses#fire emblem three houses headcanons#shamir nevrant#byleth#shamir x byleth#cassandra charon#dorothea arnault#felix hugo fraldarius#sylvain jose gautier#bernadetta von varley#marianne von edmund#caspar von bergliez#ashe duran#sothis#writing#imagines
95 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi! Loving ur headcanons for FE:3 houses! Can u write Felix/Annette (first time I saw them, they looked so cute!) and if possible, Sylvain/Ingrid and Ashe/Bernadetta headcanons? Thanks a bunch!!
relevant post:
no shade! i think it’s cute. imagine felix trying to get angry with ann—i bet he can’t lol
(with this, only 18 more felix/student pairs left to go. which one will be next?! ingrid to round off the blue lion girls?! claude for that sweet, sweet crack?! place your bets, people!)
and no problemo about the other two! i’m fond of them myself, so i already had some headcanons for them lying around (calling @that one claude/hilda anon that asked for a student/student pairing that i liked; this is it, friendo!). these are more pre-relationship, but feel free to request relationship hcs for these if you’d like!
enjoy~
felix/annette:
when they first met, it was chaos
felix the prickly loner who didn’t want to talk to anyone and annette the sweet child who greeted everyone she saw?
disaster
“hi! my name’s annette! i’m glad to meet you! all of the blue lions i’ve met so far are nice people so you must be nice as well and—”
he left before she could finish talking
she pouted about it all day long
it didn’t stop her from trying to make friends with him though
every morning at the mess hall: “good morning, felix! i hope you slept well”
at sword practice: “oh, you’re really good at this. maybe you can teach me sometime!”
in class: “wait, what did professor say? i didn’t catch that—did you?”
eventually, felix stops running away and just grumbles or lets out a sound to show her he hears her
but while he never continues any of the conversations, he also never tells her to go away (he just up and goes when he gets tired of it)
so annette babbles to him about random stuff
to onlookers, it doesn’t seem like he’s listening to her
but when he brings up a factoid she mentioned off-handedly the other day, she perks up and her heart turns warm
it gets to the point where every word that felix says to her gets stuck in her head
and she replays it whenever she thinks about him, smiling at the thought of his voice
on the other hand, felix’s frown starts disappearing whenever annette stops by to talk to him
sometimes, he’ll respond back
and he lets her tug on his sleeve
or he’ll pat her head when she does a good job
the other lions go ‘is that what i think it is??’ and get excited whenever they see them together
they don’t push it or anything—no matchmaking or the like
they just like seeing them together bc they think it’s adorable and it makes them soft
whenever annette feels sad because she messed up at something
felix will flick her forehead and call her an idiot, scolding her because “you’re going to get hurt” or “you’ve done it before. do it properly next time”
and when he gets too focused on his training, forgetting to take care of himself, annette drags him back to reality by calling out, “feliiiiiix! let’s go eat together!”
as they head over to the dining hall, she’ll sometimes cling on his arm
he doesn’t like it, but he can make an exception for her
ashe/bernadetta:
they first met while bernadetta was people watching
she was scribbling notes into her book: ‘lysithea - genius prodigy; tragic backstory because her superior intellect caused her to be ostracized by her peers?’
when ashe popped up behind her and asked, “hi there! whatcha doing?”
she shrieked, and in her panic, punched him in the face before escaping
when she was back in her room, she was utterly devastated and muttered, “what did i do? what did i do?” all over and over again
she tried avoiding him from that day on
but he always seemed to find her
in the corner of the library
the hidden alcove near one of the unused classrooms
ashe’s thief skills made it easy for him to sneak up on her unannounced and give her constant heart attacks
it turned her into a constant ball of anxiety that one day, she yelled, “stop doing that!” in the middle of the hallway
ashe blinked, shocked
and bernadetta, mortified as realization sank in, ran away and locked herself up in her room
she buried herself underneath the blankets and went on a self-loathing streak
“everyone’s going to look at me weirdly… i didn’t mean to… why am i like this…?”
it took the combined efforts of byleth and edelgard for her to come out again
when she did, she was afraid ashe would come out of nowhere and there’d be a repeat of the other day
but he didn’t
in fact, she couldn’t see him anywhere
she felt relieved but kinda bad because she couldn’t apologize for punching and shouting at him
still, it wasn’t her business anymore
(lies; she looked out for him everywhere she went)
when she caught him at the training grounds one day, practicing archery with some of his friends, she watched him for a while before scribbling notes about him
‘ashe - talks a lot. he’s either smiling or looking serious—there’s no in between. he’s likeable though… i guess’
eventually, he noticed her staring at him
and she flinched
but he didn’t come closer, just waved with a cheery look on his face before going back to practice
it was like a huge burden lifted from her shoulders ('oh, he doesn’t hate me’) and she left feeling better than before
ashe never walked over to her after that, but he always waved at her when they locked eyes—at a nice distance that kept bernadetta comfortable
each interaction they had, she grew braver bit by bit
and she tried going up to him so they could talk
the first twenty times were failures, but she inched closer and closer each time
ashe noticed them all but never called her out for it
in fact, he was tempted to just go up and talk to her again, but he knew she’d run away
so instead, he helped her out by hanging around corners and doorways, places where she could have a place to hide so they wouldn’t look at each other face-to-face
when bernadetta finally got close to a pillar he was resting on and called out an “um, excuse me?”, he peeked over to look at her, proud that she finally did it
but she shuffled over so they would be on opposite sides
so he stopped and said instead, “yeah? what’s up?”
she fidgeted with her sleeves. “i-i-i’m sorry for the other day. when i yelled at you. and when i hit your face…”
“hm? oh, that! i don’t mind. it was my fault for scaring you. i hope i didn’t make you feel bad. it was kinda hard, but i tried to keep away after that”
“…really? why?”
“you told me to stop sneaking up on you, right? so i did”
realization clicked. she flushed. “oh, thank you”
“no worries! i’m happy you came to me; i’m glad i can talk to you again”
she was thankful he couldn’t see her face. “wh-what? all i did was run away”
“yeah, but that’s because i kept surprising you. i think you’re nice”
“i’m not. not really”
“no, you are! a not-nice person wouldn’t say sorry for something they did before. but you just did.” he laughed. “it’s also kinda nice being together like this, don’t you think?”
she could feel her skin turn hotter. “n-n-nice? y-you—i—” as the feeling grew too much to handle, she stood up, embarrassed, and said, “i’m leaving! bye!” before bolting to the eagles’ dorm
within the comfort of her covers, she looked at the notes she had on ashe, hesitating, before she wrote down: 'he has a pretty laugh’
then she scratched it out and overheated under her blankets
meanwhile ashe, bright and cheery, whistled to himself as he wondered when he’d talk to her again
sylvain/ingrid:
sylvain flirts with her daily
“ingrid! you look as beautiful as you always do”
and she’ll thank him, deadpanned, before turning away and going back to whatever she was doing
sometimes, when she’s feeling particularly lousy, she’ll say, “i heard you the first time” or “stop”
it doesn’t discourage him and he just sprinkles her with more compliments because he thinks it’ll make her feel better
(it doesn’t)
ingrid always sighs over his antics but she doesn’t really care about them
she just thinks it’s empty flattery and ignores it
as long as sylvain does his own share of work, she’ll put up with it (and he does, so it’s her price to pay)
when sylvain gets serious, they make a good team
sometimes, she wishes he’d act like that all the time instead of being so…sylvain
but alas
he can wax poetry about her all day long
“your hair, sun-kissed, and eyes, beacons, draw me in like a wildfire i can’t look away from”
it’s really embarrassing, but he’s not that bad of a poet so she can’t help but be a bit impressed
she gets irritated that he spouts out this and that like it’s nobody’s business though, believing he should say it to someone when he truly means it
one day, she told him as much. “save it for someone special to you”
he just turned solemn���like he always did when he was in battle—and said, “but you are”
it left her feeling flustered; she didn’t show it though
(but from then on, she’ll catch herself staring at him as he concentrates, brows pinched together as a frown settles on his face, before she shakes her head and snaps out of it)
when he smiles at her, she’ll start to give him a small smile back
and when he takes her hand to kiss it, she lets him
she wonders what would happen if he offered to marry her
but she pushes the thought away and calls herself delusional
there are better prospects out there; she would never be a priority to the house of gautier
it doesn’t stop her from thinking about it whenever sylvain comes to talk to her though
maybe it’s just a dream
but it’s a nice dream nonetheless
[asks are open!]
#fire emblem three houses#fe16#fe3h#felix hugo fraldarius#annette fantine dominic#ashe ubert#bernadetta von varley#sylvain jose gautier#ingrid brandl galatea#asks#headcanons#anon#prerelease#(whew! this was a long one!)#(i'm going to make a mad dash to finish as many requests as possible)#(before this week's famitsu comes out)#(i hope you all will like them!)
58 notes
·
View notes
Text
Phantasma Magica Ch. 9
STORY SUMMARY
Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”
Next → ← Previous (First)
It was very nice to not have to worry about anyone’s safety. With his newfound peace-of-mind, Danny was actually able to help Hermione with her research for Hagrid and Buckbeak’s trial, invisibly scanning the library shelves for any useful books or articles, taking them back to her, and returning the ones she was done with.
He would’ve helped look through the articles himself, but… she was far better at that part than him, seemed to be enjoying herself (now that she wasn’t exhausted) – and even she agreed that this was a far more, uh… efficient strategy.
But while Danny was becoming much better friends with Hermione, Ron… Well. Danny supposed they weren’t very close to begin with, but Ron wasn’t too happy about him spending so much time with her. Though, Danny figured the only reason Harry wasn’t hanging out with her, too, was because of how much of his time was taken up by Quidditch practices. The team’s leader was very determined to win that year, for some reason. Danny didn’t know -- … or care -- why.
So, to try and get Ron to open up to him again, Danny came up with an idea – which he first thought of after seeing, time and again, how much of a bully Draco Malfoy really was. He ended up not even needing to ask why the Trio didn’t like him. (Not to mention, it was because of Draco’s fake “serious” injury that poor Buckbeak was facing potential death.)
He set his plan in motion during lunch one day, tapping Ron on the shoulder to get his attention – though not without him jumping a bit. Danny whispered in Ron’s ear, “Meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower tonight.” “What? Why should I?” he whispered back, covering his words by moving to take a bite of food. “I have an idea I think you’ll like. To get back at Malfoy.” He could tell by the change in the boy’s expression that he was interested. And that night, as requested, Ron (and Harry; Danny supposed he should’ve expected as much) appeared on top of the tower from under Harry’s invisibility cloak.
They wasted no time in asking the phantasm what his plan was. “It’s actually really simple. You guys – wizards, I mean – You don’t have any way of passing through solid objects, do you?” “Uh… I don’t think so…?” Harry answered, turning to Ron. He shrugged. “I’ve never heard about a spell that can do that. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, though, I guess.” “Alright, well… Watch this!” Grabbing a book he had “borrowed” from the library, Danny turned it intangible and stuck it part-way through the floor. Ron and Harry gaped at him. He pulled it back out and set it down. “I can do that with anything, as long as it’s not too big – including people. I can turn things invisible, too!” “Blimey…” Ron’s expression turned from awed, to mischievous. “Oho, just think of the stuff we could do to Malfoy! Why didn’t you tell us you could do that earlier!?” “So what kind of stuff did you have in mind?” Harry asked, grinning.
For the next couple weeks, Malfoy could’ve sworn Peeves the Poltergeist himself had made him his personal pranking-bag. Chairs that moved on their own, missing school supplies, too many dropped objects to count – other objects being randomly burning hot or freezing cold… Someone put an itching hex on every blanket he replaced on his bed. He even thought he kept seeing Potter’s Firebolt floating around – but every time he looked, it was gone. But worst of all was…
Draco shifted on the bench again. For the love of Merlin, he just wanted to eat his dinner in peace! But every time he tried to get comfortable, his skin would crawl again.
“Draco, what’s wrong?” asked Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Slytherin girl who, pretty obviously, had a crush on him. “It’s nothing.” Even as he said it, he flinched. He felt a sharp (but minor) pain on his stomach. It felt like… There it was again! This time, on his thigh. Then more crawling sensations – – they were all over him now. “I need to go to the restroom,” Malfoy excused himself when he felt whatever-it-was start to travel down his arms, up his collar. And now into– –Draco sped up.
Danny personally thought this one was a little cruel, but he had to admit that Malfoy’s expression had been pretty funny. Ron and Harry were having trouble containing their laughter, getting the attention of Ron’s prank-enthusiast twin brothers. “Oy! What’s so funny?” Gasping, Harry replied, “I think Malfoy’s having some trouble…” With a knowing look to each other, the Twins asked what they had done – and both of them started having their own laughing fit at the word “earwigs.”
Unfortunately, even after that, Danny couldn’t convince Ron to forgive Hermione. And after Ron giving her the cold shoulder for such a long time… It was pretty obvious that it was really upsetting her.
She was telling Hagrid about the progress she had made in her research when Hagrid brought it up. He tried to comfort her as best he could and promised to talk to Ron (and Harry) when he saw the boys again – despite her insisting he didn’t need to do that, and “If he doesn’t see that it wasn’t my fault, then that idiot can keep not being my friend!” … She couldn’t quite keep the tears out of her voice when she said that, though…
Whether Hagrid went through with that promise or not, Ron still didn’t want anything to do with Hermione – even when the next Hogsmeade weekend rolled around. At first, Hermione seemed determined to stay in the castle and continue studying. But eventually, Danny managed to convince her that some fresh air and a break from routine could do her some good.
It was much more fun to look around the small town with company, even if he couldn’t really talk to her through more than the occasional whisper. She told him all sorts of stuff about the place under her breath – the town’s history, mostly, but also things like how wizards made using owls for mail delivery work, and what the different kinds of candy in that one store were. Knowing how much he liked it, she even ordered Danny a hot chocolate at the Three Broomsticks.
After they were done, they went their separate ways to get back into the school grounds. Danny (knowing the other routes risked him running into the Twins) had made it a habit to use the tunnel under the Shrieking Shack to get to and from Hogsmeade. And it was a good thing he did.
It wasn’t uncommon for people to be staring at the “haunted” house from the safety of the fence. But this time, it was Ron. Who… seemed to be talking to himself. Danny smiled. ‘Of course Hermione wasn’t the only one with an invisible friend today.’ Movement and sound from down the hill then caught Danny’s attention. ‘Uh-oh’ Malfoy was headed towards them, accompanied by his two friends-slash-bodyguards “Crabbe” and “Goyle.” ‘No way this is gonna end well.’
“… should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm… about how I couldn’t use it for three months…” His goons sniggered. “I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself.. ‘There’s no ‘arm in ‘im, ‘onest’… that hippogriff’s as good as dead–” He cut off when he spotted Ron “alone” – and grinned. “What are you doing, Weasley?” Draco looked at the Shack behind Ron. “Suppose you’d love to live here, wouldn’t you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room – is that true?”
From the sudden extension of fabric, Danny assumed Harry had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to keep him from trying to attack the bully. This was confirmed when he heard Harry whisper “Leave him to me.” Danny, using his phantasmal senses, managed to hone in on Harry’s location close enough to whisper, “It’s me. I’ll help.”
Danny stayed close to Harry (just in case) and watched as a handful of mud floated into the air… “… Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D’you think he’ll cry when they cut off his hippogriff’s–” –and launched itself at the back of Malfoy’s head with a *splat*! “What the–?” Ron was laughing so hard that he had to use the fence to support himself. The three bullies were spinning wildly, trying to figure out where the mud had come from. With a snarl, Draco wiped his hair clean. “Great. Just when I thought it was over. Who’s doing this?!” He demanded from the air. Danny snickered. Ron casually commented, “Very haunted up here, isn’t it?” Crabbe and Goyle looked scared (their big muscles wouldn’t help against a ghost), but Malfoy just looked more annoyed.
Meanwhile, Harry had snuck closer to a puddle to grab some stinky green sludge. This time, the two goons got hit, too. “It came from over there!” Malfoy, wiping his face off, directed Crabbe toward Harry’s general direction. Danny gently grabbed Harry and floated him back over to Ron. “My turn,” he whispered.
Double checking how far away the dementors were, Danny carefully let his aura spread out. It was still a bit cold outside, so it took a few seconds for them to start shivering. Then a few more before they noticed the ice forming underneath them, up their muddy-wet shoes, and forming frost on their cheeks. “Wha– There shouldn’t be any dementors out here yet. It’s still daytime!” Draco all but whimpered. He, Crabbe, and Goyle were looking nervous. Finally, Danny sealed the deal with his best dementor impression: with no warning or build-up, the sound of loud, wheezing breaths came from directly above the three. Not wasting any time, the Slytherins ran – slipping and sliding and falling over each other – back down the hill.
Ron and Harry were doing some pretty good dementor impressions of their own – wheezing with barely-contained laughter. “Ha…! That was bloody BRILLIANT!”
Soon after, Harry, Danny, and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room (in their own ways). When they got there, Danny received some good news/bad news. The good news was that Ron and Hermione were friends again. The bad news… was what caused it.
Hagrid had sent a letter to Hermione from London, covered in teardrops, saying that he had lost the case. Buckbeak was going to be executed. However, there was still some hope. With the possibility of an appeal driving them on, the Trio was reunited to help save their friend’s pet. They visited Hagrid every evening they could and, despite the hustle of the upcoming exams, did their best to form some kind of defense for him to use. Danny even suggested trying to “kidnap” the hippogriff and take him somewhere safe – they couldn’t blame Hagrid if Buckbeak was stolen by a “dangerous creature,” after all! However, using that plan would mean Danny would be hunted by the Ministry, so it was decided that would be the backup plan.
Now that they were interacting with her again, Ron and Harry noticed something strange about Hermione. And when their Easter break rolled around, with everyone else stressed beyond belief by trying to finish homework and study for their End of Year Exams – they couldn’t ignore it anymore. “Okay. You have to tell me how you’re doing it.” “Doing what?” Ron glared at her. “We all have more homework than we’ve ever had in our lives. And you’re taking more classes than anyone – which, I still want to know how you’re going to more than one class at a time, by the way–” “That’s nonsense, Ronald. No one can be in two places at once,” Hermione stated matter-of-factly. “– not to mention how much you’re working on the appeal for Hagrid. Yet somehow, you’re the most relaxed and rested person here!” “What can I say?” Hermione hid her face behind her book; she couldn’t help grinning. “I just have better time management skills!”
In truth, Hermione was practically living every day twice, at this point. Danny, wanting to be able to come and go as he pleased, had decided to let her use his pipe-hideout to work in (pulling her intangibly through a wall was easier than guarding random classrooms), and he had taken to sneaking a double of each meal up to her. But even if Hermione was living a double life, and Ron was stressed by their overflow of homework, no one was busier than Harry. He had to work his homework and studying in around daily Quidditch practices.
The entire school was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming match, too. Danny had never experienced this level of rivalry (and often, downright hostility!) over a school-level game. The excitement finally caused him to pay enough attention that he found out why the captain of the Gryffindor team had been driving Harry so hard: Gryffindor hadn’t won the “Quidditch Cup” in many years, and Harry’s skill (and amazing broom) meant that they finally had a good chance of winning this time! And the excitement was contagious. To his (minor) dismay, even Danny found himself drawn into it! And the fact that the Slytherin team’s “Seeker” (the position Harry played on the Gryffindor team) was Draco Malfoy just strengthened that excitement for Danny AND the Trio – but especially for Harry. Danny haaaad attended a few of the matches, but – despite the crash-course Harry had given him that weekend in the Hospital Wing – he still couldn’t quite manage to really get into the sport.
Until now.
When the game started, Danny took up his usual position near the top of the stands – close enough to (hopefully) not be hit by any of the flying players, but far enough away to not be touched by anyone in the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, it was easy to tell who the favorite to win was. Everyone in every House but Slytherin (“Gryffindor,” “Hufflepuff,” and “Ravenclaw”) were decked out in Gryffindor’s colors: red and gold. The quarter of the stadium flashing green and silver made a sharp contrast.
Danny found himself glued to his seat (metaphorically, since he was floating) watching the players fly back and forth, scoring goals in the giant bubble-wand-like goal-posts, hitting ���bludgers” at the opposite team’s players to knock them off their brooms, angering the referee several times by smashing directly into the players instead… To say both teams were playing dirty would have been an understatement.
Danny didn’t fully get the points system, but he knew this much: He was embarrassed.
Because when Harry managed to grab the “Snitch” right out from under Malfoy’s hand – despite Harry being further away, starting towards the Snitch from all the way in the center of the field – – and the stadium erupted in cheers…
He actually turned ~visible~ for a second in his excitement…!
~~~~~
If you like this, please REBLOG!
(Updates every Wednesday until completion.)
Also, if you like my writing, check out my collection of one-shots here! I write a story at the request of you all every Wednesday. (Look here for info on how requests work)
Other places you can find this fic: Fanfiction.net/~ciestess ArchiveOfOurOwn.org/users/Ciestess/profile Deviantart.com/Ciestess
Next → ← Previous (First)
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
VLD2x05 – “Eye of the Storm”
2x05 – “Eye of the Storm”
Zarkon’s forces, who showed up at the end of the last episode, attack. The Castle takes evasive action. This is the first time (is it the only time? because I don’t remember these things) that it’s shown that there are weapons drones separate from the Castle itself. Of course, the writers decided that in a tense situation, one that could be life or death, to have the never explained “rivalry” between Lance and Keith be a thing. When you’re in a situation like this, you’re fighting for your life, you’re not going to care about such petty things. Allura using the moon for a gravity assist was really nice though; I’m surprised the show could actually get something science right for a change.
The Castle makes it into a wormhole and escapes but falls short of their intended destination. Allura collapses from stress and everyone’s tired. Coran gets “the slipperies.” This plot for him doesn’t do much for me; it doesn’t bother me, I’m just eh about it. He eventually reports that the Castle’s teludav, the system that enables wormhole creation, is under severe need of maintenance. While Coran works, everyone else tries to rest.
Lance heads off to the pool, and when he sees Keith is doing the same, he gets all angry/annoyed. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?” he asks Keith. This “rivalry” is so senseless. Seriously, writers? Keith can’t even go for a swim without Lance being bothered by it? It’s tiresome. The power cuts out while they’re in the elevator though. Two people antagonistically stuck in an elevator together is a trope, but this episode doesn’t let it play out; we move on to out of the elevator almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Hunk is baking because of course he is. I can understand his explanation though, that it clears his head. This is a reasonable application of the Hunk-likes-food single bullet-point of characterization the show gave the character. It expands his liking food beyond just fat guy = food, and instead explains how it’s applicable to his psychology. Baking is meditative for him. His “cookies” are weird though, and when challenged on it, he responds, “Are you going to try and tell me these aren’t cookies?” as he looks through clear, blue discs. Are you telling me he just randomly threw unknown substances in a bowl, stirred, and then portioned it out and baked it? That’s not how baking works. If he truly is even a novice yet serious baker, he would know that baking requires precise measurement of ingredients. The show again thinks doing a faux x-ray shot of bones breaking, this time Hunk’s teeth when he bites a “cookie,” is funny. It’s not.
Lance and Keith are trying to cooperate in climbing up the elevator shaft. The “rivalry” continues as they rant at each other each step. They eventually make it out and to a spot under the pool. The water is above them for some no other reason than it’s weird.
Pidge meanwhile tries to learn Altean, but for some absurd reason, the language instruction software attacks you if you mispronounce words. And the words it teaches are just creatures/monsters. The episode later makes Pidge’s wanting to learn the Altean language have relevance, but this particular scene does nothing to advance to that point, so this scene is wholly unnecessary.
Shiro and Allura have a brief, but nice, tender moment. She can’t help but to continue to be worried about Zarkon. Shiro tries to encourage her that it’s okay to take a bit of time to rest. Unfortunately, while they’re talking, Galra forces attack the Castle. The crew goes to stations. Lance is baffled that Zarkon could have found them. I don’t know why though since this isn’t the first time; the show has established that Zarkon can do this, and the Paladins know that he can do this. This shouldn’t seem like an out-of-nowhere surprise anymore. Coran’s slipperies remains a problem. I still don’t find his condition to be funny, but the emotion of his apology to Pidge and his asking for help makes his situation have narrative/characterization value. Keith and Lance are back to controlling the weapon drones. They call out targets for one another, which I guess is supposed to be them setting aside the rivalry to help one another, but it’s not realistic. One, an advanced weapon system like these drones would have tracking systems built into them, so each one would have fighters/potential targets being presented on their operational displays. Two, each of them would be too busy operating their own drone to be able to monitor for targets for the other.
The drones go down, other systems, the shields, Coran and Pidge have to take them all offline to power the wormhole generator. The Castle makes a short jump and end up at what looks like a giant gas planet, but they have at least a moment to breathe. Shiro’s worried about how they’re being tracked, and Allura assures him the Castle’s systems would have detected any kind of tracking device. Coran reports the teludav is even more damaged now. Pidge describes the thing that looks like a planet as being a “giant metallic storm.” This show finally has something that looks a fair bit like a realistic planet – it’s kind of Jupiter/Saturn-ish – but it’s a “metallic storm?” Whatever.
The storm should hide them from any technology that could detect them, but Zarkon’s there almost immediately. The shots of Zarkon’s ship above the eye of the storm are beautifully animated. With no known tech being identifiable as letting Zarkon find them, Allura assigns blame to herself. Saying that’s how the Galra found them on Arus too. I guess it’s just the stress of the moment that makes her blame herself. Shiro says none of that matters. (He’s so supportive in moments of crisis! How anyone could think his character is boring, I don’t know.) He says that Voltron needs to lure Zarkon away so that the Castle can get out. He says to Coran, “I need you to do the impossible.” So much leadership!
Galra fighters following Voltron into the storm end up being destroyed by the storm. I don’t understand the structure of this storm. It has an eye, but only on one end? Zarkon’s ship is stationed at that end of the eye, but there’s apparently something beneath the cylinder of the eye of the storm that blocks the other end, and thus the Castle can’t get out that way? That’s the problem when you make up something like this: you have to explain it/depict it in greater scope to let the reader/viewer understand what it is. If this is just a weird, spinning storm in space that has an eye, we’re going to instantly compare it to a hurricane to try to understand it. The eye of a hurricane is open on top and bottom. But this has no bottom opening?
Zarkon rages, “The Black Lion is all that matters.” The Castle flies out of the eye right past Zarkon’s ship. Even if Zarkon is focusing himself on the Black Lion, I can’t believe the entirety of his ship would just stop and not attack the Castle while it flies past. Voltron starts glowing purple and being pulled toward Zarkon’s ship. Shiro states Zarkon’s trying to take control of the Black Lion. Voltron struggles against the pull, and the Lions start emitting beams of light from their eyes. It’s visually confusing because Zarkon’s ship starts exploding, so it makes it look like it’s those beams of light that are damaging the ship until three camera shots later when it’s revealed that the Castle is blasting huge holes through Zarkon’s ship. Given how much damage the Castle is doing, they should be able to easily destroy the entire ship. Zarkon’s concentration is broken, allowing Voltron to escape.
Hunk’s cookies turn out to be made of the stuff that the lenses that need to be replaced in the teludav. It’s a convoluted, silly scene of the Paladins holding the “cookies.” But it doesn’t bother me. Everyone is freaking out. Lance is screaming, “We’re going to die.” And Shiro is just standing there thoroughly unbothered, with an almost resigned, “whatever” look on his face. It’s like the poor guy’s been through too much to even care at this point. The lenses aren’t enough; they need to be shined, and Coran uses his slippery goo to do so. The system works, they Castle jumps into a wormhole and escapes.
This episode does change the dynamic between Team Voltron and Zarkon. He’s no longer just standing around somewhere distant being a villain from afar. Now he’s actively pursuing them himself. The episode thus heightens the overall tension in the show’s ongoing plot.
#voltron legendary defender#voltron#vld#voltron criticism#vld criticism#voltron critical#vld critical#vld season 2#vld 2x05#commentary
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Keith’s First Halloween
This is for the voltron games I’m participating in! Team: Red Lion Round: 1 Challenge: 3 with Shiro, Keith, and Adam
Summary: After finding out Keith hasn’t celebrated Halloween since the death of his father, Shiro and Adam invite him for some pumpkin carving and caramel apples! ----------------------------------
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“You’re kidnapping me. You’re kidnapping me and going to sell my organs on the black market, aren’t you?”
Shiro barks out a laugh, veering away from a slowing car ahead of them, but maintained hands on the wheel. Shiro is great at flying, but sometimes Keith questions how he got his license with all the risks he takes. “Patience yields focus, Keith. Relax, it is nothing bad.”
Keith quirks an eyebrow, but nonetheless allowed Shiro to take him to God knows where. Since his arrival at the garrison, he has been living there rather than the group home. His roommate wasn’t particularly fond of him, what with his bad temper and representation for being a discipline case. But it was better than where he was, an invisible boy unable to find a home. Unable to be seen by a family as worthy. The only person who ever truly loved him has left the land of the living, leaving Keith wishing the fire never occurred. That his father never ran back into the building, though he knew it was a selfish wish. A child is alive today because of him. As much as Keith wanted to keep his father, at least he died a hero. His hero.
Shiro glances at Keith, the sixteen year old looking out onto the road with a far off gaze. He is leaning on his right, arm propped up on the arm rest and a fist to his cheek. His usual stance when he is deep in thought.
He didn’t say anything, but he knew what Keith was thinking. Most likely his father, maybe his future. It was only recently that Shiro found out Keith hasn’t celebrated halloween for awhile, what with the death of his father severely impacting his joy in holidays meant to spend with family or friends. Keith’s only family passed away, and as far as Shiro knows, he hasn’t been able to make any friends. Students and teachers of the school are weary of him. They believe he represents nothing but trouble, and the higher officials at the garrison severely question Shiro’s judgement. Iverson going so far as to say he made a mistake by bringing Mr. Hotshot to the school.
What they didn’t understand was he is a kid. A child who felt abandoned and dysfunctional.
And every kid deserves to have some happiness in their life, at the very least.
So, Shiro talked Adam over having Keith over, explaining his background and how excellent he is in the garrison flight simulator. Adam was skeptical at first--not of Keith being a good kid--but of him willingly coming over. Shiro has spent more time with him than Adam, who unfortunately had no classes with him and only passed by the kid every now and then, greeting them on sight and Keith waving silently as a means of respect.
Despite Adam’s opinions, Shiro has a gut feeling this is what Keith needs. And who knows, maybe he will take a liking to Adam and the treats he has in store. --------
As they approach the house, Keith turns to him, confused.
“Um, is this your house?”
“Yup.”
“Uh...” He looks around, waiting for Shiro to continue, but received nothing. “What are we doing here?”
“We,” Shiro begins, reaching behind his seat and grabbing some plastic bags full of groceries he picked up earlier. “Are going to prepare for Halloween.”
Keith looks uncomfortable. “I don’t really celebrate halloween. Or any of the holidays, for that matter.”
“I’m aware,” Shiro said, leveling him with a kind look. “You mentioned it when we had lunch the other day. But we need a helping hand with the pumpkins.”
“We?”
“Yeah, me and Adam. He’s my--er--He’s my boyfriend.” Shiro can feel a blush creep on his cheeks. He neglected to tell Keith of his and Adam’s actual relationship. It wasn’t that he was ashamed, it’s just he totally spaced on the little tidbit. So much for making the kid less awkward.
Keith doesn’t blink, cocking his head to the side. “Professor Adam? Doesn’t he hate me along with the other instructors? You’re getting serious flack for getting me into the school.”
He shakes his head. “Nope. In fact, he was more concerned on if you would show. I told him about you. He is looking forward to getting to know you as both a pilot and person.”
“I still don’t think this is a good idea. You should just--”
“Nope!” Shiro interrupts, snatching a pumpkin in the back and plopping it on Keith’s lap. “You’re a kid, and kids should be having fun. Not brooding in their room at night while halloween is just around the corner.”
“I don’t brood.” Keith exclaims, his lip jutting out in a pout.
“Right, and I have white hair.” Shiro said, sarcastic. “Come on, up and at ‘em. And don’t even think about stealing the car. I have the keys wrapped around my fingers.”
------------------
It was a little awkward, Shiro admitted. As Keith lugged the largest pumpkin Shiro gave him and entered the house, Adam emerged from the kitchen to greet the two, kissing Shiro on the cheek. He smiled down at Keith, introducing himself and holding out a hand to the tiny boy. There was a moment of silence, Keith not used to friendliness outside of Shiro. He half expected Adam to pull Shiro aside, meaning to be out of ear shot so he could chastise Shiro for bringing the “problem” child in their home. But he just gazed down at Keith, soft brown eyes never breaking from the starstruck indigo. Not until his expression morphed into that of discomfort, not sure what to do since Keith wasn’t responding in any way.
As he lowered his hand, Keith shifted the pumpkin to one arm and on his hip, carefully reaching out to grasp Adam’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m Keith.”
Adam smiles, toothy and proud. “Please, call me Adam. I’m not one for formalities.” He motions to where the kitchen is. “Come along, I was getting the newspaper ready for the pumpkin carving.”
They followed Adam, Shiro’s boyfriend asking Keith many questions as they prepared and began to pumpkin carve. He stuck to his interests, avoiding any semblance of questions having to do with Keith’s past. Shiro had already informed him of the touchy subject and to approach it if Keith chose to open up. To which, he eventually did, mentioning how his dad was never good at carving pumpkins and sometimes burned the seeds when they would roast them for a horror night. It was a small tidbit he lent; a sliver of his childlike, nostalgic side, void of sadness and regret. As Adam asked if he was good at carving pumpkins, Keith gave a small smile and said he was, sometimes using the knife his father gave him. Shiro watched the two interact, a fond and loving smile gracing his lips as he forgot about his pumpkin and focused more on the two bonding.
Shiro hadn’t seen such a big smile since he taught Keith how to land the hoverbike perfectly from jumping off a cliff in the desert. His eyebrows raised, eyes dancing in the florescent lighting, galaxies and mirth erasing the secret darkness he held whenever he is seen. The child Shiro encountered in the classroom, the boy who sadly looked out the window and strayed from the other children, not bothering to line up for the simulator, was overtook by a sense of peace. Meanwhile Adam, who expressed anxiety over the young teen hating Shiro’s idea, ruffles the raven haired boy’s locks and joked about how Shiro does that all the time, eliciting a squawk from Shiro.
“I burned them once! Once, Adam!”
“Once was enough to make sure you never touch an oven again.” He jokes, laughing as Shiro grumbled about being betrayed by his own lover.
Adam leans towards Keith, a hand coming to partially cover his mouth as if to tell him a secret. “He may be a pro at flying now, but he crashed the simulator three times in one go in our cadet days.”
“Don’t poison his mind with lies!”
“It isn’t a lie when history is true.” Adam counters, grinning.
“Oooooo he got you there.” Keith joined. Shiro shook his head, dipping his hand in the orange fruit and flicking it on Keith’s nose.
“Respect your elders, kid.”
“You’re 24.” Adam stated, Keith wiping his nose on his sleeve and chucking a large pile of orange goop at Shiro. Suddenly the three were engaged in an all out pumpkin guts fight, streamers of fruit coating the kitchen and their clothes. they were all laughing, Keith and Adam teamed up against Shiro as they hid behind the table, whispering strategies as Shiro gunned for another chunk of seeds and squash. Before he could land a hit, he is pummeled by two flying chunky globs, one hitting his chest and the other his neck. He chucked the stash in his hand, landing a hit on Keith’s tiny head. The atmosphere, so used to the voices of two, range with the laughter of three. They ran around the small kitchen, their pumpkin war ending only when they ran out of fuel from the three pumpkins Shiro brought home.
They laid on the floor, tired from their food fight but letting out a couple of giggles every now and then. Shiro noted how the two were smiling so wide, he couldn’t help but smile himself. Yes, this is what Keith needed. A sense of being a kid. A sense of having a family, whether it was a mother and father, or a brother figure and his boyfriend. Keith’s walls were up, pure stone covering the tenderness of his bruised heart. But now, they were down. Keith’s heart was wide open, the burden of his past forgotten and filled with glee he hadn’t felt in years.
Adam stood up and began to clean up, announcing they will make some candy apples after they all scrubbed the place clean. Keith didn’t put up a fight, he really didn’t mind. He was chivalrous in his cleaning, asking Adam and Shiro if he missed any places.
He is a good kid. His problem lies in trusting others, in trusting the human race. But when he ignores the darkness of humanity, he is a quiet teen who wants to have fun and acknowledges when there is chores to be done.
He isn’t a problem child. He just needs to be given a chance.
The night ended with Keith curled up in the couch, a half eaten caramel apple on the coffee table in their living room. Shiro gingerly lifted his head to place a plump pillow under his dark head, and Adam covered him in a red fleece blanket he had stashed in a closet. Tiny snores escaped Keith’s nose, his face in a state of peace and content.
Shiro doesn’t regret giving him a second chance in the least.
#shania writes#red lion#round 1#challenge: 3#pumpkins and apples#keith kogane#shiro#adam (voltron)#adashi#takashi shirogane#VLD#voltron#voltron games
44 notes
·
View notes
Text
I am a Lion Born From Things You Cannot Be
I am a Lion Born from Things You Cannot Be
Name changes are based on whether or not people are in costume (with their mask on).
Breathe in and out slowly. That is the only thing Rebecca can do right now. She woke up tied hand and foot to a bed frame. The room is pitch and there are no windows. Nothing new, that’s how she was kept in that padded cell. She gave off the illusion of someone who was asleep, but she was actually thinking about how to get to her hair clip. It had a saw edge on it for this exact scenario.
She slowly moved her head to the side, making it look like she was trying to take some of the pressure off her neck and get comfier in her sleep, and once her fingertips were hidden by her hair she snapped the pin out of her hair. She let her head hang loosely from where she had suspended it and cracked open her left eye, which would have been hidden from any CCTV camera trained on her. Her hair hid the hand that was slowly sawing the ropes binding her hand to the wrought iron bed frame. When her hand was only bound by a few thin threads she stopped, making sure it looked like she was still tied. Then she readjusted her head and did the same with the other hairclip. Now that she only had a few strings holding her hands she could plot her escape.
Meanwhile, in the Batcave, there was a meeting of the minds and fists over what should be done about the girl upstairs who was still presumably unconscious. The conversation was too heated for anyone to be checking the security camera placed in there.
“I still say we take her to Arkham right now,” Bruce says in a no-nonsense tone.
“ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT!” Jason roared back at his used to be father.
“Yeah no, there’s no fucking way that’s happening, Bruce.” Surprisingly, Tim chimes in glaring at Bruce over his cup of coffee.
“I won’t let you touch her, not after last time.” Nightwing in an icy tone, enunciating every syllable.
“I agree with Father,” Damian said nonchalantly. His brothers turned on him within seconds.
“You little fucking brat- “Jason was cut off by Nightwing who sounded loudly.
“YOU SOULLESS UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT!” He paused and caught himself bowing his head and taking a breath, Dick looked at Damian with a look of intense sorrow. “After all she has done for you, for us all, you would abandon her for things that were outside of her control? She loved us and cared for us and made sure that we were taking care of ourselves even when she didn’t know the truth. She didn’t pry and she always looked after you and Timmy especially. She is the only reason this family even resembles a family in the first damn place.” Dick sat down and placed his head in his hands. Tim placed a hand on his back, Dick loved her like a sister. They all had.
“Look, all I am saying is that we are ill-equipped to help her as none of us have the necessary training to act as her therapist.” Damian hurriedly states, not wanting to seem his usual soulless self. “I wouldn’t abandon her. Who else would I prank you guys and play with Titus with?” The snark reminded Dick of who he was talking to. Damian did care he just had issues with showing it, but that didn’t mean that Dick couldn’t dish some back out.
“Jon. You already do all those things with Jon.” Dick said matter-of-factly. Damian sneered.
“Only because my usual partner was presumed dead.” Damian glared.
“The kid has one thing right, Dickie, I’m irreplaceable.” Everyone whipped around to the elevator leading down into the Batcave. Bruce cussed, how the hell had she managed to get into the Batcave? The boys looked on in shock as she flashed a smile and sat down on the table. “Don’t look so surprised, I was a med student. I’m nothing if not observant. I just didn’t think that the secret elevator led to the Batcave until recently. By the way, you have got to hide that better.”
Rebecca sprawled all five feet ten inches of herself across the table, laying down in a pose on her stomach that reminded them of Selina. Grinning a sickeningly wide grin she turned to the boys, rope still tied tight around her wrists, with jagged edges where she cut them from the bedposts. “Whatcha talking about?” she purrs.
“We have to do something with you, babe, you need some serious help.” Jason drawled.
“Don’t I know it. Do you have any idea how much my head hurts right now? Fighting another personality for control of your body is a living hell. Makes me pity Dr. Fate.” Selina has had a definite influence on her speech. Little do they know that she is mimicking her old voice.
“Really? You are fighting for control right now?” Tim says in awe. She was very strong, she always had been, but it only now registered how strong. She would make a freakishly strong Green Lantern.
“Yep. Hurts like a bitch lemme tell you. Honestly, I don’t know how long I have before she takes my body back. When that happens, you should Taser me.” She rolled on her back and smiled at Tim, her eyes glowing softly.
“NO! We are NOT hurting you!” Jason and Dick said at the same time.
“Guys, she wants me to jump on top of you,” pointing at Jason, “and fuck you while I dig my fingers into your eye sockets and play with your eyeballs. And she wants me to stab you,” pointing at Dick, “and play with your entrails while I lick the sweat off your skin.” She said with a tone of absolute boredom, while she dangled herself halfway off the table. She put herself into a handstand and proceeded to front flip and land in a split. She’s become less and less able to sit still lately. “Oh, and you don’t want to know what she wants me to do to you Brucie.” She stuck out her tongue.
“I shot you in the leg. You need to be careful. Don’t hurt yourself,” Jason growls from his chair.
“Please, I shot you in the everywhere else plus, if I’m not already healed by now, I would be surprised. Also, can’t feel pain anymore. My nerve endings are fucking fried, dude.” She sat up with alarming quickness. “Hey! Do you have any cigarettes?”
“Yeah, baby doll, come here.” Jason dug his hand into his jacket and grabbed his pack and his lighter. Rebecca trilled with joy and ran over to grab the outstretched cigarette and waited for Jason to give her the light. Once she had it, she took a deep drag and her shoulders immediately sagged in relief. She really needed that. Jason lit one for himself much to Dick and Bruce’s chagrin.
“You need help. You have to go to Arkham. I can call for the top professionals to try and rehabilitate you, but you can’t stay here, Jester.” Ouch. That one hurt.
“Really Brucie, not even gonna use my real name anymore? Guess I was right to say that you don’t care about me anymore. But guess what? You’re the reason I’m in this mess.” She stood up straight and began to stalk forward. “You’re the reason we are all in this mess. The reason Jason died. You know that, right? Because I was there that night.” Jester was in his face now, eyes glowing a hue that put shivers down Jason’s spine, smiling that sickening Joker smile.
“Rebecca, what are you talking about?” Damian said in a careful tone. He knew the slightest provocation and she would lose it.
“The night that my father turned into the Joker, I was there.” Bruce paled. Uh oh. “We were in dire straits. My mother was pregnant with my little brother and she was sick. The hospital bills were racking up. Dad had recently quit his job because he got an offer to be a comedian at a nightclub, supposedly guaranteed pay. Unfortunately, my dad wasn’t as funny as he thought he was. I was coming home from boarding school. I had gotten in on scholarship. My mom was hospitalized earlier that night and they were doing everything they could to save her. I went to the hospital immediately. We didn’t have the money to pay but that didn’t matter. They both died. I was devastated. So was father, but he didn’t find out until after. We still had bills to pay though and he was approached by two mafia men earlier that week. He went on the job that night. The deal was he help them break in, they split the money three ways and he was never the Red Hood again.” She paused, tears welling up in her eyes. She took a long drag from her cigarette and closed her eyes. She continued.
“You were on your first case, busting the Red Hood robberies. You came in after them there was a fight, you, having mistaken the masterminds as goons and my dad as a real criminal, ended up above the acid vats. You fought, he tried to defend himself. He fell and you could have saved him, but you let him fall. You got the goons but left me, the little girl who followed her father in there, knowing what was about to happen, trying to get to him to talk him out of it. I watched him fall and I cried for hours. I ran out of there back to our house. I cried until I passed out in my parents’ bed thinking I had lost my whole family in one night. But then there was banging at the door. A man. I panicked. I went to go get my mother’s gun from the closet, but my father had taken it to the robbery. I grabbed my old softball bat and waited for what was inevitably my death. The Joker busted in, laughing hysterically with my mother’s gun. I almost passed out. This was my father. I swung blindly, heard a crack that was the gun flying out of his broken hand and I bolted for the window. I got out and spent that night, and many afterward on the street.” The tears were falling down her face in a silent stream. Her face showing an indescribable amount of hurt. The same hurt they all knew personally.
“Jester, you know it was not my fault. Your father committed a crime.” Bruce said in his Batman voice. It didn’t work. It only set her off. She lunged at him, fag between her teeth, and before he could put his hands up to defend himself her hands were around his neck with crushing force and they were knocked to the floor.
“YoUfUCKiNgAsSHolE! YOU RUINED MY LIFE AND YOU SAY IT ISN’T YOUR FUCKING FAULT! YOU PIECE OF SHIT I SHOULD PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY, YOU SELFISH EVIL BASTARD!” Jester said while she banged his head into the floor over and over.
The boys immediately ran over to try and pull her off of their boss. Damian tried to get her fingers off of his father’s neck, but they were held fast like steel traps. The crushing force spoke of enhanced strength, one part of Bruce’s brain noted (explore the extent of this in order to detain her better in the future).
She then ripped the cigarette out of her teeth and held it over one of Bruce’s eyes, one arm and her legs enough to hold him to the floor. This prompted Dick to jump on top of her to try and wrestle her to the floor while Tim got one of his eskrima sticks and tried (and failed, he swore only Dick knew how to use the damn things no matter how hard he tried to learn) to turn on the Taser setting. Jason got in front of her face and began telling her to let go like she was a scared animal. That one, scarily enough, seemed to work and her grip relaxed. Once Jason was able to get her to calm down and took back (and subsequently finished) the cigarette, Bruce’s neck was dark purple, and he was spluttering for air. Served him right, he thought.
“Baby girl, come on you know that if you keep doing that, we’re gonna have to tie you up again.” His own slightly glowing Lazarus pit green eyes were peering into her for the parts that were still sane. She responded to him in kind with her brighter ones looking into his for permission to finish what she started. She tilts her head to the side like she was appraising him and in the next second, she is kissing him furiously.
Dick jumps thinking she had decided to bite him but then Jason groans and holds her to him tighter. I suppose this had been long coming, but to happen so suddenly. Then he remembered things about the Joker and how he always seemed horny after violence, seems the apple didn’t fall far from the deranged tree. Abruptly she stopped and Jason is left panting while they all look in in either shock or disgust. She then settles into his lap looking at them like the cat that ate the canary. Then Dick knew that she did it for two reasons. One, she wanted to and two, to piss Bruce off.
Bruce growled when he was finally done recovering, from the strangulation or the shock of what just happened no one knew. Storming over to where the current thorn in his side was gleefully waiting, he picked her up out of Jason’s lap despite him yelling and threw her over his shoulder and walked to the Batmobile with his sons on his tail. Dumping her in the passenger seat while she was still kicking and screaming, he jumped in and sped off.
Jason cursed. This is going to be a long night.
A/N: Holy shit this took forever but hey angst works right. @nxttime @dcdweeb @batfam-imagines @dcuniversefanatic
#damian wayne#bruce wayne#dick grayson#jason todd#jason x oc#tim drake#robin#red robin#nightwing#red hood#batman#joker#selina kyle#catwoman#oc#angst#batfam
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
ENMY Chapter 87 - Redeemer
Chapter Synopsis: With the threat of a Grimm army looming on the edges of Vacuo, the Kingdom faces even more adversity with Salem’s personal arrival to see the war’s end. Meanwhile, Team ENMY must develop the skills they need to combat the Witch the only way they know how. Trial by Fire.
Series Synopsis: Team RWBY is disbanded, and Yang must find herself new allies. For her, that might very well be yesterday’s enemies. Joining up with the likes of Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, the four will comprise Team Enemy(ENMY).
Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net
Or hit the jump below
Redeemer
.
I’m sorry for the things I said before I had my coffee.
.
.
In the lowest chamber of the lowest Tower, a figure casually immersed herself in the memories of different worlds.
Cinder breathed a long sigh after finishing the most recent recollection. The burdens of being Queen were accumulating with no way to relieve it. There was little time to rest. The only solace she could take—to her surprise—was she did not have to carry the weight of the crown alone.
“What a surprise. You’re spending your time here again,” a voice came from behind.
“Only in hopes of gaining some insightful answer to our predicament, my fellow Queen.”
At the greeting, Weiss joined Cinder’s side in watching more projections play out.
“And, have you found anything we can use?” she asked.
“Not even remotely.”
“…What should we do?”
“Vacuo may very well fall before our Fleet’s arrival.”
“And, if by some luck, it manages to get there in time, will it be enough?”
“Difficult to say.” Cinder answered evenly.
“We can’t send more of the Fleet. Vale and Mistral could start a second campaign any moment.”
“This is also true.”
Weiss couldn’t help but frown at her coregent’s indifference. It annoyed, but also put her off. The fellow Queen was usually so sure of herself, confident in her actions. It might have been the closeness they were beginning to develop, but she was able to detect the small cadence changes in Cinder’s mood. When complete indifference stuck to her tone, it usually meant the Black Queen was depressed.
And this war between Vacuo and Salem was very distressing.
“Do you think we can trust Temujin?” Weiss asked.
“Possibly.”
“We might lose a large portion of our army and a new allied Kingdom in just a week.”
“The very thought did cross my mind.”
“We have to at least, evacuate Team ENMY.”
“I find myself agreeing with that sentiment.”
“…Should we send more of our forces to Vacuo?”
Cinder finally turned to face her.
“As always, you make a good point of asking all the correct questions, while providing none of its key answers.”
“Hmph!”
The Black Queen smiled teasingly at the White.
“Salem is taking the field, according to Temujin’s spies. We can either dedicate more of our limited resources to saving a potentially lost cause, or…”
“Or we should cut our losses now,” Weiss finished shortly. The words left a sour aftertaste in her mouth.
Trapped in an endless loop of bad decisions followed by dire scenarios, a loud groan escaped her.
“If only the Bridge Project was finished!”
“Ah, yes. Our little gamechanger. Unfortunately, our dear Masa and Polendina estimate another month’s work before its completion.”
“…We should send more forces.”
“…”
“We didn’t account for Salem,” Weiss added. “Her arrival completely changed the landscape of the situation there.”
“A bold move on her part. At the same time, she knows we cannot commit too many forces to Vacuo’s cause.”
“We also didn’t have an accurate measurement of the Grimm she’s capable of gathering.”
“Any additional reinforcements sent will arrive days late.”
“We have to try.”
“We risk forsaking any chance of defeating Salem in the late game.”
“We can’t lose Vacuo.”
“I understand your noble intentions…Weiss—”
The serious use of her name, without any formalities, drove the graveness of Cinder’s tone deeper.
“—But we cannot allow our emotions to dictate judgment. I doubt Temujin would make any less of a decision were she in our position.”
The White Queen went silent for a moment.
“…Is this how we win the war, Cinder? Is this how we expect to defeat Salem? By abandoning Vacuo?”
“…”
“And may I remind you, Team ENMY would probably be even less inclined to abandon our newfound allies just to save their own lives.”
Cinder visibly tensed.
“That is a very serious problem.”
“We’ve read the reports. They’re fond of Temujin and the Kingdom’s people. Team ENMY won’t evacuate just because we order them to.”
“So, what moves do we have available to us?” Cinder held her chin in thought. “Should we deploy a second Fleet now, the fact remains they would likely never arrive in time. And there still remains the issue of Salem. What amount of forces could we possibly send to could contend with the Witch?”
“I know. We agreed, whenever the time finally came to face Salem, we could only hope to do so with you, Yang, and myself. Anything short of the Maidens would…Wait a minute—" Weiss stopped.
Her brow wrinkled with focus.
“What?”
“Someone who could match Salem AND arrive in Vacuo in time.”
Cinder stared blankly before the realization donned on her.
“I must be getting tired, if I failed to think of that myself. Do you think he will agree?”
“He has been taken a turn for the better lately.”
“Hm. Indeed, the work seems eerily suited to him. Both of them—”
“Let us offer him the role of Redeemer, then.”
.
X X X X X
.
“My word…”
As Professor Oobleck saw the capital city of Vacuo peek just above the horizon, he also saw rippling black specks dotting the skies above it. They could only be one thing.
“Grimm! I must hurry!”
His mind raced as he turned the accelerator on the bike he was riding and tapped the clutch to switch gears. The motorcycle’s engine roared. Its large wheels kicked up a dust storm behind him.
As he closed in, he saw what was actually being attacked was a moving caravan, not the city itself. The expedition faced heavy harassment in their attempt to return home. Judging by the damages they were accruing, they would not last by the time they reached the safety of the wall.
At least, not without a little help.
As Oobleck maneuvered the bike closer, he assessed the situation more carefully. A pack of great beasts hounded the vehicles’ flanks. Grimm with the bodies of lions. They had the additional head of a ram’s and a tail in the form of a snake. A species called Crymera, classified as A-Class Grimm.
Although the four-pawed monstrosities posed their own threat, Vacuo’s warriors should have been adept at handling them. The true problem lied with the Grimm hovering above.
Oobleck set his sights to the apparitions circling the line of trucks like vultures. Bony cloaked figures with matching chains swooped up and down. The dark wraiths haunting the party were Daemontors, classified as Aberration Class.
Not only were they able to render Semblances unusable, they could only be disposed of via Aura concentrated arms or Magic. This was due to an almost complete lack of physical body. The threat they posed was usually small due to their small numbers and lack of direct harm, but coupled with the Crymera…
Oobleck watched as the caravan could only use raw Dust rounds to combat their pursuers. Without their Semblances, they would not be able to fight off the Crymera. But they needed to leave their vehicles and bring the battle close-range if they wanted to dispose of the Daemontors.
The Professor took one last glug of his thermos before collapsing it into its Torch setting.
“Yang may not be very pleased when she hears what I am about to do with her bicycle.”
He aimed his tracks for the tallest dune.
“Allons-y!”
Flying off the ramp of sand, Oobleck popped a wheelie at its very end. With an acrobatic grace, he backflipped off, and drew his Torch in a wide arc. Flames spewed from his weapon’s mouth.
“HAH!!!”
Like a professional batter’s homerun swing, Oobleck cracked the motorcycle into the cloud of Daemontors. The vehicle then, exploded with all the extravagance of fireworks. Shrapnel, reinforced by the Professor’s Aura, pierced and burned the Grimm caught in its destructive radius.
When he landed, some of the chasing Crymera broke off to focus their new prey.
“Oh, dear.”
Just then, the caravan line divided, and rounded back. The expeditioners understood what the professor did and were not ready to simply abandon him. With their Semblances unlocked, they practically leapt off their vehicles before they came to a full stop.
…
The battle was over within minutes.
“I am very grateful for your help,” Oobleck shook the hands of the party’s leader.
“We should be the ones thanking you,” the female Faunus returned the gesture. “If you didn’t take care of those Daemontors, we would’ve been done for. You’re a brave man.”
“You give me far too much credit.”
“No, you truly are a brave man. Temujin loved that bike.”
“………Pardon?”
As Professor Oobleck was guided to the city and to the Hanging Gardens, he came upon the hectic scene that was supposed to be Temujin’s throne room.
A number of officials shuffled back and forth. The great doors, which used to remain close, were now kept open. Soldiers, as well as executives, constantly filtered through its threshold.
“Ah. Good work, Professor. Nice to see you again.”
Ilia Amitola was the first to pay him any attention. With a clipboard in hand, and a number of assistants at her side, she looked every bit the government official.
“You know Temujin loved that bike, right?”
“So, I’ve heard. In my defense, I thought it belonged to Miss Xiao Long.”
“Yeah, well. You’re lucky the old lady isn’t around at the moment. I’d like to say thank you for helping our people, but first things first.”
Ilia produced a shard of Dust from her pocket, and thrust it to him.
While Oobleck obediently obliged, he couldn’t help but note the subtle movement the Chameleon Faunus paid towards the sword-whip at her waist. As a result, the dry swallow he made wasn’t solely due to downing the energy supplement.
“…Glad to know it’s really you. You can make your report to Mouse,” Ilia pitched her thumb to the throne. There, he could see the young boy sitting where Temujin once sat.
“Where is Temujin, might I ask?”
“She has her hands full with another of her selfish whims. The Rakis siblings are in charge in the meantime. And, you,” the girl turned to the expedition leader. “After you take your own Dust, you are officially being assigned to the guard unit.”
“WHAT FOR?!” the woman cried.
“Are you kidding me? You disobeyed a direct order. There were supposed to be no more expeditions until Mouse or Temujin’s say so.”
“Our city is running low on food supplies and there were still settlements on the outer reaches that weren’t completely evacuated!”
“And let’s not forget, anybody that goes outside the walls might come back as someone else. You risked more Cuckoos infiltrating the city.”
“Yes, wouldn’t want our best Huntresses and Huntsmen to kill their own people.”
The chamber paused silent at the statement.
Ilia and Mouse were struck with a temporary loss of what to do. Would they have to take the expedition leader aside? If they punished her, then and there, what kind of repercussions would they be looking at? How much farther would their morale fall?
As they contemplated, a small Knives stepped forward, and buried her fist in the expedition leader’s gut.
“Demoted. Report back to your quarters and await reassignment,” she said with a callous tone.
“Since when, *Cough!* did our Kingdom become something like this?”
“…”
“And where the hell is Temujin?!”
“Survival of the Fittest,” Ilia echoed the creed. “We have to do what we can in order to survive. The best way our people can do that is by following orders.”
“And what about Strength in Numbers?! How are we supposed to survive if we don’t have each other?!”
“…You’re right. Fine.”
“What?”
“No demotion,” Ilia said with a dead tone.
The words rung hollow in a chamber full of people. Knives was about to protest, when the Chameleon Faunus grabbed the scruff of the expedition leader’s neck, and brought her face close.
“But if I find ONE Cuckoo in the party you brought back, I swear by the Khans of Vacuo…!”
“They will be dealt with.”
Mouse was the one to answer this time. From the throne, his voice echoed with an authoritative clarity.
“She understands, Ilia. You, too, Knives. Just let it go.”
“But, Mouse—!” his sister started.
“We have enough supplies to last us until Atlas arrives. The outer settlements are now completely evacuated, so we can put that discussion to rest. I can assume no more reckless expeditions will be taken?”
The leader of the caravan nodded warily.
“We still have work to do and a war to win. We cannot be divided whenever Salem’s true attack comes.”
More silence followed the proxy king’s command. Then, one by one, the officers in the room resumed with their work. The chamber returned to its bustling environment of chaos once more.
Meanwhile, Professor Oobleck made his way before the throne.
“So—”
“Where is Temujin?”
.
X X X X X
.
In a world that was constantly spinning like the inside of a disco ball, eight figures were working to catch their breaths.
Their private pocket of the Never Realm never failed to warp their sense of time and placement. More often than not, they felt like they spent years within the dimension as opposed to actual days passing in the physical world. A tax heavily affecting both body and mind, if the training wasn’t already enough.
“How long is this four v. four deathmatch marathon going to go ON?!” Emerald shouted in exasperation.
“Actually, it appears our time is up,” Minerva answered. “Our Kingdom is reaching its breaking point.”
“So, we’re ready?!” Yang banged her fists together.
“Well, you’ll have to be,” Raven scoffed.
Neo only grinned with a thin smile of playfulness.
“It is time Vacuo strikes back against the Witch,” Nai nodded.
“Finally. I always wondered what those characters felt like when I put in those infinite life cheat codes. Not what I imagined,” Mercury laid, spread-eagle on the “floor”.
“Hm…”
Temujin threw a cursory glance between her Khans and Team ENMY.
The four youths answered their expectations and then some during their hellish training. They sat around the ruined nightmare-scape exhausted. Temujin could feel their frayed nerve-endings. Their insides were practically the stuff of ragdolls. Still, a fierce light burned inside them, as well as a trace of cockiness in their sneer.
Her Khans were in similar shape. Scraped and battered from their endless matches, and it wasn’t due to any carelessness or ease on their part.
In any other situation, Temujin would have dubbed ENMY successors to the “team” that ended the Third Crusade. But she decided to keep that thought to herself.
Can’t have them getting a bigger head than they already have.
“I hereby recognize Team ENMY as Huntresses and Huntsmen officially licensed under the Vacuo Kingdom,” Temujin spoke up.
“Excuse me?” Minerva turned a stern glare towards her.
“What, I have the authority! It’s not as if you weren’t thinking the same thing, you hypocrite!”
“I was thinking they would only be granted the title once they fulfilled an actual Grimm Extermination Contract.”
“Then, we’ll just give them one!”
“Ugh!” the Headmaster rolled her eyes, and then scoffed hard into her hand.
“Team ENMY!” Temujin carried on without a care. “You are herby contracted with a Grimm Extermination Contract of the highest order! Eliminate all the Cuckoos within Vacuo’s city! Upon doing so, you will be granted the official titles of Huntresses and Huntsmen! In short, an impromptu graduation!”
In spite of the elder woman’s rousing declaration, Team ENMY could only return the gesture with an expression that communicated, “What a jip.” Though, Yang did feel a warm tingle tug at her heartstrings.
Emerald, who had grown too intimate with Temujin’s personality over their time together, simply chose to ignore her. Instead, she clapped her hands with a business-like fashion. The attention of her team concentrated on her.
“Alright, hostiles. You know how this song goes. Get some sleep—”
“Tomorrow, we commence Operation Gun Dog.”
.
X X X X X
.
At a certain training room within Cerberus Tower, Weiss and Cinder came upon three of the room’s occupants.
Ruby was sitting beside Masa, viewing the record of her most recent attempt to utilize her Silver Eye abilities. Meanwhile, her Uncle regarded their sudden visitors with a suspicious look.
“Qrow Branwen,” Cinder spoke with the allure of a devil. “Or should I say, Titan?”
“…”
“Your assimilation with your host is to be allowed to complete, but in return—"
“We have an urgent mission for you.”
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger - Part 1
Well I suppose we’ve got to sidestep to handle this one. I’m gonna level with you, Ninninger wasn’t a series I liked a ton at the time, and my opinion hasn’t improved with time. It was just such a series of dropped opportunities that spun its wheels instead of doing anything with any of its plots, and the movies already have a tendency to, well, spin their wheels for lack of being able to do much to the actual stories.
But I’ve been wrong before. Let’s see if maybe I’m wrong again. It’s Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger the Movie: Super Sentai’s Message from the Future from Super Sentai, part one! Here we GO!
-TOEI LOGO, with a Zyuohger animal cry.
-We begin, in fire. A shinobi boy runs into an open stadium, to see the Super Sentai heroes dead on the floor! DRAMATIC.
-Cut back to Before. The crew are off on a camping trip out by the river, and even better, it’s out in the middle of nowhere so they can let out their animal heads. They can relax, and unwind, and not give two fucks about anything…Of course, as they relax, they’re being watched…
-While Misao is still on his way, having taken his time putting together perfect bento box lunches…When that little shrimp of a shinobi barrels past him and oh god all the bento boxes spilled. Miao is in despair.
-Back at the campsite, Yamato’s ready to start cooking some food…When the zyumen suddenly get vibes. Something is coming…! And it’s, to nobody’s surprise but the cast, a series of colorful shinobi, who think these animals are demons using the power of Sentai to commit evil! …Sure. Sure you know what let’s just roll with it.
-AKA NINJA SHURIKEN. THE CHANGE! NIN NIN NIN! NIN NI NIN NIN! Shuriken Change! RED! BLUE! YELLOW! WHITE! PINK! NINJAS! The shinobi who won’t hide! Shuriken Sentai, NINNINGER!
-Instincts Awakened! The Zyuohgers block a series of gunshots with their armor, as the two teams square off…And the fight is on!
-TITLE CARD! God I swear these get more absurd with every movie…
-So Eagle goes after Aka in the sky, Lion faces Ao’s trickery, Shark and Shiro clash, Elephant and Ki are against each other, and Tiger faces Momo. As you can imagine, these fights take a certain comical absurdity…Well, until everyone gathers back up, and it’s time for WHALE! Whale fires up a vicious, charged Final shot into the ground, slamming the shinobi back. …BOOK IT!
-And thus Aka decides to scale it up. Shuriken Combination! SHURIKENJIN! …Well shit.
-Zyuoh Cube! Animal Combination! ZYUOH KING! ZYUOH WILD! Gotta get those older toys to sell somehow, right? Of course, Shurikenjin manages to hold its own against both, keeping them from surrounding him…And Aka launches Shinobimaru to produce tons of chaos when they try to put on a unified front! Leaving them to call up UFOmaru for SHURIKENJIN UFO!
-Okay, fine, time for power. WILD ZYUOH KING! The mechs combine, and Aka’s kind of fired up at this serious fight. So, finishers? Finishers!
-SHURIKENJIN! UFO BIG BANG!
-ZYUOH DYNAMIC STRIKE! Beam claaaash! Which core team will reign supreme?
-The beams just make an explosion that send both teams flying. Well that’s one way to avoid answering the question. Everyone’s injured enough to be ripped out of their armors, as Yamato finds himself landing right by Takaharu…Who still has a sword. …Shit. Which leads to another scrambling battle, as he just tries to get away from the furious armed man…
-Meanwhile, Misao is in despair when he finally gets to the campsite…And finds it bombed out and burned to a husk?! Oh god, what happened?! NINJAS happened.
-The rest of the Ninninger team get back to their place, unable to reach Takaharu…And are greeted by…
-What the fuck is this thing.
-Runrun. This thing is called Runrun. Who insists their people were wiped out by the evil demons pretending to be Super Sentai, the Zyuohgers! I call horseshit. So, everyone’s left trying to figure out a plan…Not least being the fact that they only fought five Zyuohgers, and even independent sources can verify there are six…
-Meanwhile, the rest of the crew are stuck without Yamato or Misao, and are hanging out at a courtyard with food stands trying to sort out a plan of their own…With one certain food stand being manned by a certain fellow who’s listening so very closely to this talk of zyumen and ninjas. Tusk’s immediate thought is they need to know what a ninja is capable of if they’re going to fight one…
-Which is when the shinobi cowboy of legend appears before them!
-Yamato continues to insist he’s human and doesn’t have a tail, as their fight goes to a park…When the shrimp ninja comes to stop his father! …Takaharu thinks he would remember impregnating a woman.
-Back at the cabin, Mario’s working on a frog sculpture…When Ki and Momo come to observe…And Mario throws two of his sculpting knives at their hiding point, getting some kind of sense that something had intruded on his space! It’s a very good thing that Misao announces himself when he steps in or he might die.
-And Misao is deeply concerned about what he saw and hopes the others are okay…And then as soon as Mario turns away, the shinobi snatch Misao up and drag him out into the woods for some persuasive conversation.
-And then Misao falls into depressive despair so they knock him out. And Runrun is very pleased.
-While Yamato is meeting this kid, one Igasaki Yoshiharu. Son of Takaharu, back from the future. Oh that makes sense. Takaharu believes it in two seconds because he’s dealt with all kinds of weird ninja shit, while for Yamato that’s a bit of a bridge too far. …Look I’m just glad this dumbdumb isn’t trying to kill an actually good Red.
-So the kid came back using ninpou, and Yamato just gives up trying to sort it out.
-And then Takaharu asks about his future self…And learns he suffered a fate even worse than baldness.
-He died.
-One day from now, both teams are killed in a terrible battle. Yoshiharu came back to try and prevent it…
-While resident cowboy Kinji is explaining ninjas to the zyumen. And with the sun so low in the sky, he has clearly been doing this for hours.
-Which is when Cube Rhino appears, with a letter! A ransom note. Misao’s been captured, and they’re to come peacefully and turn themselves over if they want him unharmed…And Sela is furious.
-When Kinji reveals, THE CHANGE! Shuriken Change! STAR NINJA! The colorful star, STAR NIN—
-Come here motherfucker
-Back at the cabin, Yamato, Takaharu and Yoshiharu are at the cabin, where he lays out, and this may shock you, that Runrun tricked the two teams into destroying each other. And with nobody to safely pass the torch of power, no new Super Sentai teams were able to form…That power, what we Americans would think of as the Morphing Grid, was lost. A world without heroes to fight evil…
-Takaharu is at least able to apologize deeply from the bottom of his heart, and beg forgiveness, now that he knows he was operating on false information. So who in the hell is this Runrun for real…
-Cut up to the Big Bow in a flashback. Runrun was hired by Naria, an outside consultant with skills in manipulation and hero assassination. A little independent action to make Genis’s life easier. With skilled manipulation, and a pollen that blocks all communication signals, Runrun can easily twist the situation around…
-Case in point? The other Ninningers want to interrogate Misao some more. And that mask that Runrun’s put on him to keep him from shouting, also lets him put words in Misao’s mouth and make him ‘confess’!
-In his head, the phantoms try to get through to him, you’ve got to get this mask off! But his hands are bound…He’s got to find a way to change the script…
-While back at the cabin, Takaharu and Yamato have to set this right…
-The next morning, the rest of the crew brings a bound and gagged Kinji. This is now a hostage exchange.
-Of course, transformation devices come out…Shuriken Change! Instincts Awakened! Yamato and Takaharu arrive too late to stop the fight, as things go from bad to worse…And now these damned fools have decided there’s only one way out of the situation, and that’s to win. When the duo see their respective Sixths, and free them…
-But both now have pride on the line, as it’s Shuriken Change, Instincts Awakened, and these damned idiots make it worse as they just end up fighting eachother. Oh my god you’re all dumb.
-And then Takaharu decides the only answer is to just smack everyone down and make them listen. And now Yamato’s the only one here not fighting, as he realizes something has to be up. Something’s in his head. In all their heads. Got to stay calm, focused, can’t take up arms…Got to disarm them!
-Which is about when Aka gets blasted by his own sister for getting in her way, and Takaharu slides back, at least calmed down enough to not be fighting anymore…But now neither of them have any idea how to get out of this situation…
-As both teams bring up their respective finishes, the narrators shouting all over each other! Yamato and Takaharu sprint into the center…And both nearly get shot by their teams’ respective finishing blasts, as explosions and chaos echo through the gym amidst Runrun’s laughter…
-And as the smoke clears, Yoshiharu arrives in time to see that cold open, to see both teams laid out on the ground…
-Which is where we’re going to stop for today.
Well I guess that’s it, no more Super Sentai! Tragic, really. I guess the rest of this series will just be about Genis conquering the world.
…Okay we all know I’m lying. Come back next time for the rest of the movie to see how the teams recover and team up for a big epic showdown against this teletubby-ass villain. Wait for it!
1 note
·
View note
Text
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996)
There are big swings, and then there are BIG SWINGS. Your standard big swing might be suggesting that Disney branches further out into computer animation to advance technology and raise the bar for what movies could be. A really big swing?
"Let's make a kids' movie about the plight of Romani/gypsy culture in old Paris that also centers on the famous Victor Hugo tale about the hunchback who lives in the bell tower of Notre Dame, and how he just wants to be accepted by society. Oh, and there's also a lecherous, evil judge whose desire to wipe out an entire people is only conflicted by his lust for one of them."
"Oh, is that all?"
"No, there are also some cartoon gargoyles and we're trying to make this family-friendly, too!"
Goodness.
The craziest part of it all though? It's kind of brilliant. I'm not joking. Okay, the gargoyles are still dumb and they create a tone problem, but the rest of it is very strong.
Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and even Phoebus are all superb characters. The movie takes time to explore each of their psyches and how they perceive the world. When Judge Frollo's not browbeating him, Quasimodo is a hopeful optimist, determined to find goodness in the world. Esmerelda is more of a realist, but that doesn't stop her from stepping up for what she thinks is right, even when she's going against the public sentiment. Phoebus is a war veteran who calls out the horrors of what Judge Frollo wants to inflict upon the very citizens of Paris, and when push comes to shove, refuses to burn down a random miller's home in search of Esmerelda. At the end of the day, he knows that "We were just following orders" is not a valid excuse.
Meanwhile, Frollo is maybe the most cruel Disney villain ever seen. He's in the discussion! And as much as I enjoy the standard Disney villain songs about them basking in their own evil glory, there's something outstanding about "Hellfire." The best villains often don't even think of themselves as monsters, and that's the scary part. He thinks he's righteous and doing what he's meant to do, and he's tortured by his lust for Esmerelda. It's messed up, man. It makes him even more horrific! That's some heavy shit for a Disney movie.
Therein lies some of the problem, though. Disney had this serious animated movie on their hands, and against the wishes of the producers, they decided to advertise it with a focus on the more light-hearted "Topsy Turvy" and gargoyle elements. They wanted to put butts in seats, no matter the cost of its perceived reception. It definitely made a ton of money ($300+ million worldwide), but the ratings were mixed and many kids were put off by its unpleasant parts. It was never going to be fun for, say, an 8-year-old to watch a crowd huck rotten tomatoes at a miserable Quasimodo immediately after he was celebrated as the King of Fools. The beginning where Quasimodo's mother is killed and he's almost drowned as a baby? The whole "Hellfire" sequence? Good luck.
Sure enough, I don't have positive memories of "Hunchback" from when I was a child. I think we owned it, but I feel like I only watched it a couple times. Maybe if I first watched it when I was little older, it would have stuck with me more. Perusing the list of all the Disney animated classics, "Hunchback" is safely the most adult of any of them. It gets points for its sheer quality, but it's also just not to going to measure up to the cream of the crop. Universal appeal is not irrelevant on my list (and again: the gargoyles still suck).
What I do remember most about "Hunchback" is that the incredible music always stuck with me. This is one of the best scores ever made. Alan Menken did not come to play. Disney traveled to London and enlisted the support of the English National Opera Company and a 100-year-old pipe organ to contribute, particularly on Esmerelda's "God Help the Outcasts." It was a lot of effort, but the score will never truly leave your head. You only need to listen to a couple notes to jog your memory.
The songs on the soundtrack are not quite as good, but there are still a few good ones. I'm going to be basic and say that "Out There" is my favorite because I do love a good "I want" ballad. It does such an excellent job of detailing Quasimodo & Frollo's fraught relationship while also closing on such a high with Quasimodo's dreams of living a day out in Paris. Oh, and I haven't mentioned it yet, but Paris itself looks absolutely gorgeous in this movie. The animation blows me away, and the finale with the fires surging is stunning.
"Hunchback" should not be the first Disney movie you ever see, but it needs to be experienced at some point later in life. It's worth revisiting if you haven't seen it in decades. Maybe it will still be a miss for you, but maybe you'll come to appreciate it more in a new light.
Best song: “Out There”
Updated ranking
1. “Beauty and the Beast” (review) 2. “The Lion King” (review) 3. “The Little Mermaid” (review) 4. “Cinderella” (review) 5. “Sleeping Beauty” (review) 6. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (review) 7. “Aladdin” (review) 8. “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (review) 9. “The Jungle Book” (review) 10. “The Great Mouse Detective” (review) 11. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” 12. “Fantasia” (review) 13. “The Rescuers Down Under” (review) 14. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (review) 15. “Alice in Wonderland” (review) 16. “Lady and the Tramp” (review) 17. “Pinocchio” (review) 18. “Robin Hood” (review) 19. “Oliver & Company” (review) 20. “Pocahontas” (review) 21. “The Rescuers” (review) 22. “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (review) 23. “Bambi” (review) 24. “The Aristocats” (review) 25. “Dumbo” (review) 26. “Peter Pan” (review) 27. “Fun and Fancy Free” (review) 28. “The Fox and the Hound” (review) 29. “The Sword in the Stone” (review) 30. “The Three Caballeros” (review) 31. “Make Mine Music” (review) 32. “The Black Cauldron” (review) 33. “Saludos Amigos” (review) 34. “Melody Time” (review)
0 notes