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cuephrase · 5 months ago

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okay hi! I was the one who asked about how you get into comics cuz they're confusing and intimidating 😭 your answer was super helpful! I've been making a list as well as starting off with some like 'non-canon' stuff. (ig thats what its called? not main continuity)

I have another question though! I always see fans talk about liking and disliking different writers - are there any you personally like/ should stay away from? I always hear people complain about tom taylor specifically 😭

oh hi!! i'm so glad my answer was helpful, goal achieved!! yeah, i'd call it not main continuity, bc they are canon in their own little spheres...the licensed AUs. even if they're not main continuity, i think they can go a long way in easing you in/keeping you engaged as you brave the more intimidating aspects of comics.

WFA was that for me, actually. (which. ik is grounds to get me shot/invalidate every comic opinion i could ever have in some circles, but tbh i care a lot less about the opinions of people that uptight about this franchise than i used to, and i'm much happier for it. something can be flawed and still be fun, yk?)

BUT- to answer your question:

full transparency, while i am great with names irl, as far as comics go i drowned myself in so much content that i missed a tonnnn of names, and i've only really started learning names recently + they tend to be names of newer/current authors. for awhile i actually knew more artists names, believe it or not.

that being said, okay. hmmm.

so overall: writers that you're going to hear about a lot will fall into like, 2.5 groups, sort of a venn diagram. they are- Controversial, Loved, and Current. Current is the .5 group, because it overlaps with the other two. in my experience, you will hear about Controversial and Current the most- Loved is going to have like a few names that are just generally well-received, not that some people won't like them but like the majority is rocking with them.

some names you might hear a lot include

Devin Grayson

Chuck Dixon

Scott Lobdell

Tom King

Tom Taylor

Geoff Johns

there're almost definitely more but like, that's who immediately comes to mind.

writers will be Controversial for a range of reasons, but their writing being bad/unpopular is not the only reason.

i think knowing why people dislike an author can be super useful, i think meta is really interesting. but i personally have never avoided reading something purely off of the writer alone for two reasons, those being-

i like to form my own opinions. even if i think i'll probably agree, i like to experience it for myself so that i get full context.

with the exception of one writer (that ik by name), every writer that i've read and been like "wow i don't like this", they've written something else that i've enjoyed.

i said this in a response to a different ask, (about tom taylor actually lmao), but-

if you're interested in reading [tom taylor's] run, you should. other people disliking a run is like...idk if this is going to make sense, but it's kind of like knowing the weather. you'll be like "hey, there's rain" and then you can either a) choose not to go outside, b) grab a coat and umbrella, or c) pull on a swimsuit and go dance. no wrong choices! maybe you get outside and it's more of a light drizzle, or maybe it's basically a tropical storm and you book it back inside and start batting down the hatches.

basically, what i'm trying to get at is, if something looks interesting to you, i don't want you to be put off or feel bad for being interested (or even liking it, if you try it out!!) bc you've seen that some people seem to really dislike the writer.

on the flip side, reading stuff going into it thinking "everyone loves this!!" can be it's own problem, especially if you're new to comics, bc if you don't like it, you might be discouraged. like case in point, tom taylor's nightwing run was super hyped up for me so when i got to it and was underwhelmed i was like, oh. it made me wonder if i was missing something/reading them wrong, and also, like if everyone loves this and i don't, will i like comics? (hell yeah i would, i love comics but damn if i didn't get skeptical for a hot minute there.)

now to answer your question about writers i like/would stay away from:

i....don't really know.

like okay, i'm really enjoying the Batman/Superman: World's Finest run a whole lot rn, right, and that's written by Mark Waid. i already had Impulse on my tbr, but i was more excited to read it when i found out Waid was the writer, because of how much i enjoy B/S:WF.

or like Chip Zdarsky. pretty sure tumblr hates him, but i personally really enjoy his batman run, i like it so much actually, not that i think it's perfect, but omg does all the hate entertain me, and i really liked his jason & bruce story in Batman: Urban Legends, and i have Batman: The Knight on my tbr and i was more excited to read it when i saw that he wrote it.

however, if i saw them attached to a project that didn't immediately interest me, whether bc of the characters or concept, i wouldn't check it out just because they're writing it, yk? somewhere along my comics reading journey i may find writers like that, but i haven't yet.

(also the only reason ik their names is because they're writing current runs that i'm following lmao)

and it's kind of the inverse with writers who i'm not fond of, where if the project interests me, i'll check it out anyways, heaving a big sigh as i do.

i do plan on paying more attention to writers, bc i'm curious to see who i tend to like/dislike and why. like since i just finished reading through all of the Nightwing runs, i plan on ranking the writers once Tom Taylor's run wraps up, just for fun.

but yeah!! ik which runs i like/don't like and why, and that's about it.

idk if this was helpful at all, i'm lowkey afraid it wasn't, but hopefully it was!!

tysm for asking, and as always, i'm more than happy to answer any other questions you may have!! my inbox/dms are open 🫶🏼

#dc comics #anon asks #cue answers

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mdhwrites · 2 years ago

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🦝 This question is simple but I thinks it packs a lot. How does TOH write/treat it's male characters?

Short version: They're either villains at one point, incompetent or comic relief. There are literally only three guys (at least that me and one other person) could figure out who do not fall into one of these three categories and many of them end up in multiple over the course of their time on the show. That's pretty shit for an entire gender. Okay, so I should preface that I'm not trying to call the crew of TOH Femi-Nazis or anything like that. I don't think the treatment of male characters in the show is a conscious choice or anything. Reminder: It's okay to hate a piece of media, it's another to hate the creators for making it. As far as I know, the creators of TOH are good people. That doesn't change that how the guys are treated is pretty fucking shit. And kind of always in the same ways. Even from S1 you get my three main versions of male characters. (Caveat: This doesn't stop any of the male characters from potentially being good characters. You can like them with them falling into these things. However, these are also roles with little respect or care attached to them and that does matter in aggregate). They are either evil (ALMOST all of the one off villains in S1 count for this. It would be all who aren't actually monsters if not for Once Upon a Swap.) or bare minimum start as evil which is why Darius doesn't avoid this. And if you want to claim "But they were just pretending," then why did they go so hard on trying to kill Raine once it was just Raine, them and Eda? Comic relief, at least for the majority of their appearances: King, Gus, Hooty to name a couple really obvious but REALLY BIG DEAL ones. And by comic relief, I don't just mean having jokes. Darius has jokes but is taken seriously (and is one of the only two 'straight men' (the comedy term) in the entire series despite it claiming to be a comedy). No, when I say comic relief I mean that their presence is commonly inconsequential, their plot lines are jokes if they have any and the characters themselves aren't taken seriously. And I named a main character, part of the main character's house so a major part of the setting, and a main supporting character. All of whom are guys. Or they're incompetent. This actually gets tacked onto a lot of the guys. Part of Gus' joke is how bad his illusions are at actually helping at any time. Alador may be capable as a craftsman but as a human being he has the attention span of a gnat.

And people can fall into multiple categories really easily. I already listed Gus in two of them after all. How about Hunter though? He starts as a villain but by his third appearance is the "Mad but sad boy" with no one taking him seriously. That problem only gets worse in Sport in a Storm where he somehow can't get anyone to want to join the EMPEROR'S COVEN and is a complete buffoon doing. I don't know if I could claim he is comic relief most of the time but he starts falling into being incompetent (especially since the only truly trained fighter in Hexide Squad is easily the least capable of them if we go off of how effective any of them are in combat) REALLY QUICKLY. I did mention that there were characters who didn't qualify for this. That means there's some good, right? ...They're more exceptions to the rule. One is Manny. Who is dead. One is Bump who... I'm kind of being REALLY generous to here. One could make a claim of him starting as a villain since the first time we meet him, he's there to dissect Luz but that's more just doing his job and he's definitely not the primary antagonist in that episode. He also never shows extreme incompetence or made out to commonly just be a joke. He is actually allowed to be serious, a good guy and a fairly decent character... With very little screen time and impact. And then you have Dell. Eda's dad. Who has all of five minutes of screen time. Those are your good, competent, taken seriously, male characters. Good job TOH. Now... A few days ago, I would have actually talked about TOH not having this be a gender thing as much as it's a flipping of what happens in male, main cast focused shows. Those shows will treat their female characters pretty poorly. Only problem is that that hasn't been nearly as true since... the 80s or 90s? If even then? I mean I grew up with Danny Phantom and Kim Possible, Total Drama Island, etc. from that time period and I'm not going to say the gender balance was always great but it was better than TOH. If we go even younger for me, there was a show called Recess that was AMAZING with its diverse, six character main cast. The shows that do still fuck this up... Aren't shows you want to compare to TOH. They're your garbage that's not being given a lot of care because 'it's a kid's show'. It certainly isn't what you get from the good shit nowadays where you have Amphibia, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, etc. just to name a few off the top of my head. So if it's not because they're guys, but I also can't excuse as just a writing trope... Why are all the guys shit? I mean... It's probably just because TOH doesn't see its characters as characters. A lot of little touches are missing in even the girls. Remember, canonically, Amity is a skater. A skater who is good enough at it, and dedicated enough, that when her and Luz need to get out of somewhere fast, she summons a skateboard for her, Luz and Kikimora in Falls and Follies. Is it effective and technically works? Sure. Does it fit high society, book worm Amity Blight? Fuck no. And that's one of the characters obviously care a LOT about. So yeah, the guys, none of whom until Hunter and Belos are ever taken that seriously in the show, are going to get shafted. Most of the characters do just filling in whatever role or joke the writers need them to. And seeing as honestly very little humor in TOH plays into wordplay or interplay between the characters, you are left mostly with slapstick and punching down on other characters and their traits. And that sucks for the whole show. =========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#TOH #Hunter #Gus

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frostbite-the-bat · 5 months ago

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CRAZY FUCKING DREAM TONIGHT OKAY

So it went back and forth a lot, but the topic of the world "ending" and being in danger was a common topic amongst all of them, all for the same reason

It started with me playing as Monk, I think

I was going to go ascend, except the area where subterranean was, was like a GIANT GIANT mountain, that if drilled into had this weird green jelly-like substance past where the rock was

It was very square ish and the rest of it was ice and you could hear it crack and snap as it melted - it was possibly bigger than an iterator. Supermassive

There was no rain but horrible clouds surrounded the whole sky

Asi went through the area it kind of kept switching where I was but I remember traveling across an area with Scavengers who were on my neck, despite me playing as Monk so they SHOULD have been more friendly

I think I get a Slugpup in the area??? And 8 go lower to ascend.

In one of the parts where it showed me digging into the mountain, there was a narrator and it showed a little baby elephant (cartoony) digging into it. It was sad and crying, and it was implied to be looking for it's parents who were dead. Where it was figging wasn't the green jelly substance, but regular rock.

The dream switched through a few Slugcats I think - but then it shifted to my family. I don't remember much, except that we had some Pokémon decorations in the bathroom. The world-end scenario continued and there was moments where the sky was completely dark because of the clouds, and moments where light shined through and the clouds calmed down. It was all pretty colors, mostly pinks, oranges, and purples when the weather cleared up lightly

I remember seeing my mom in the window pointing these weather patterns out, while holding binoculars

I look down from the window at my neighbors who notice me, so I open the window fully and peek out. I hear them talk with mom and joke lightly despite the bad situation. Then, I see a squirrel at the neighbors yard. I point at it going "LOOK LOOK!! THE! THE!! SQUIRREL!! "

And they all notice it late and think nothing of it. Then it runs out and charges towards our house and my window. It jumped onto my shoulder and then my room, and I freak out because I didn't want it to bite me. It goes thru my room and I start showing it Rain World plushies. It seems VERY interested

Once I have shown enough, it grows cuddlier - and I eventually pull up my phone to show more RW art (and scrolling past High Roller stuff and literally going 'ignore that')

It became super cuddly and hyper and I got a narrator saying I made it be a Rain World superfan. I was still worried it may bite and I wanted to return it to nature. O try telling mom but she was taking a bath in the bath tub.

Then?? Okay this part is really gross and weird but I feel an odd pressure and then I suddenly seriously shit out a singular fucking peanut. I don't touch it but I do go WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??? And I go ah! Nut! Squirrel come get the PEANUT I SHAT OUT

And then the dream shifts again - before it went to the main deal of everything, I was on my room where I had Squirrel Troubles earlier, on my phone, checking Discord.

I saw someone there and I check their profile. It was apparently whoever drew some of the old art and comics for TTCC. They have some characters on their banner. All of them unrecognizable except Pacesetter and that one guy from Smile For Me - I do not know his name as I haven't played the game but there's people I follow who draw fanart thst I sometimes see so that mightve manifested it. They were wearing a dress which they normally don't do I don't think

I also check this person's username and it's something among the lines of 'isloustickyed' after Sticky Lou - and I think of One Of My Friends who really like him. I was like OH SHE'S GONNA FLIP - DOES HE KNOW??

And then suddenly, after this mid-section, it shifts to the next part of the dream. I hopped on Roblox and THINGS HAPPENED...!

I was playing a Roblox recreation of Star Stable Online, and I remember riding around on a horse testing the controls. It was in the woods with only a few old broken-down buildings around we were investigating with the main characters. I remember taking note of the graphics being faithful to the original, but notably less quality and more low-poly

There was a more woody area near a field and one of the main characters went there when she wasn't supposed to - we headed her calling for help. I saw her just standing there through the trees so I try getting to her but suddenly the dream shifts again. (No longer being implied Roblox, by the way)

I am in the woods, still, except way deeper, and it becomes extremely more vivid. There was a big lake, with 2 small waterfalls going through the whole length, splashing water around. It went up the hill in a smaller waterfall upstream. I was there with the Crystal Gems, trying to solve things and put a stop to the weird weather and the giant ice rock cracking and melting, causing horrible rains

For some reason me riding a horse turned ME into a horse - though I was only shapeshifted as gems do. I don't recall seeing Amethyst much, but she was there. No Steven at all so I took his role while being myself. Think of a Swap AU where Steven is replaced by me, who is implied to be a full gem and not half human

The lake has this hill circled around it, with paths that go up. Past that are the woods, towering over us. I see Pearl looking upset and bothered at the top, so I follow her and ask what's up.

I then turn around and see the incredible fucking view. I can't describe how pretty it was, because the dream was just that detailed. I look down and see the whole lake, all it's waterfalls, and I see Garnet and Amethyst trying to do things below us around the lake. As I observe it, Pearl looks up and so do I.

There's massive clouds swirling around us, which was bad and urgent. They are grey in some further parts, but just white and misty in other parts. It starts to look like the sky is literally going lower, "swallowing" the trees in the clouds. As incredible as it was, it was bad, so I turn to Pearl and we agree to take action.

I start running and, since I was a horse, I say "PEARL HOP ON WE GOTTA GET DOWN FAST"

But she RUNS PAST ME and SHAPESHIFTS INTO A HORSE HERSELF?? I gasp and then me and Amethyst go "WOOOOHOOOO" because Pearl doesn't shapeshift. Amethyst wasn't even near me but I heard her from below.

Pearl goes WAY FASTER THAN ME. And she knocks into a tree that shows like... Cardboard falling down, like dominoes, spawning in in a line to other trees, connecting them. I thought to myself 'Do these have switches to hit or something?'

And I went back up a little bit - when I suddenly notice a commotion down below. Garnet unused and I see Ruby stomping around. I thought that the stress of the situation has gotten to Garnet somehow, causing her to unstabilise and split apart

Pearl was already running ahead to get things done, and I am in my normal form again. I see rocks stumbling down towards Ruby and I run down quickly.

I pick her up (a bit easily for how scrawny I am, but it IS a dream and Ruby is shorter than me) , to her surprise, and jump to the side so the rocks don't hit us. She looks at me with the iconic star eyes, being shocked and thankful that I saved her during her anger/fear fit when she didn't notice the danger coming towards her (Which she would've known about if she was fused)

She thanks me and I let her down and we try to focus on the situation at hand again - but I then hear Sapphire. She's wearing a different outfit as she walks towards me - I REALLY want to draw her in it. It was a blue dress with like... A lack half shirt half dress on the other side?

She looks worried and sad and I told her that Ruby was fine. The two run towards each other and I turn around as they fuse - privacy I guess???

Once we are all regrouped we stand around and try to come up with a plan. We then all hear the loud cracks of the ice. It was booming and loud, like thunder, with a distinct crackle and a distant sound of the ice falling apart and hitting the ground.

So we all agree to go there, towards the sounds, to locate the mountain of ice. (Which I suddenly then knew was blocky shaped, moving forward slowly, falling apart, AND causing these giant rains. The ROCK mountain wasn't as relevant anymore, but it was still an important part that comes up again in a moment)

Then, another dream shift as it skips to us being there... As slugcats? The dream is now in Rain World POV - y'know as the game just looks. I'm back in one of the dark areas where I was as Monk, except with 3 other Slugcats that were supposed to be Pearl Amethyst, and Garnet. They sadly didn't look like how they do normally - they were just regular Slugcats with different colors and the fur mod. Though, what I assume was Garnet - WAS larger than the rest.

There also were two Slugpups with us.

The area looked like a mix of the Depths, Subterranean and Shaded Citadel. It was lit up by slime mold and various colored pearls littered the floor.

When we spawned in, EVERYONE had two Spearmaster spears in their hand. I noted how... Suspicious it is. I had difficulty wording it, but I basically tried saying it's suspicious we all spawned in with two weapons ready at hand... In an area I was as Monk earlier in the dream.

I note the Slugpups dropping one spear, picking up a pearl and trying to swallow it for later, and my control shifting to them for a moment before I didn't have control of anyone exactly and the camera just followed us.

Then I woke up, because I don't remember anything. I layed there remembering the dream, especially the shot of me looking down at the lake with Pearl and then glancing up at the clouds. How detailed and MASSIVE it was. I really felt the weight of the situation all while being in awe at the beauty of things

I'm so mad because while this dream had a bit of Toontown in it - it mixed Rain World AND Steven Universe. Those are my other current fixations but COME ON... Lemme TOONTOWN... But I guess me hanging out with the gems as like a Steven Replacement has been a rare theme in my dreams for years, and anytime I play Rain World and fixate more on it my dreams are 99% just Rain World.

I liked the bit of showing the squirrel my Rain World art and scrolling past High Roller - since it was kind of what I did when my nephews visited and I showed them my art and skipped my HR self-ship stuff and they fought me to see it while teasing me 😭

Anyways WOW. This is the type of dream that sticks with me for life

#Long #Guzma's dream journal #Dream journal

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bubblydalya · 6 months ago

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Chapter 8 -Journey through woods

Chapter- 1 ,-2 ,-3 ,-4 ,-5 ,-6 ,-7

After we agreed on who would hunt and when, we packed our sleeping bags and tried to find a log or something to get across the river.

"There's a log on the other side, Dalia you could fly across that river and lean it against that boulder over there"

No, not my wings.

"I think we will find something on this side..."

Jasper looked at me as if my behavior about my wings was suspicious heheh eh..

"Dalia, are you okay?"

Bet I looked at her like a deer in headlights now.

" Me? Not okay? Pfff I'm completely fine nothing to worry about"

Lex and Jasper both looked at me like 'talk or we'll make you' "What?" "What do you mean 'What?' you have something with the wings and you won't tell us anything about it?" "The wings are fine, just ugh I can't fly" Girls looked confused, they had the right to do so. How do I explain this to them? "I don't know how to fly, becouse those doctors didn't want me to fly off" Seconds of silence before Lex spoke up. "Seems like we have teaching to do" Lex rolled up her sleeves. "Common, let me see those wings of yours" "Okay" I said uncertainly

I took off my sweatshirt and jacket because they don't have wing openings, but my shirt does. I have wings tattooed on my back and I can summon them if I want to (of course). The tattoo starts to glow and suddenly the wings that are the first appear from my back white, but they immediately go to their color (Light brown, brown, darker brown) They are big and strong, two feathers come out of my head with which I can move by will, But when I feel in danger or pissed off, they rise up, like an owl. Sometimes I think they somehow mutated my dna with an owls dna, don't ask me how, I don't know how either.

"So, what's your plan?" "Simple, I'm gonna teach you how to fly" Lex tried to explain to me how to take off. "Try to run first and then jump high and start moving your wings..." Jasper started rambling about what to do, I thought it was cute Lex had other plans on what to do. "Jasper, you saw that in a comic, that wouldn't work, really 'jump high and start moving wings'?" Jas sometimes has such interesting ideas that sometimes do not make sense.

They didn't teach Dalia to fly in the lab so she wouldn't fly away from them (bruh, don't mutate her with a bird -_-) Lex was a bit rough on Jas, which Dalia didn't like, but she didn't say anything to keep him calm and they didn't start arguing. Dalia just gave her a sympathetic look.After Dalia learned to at least float above the ground, she flew across the river to throw a log from the other bank so that the girls could climb over it.

Meanwhile, Dalia has hidden the wings [turns them back into a tattoo on her back] They then quietly set out to find a cabin in god knows where. It was quiet, no one was talking, but Jas wanted to talk about what was in between Dalia and her. She wanted to ask her in private, unfortunately Lex was always around. Lex doesn't do it on purpose, it's just that it's better when the group is together and not wandering around the forest After the rest of the day (half day) and half the night, they found an abandoned playground, the colors on the slides were faded, some things were very broken, but since it was already around midnight, they settled down.Lex had a patrol, they all sat on the slide. It looks like two towers that connect to each other by an unstable bridge, They are above the ground so they don't have to worry that if it rains, wild pigs or other animals can't follow them either [except for the bear, that would be fucked up]

Dalia And Jas slept in the second tower, which you can only get to if you climb the wall or cross the bridge. But Jasper couldn't sleep, she was cold and scared, because it was starting to storm (of course).

"Dalia!"

Jasper whisper - screamed, but Dalia didn't care, she's still sleeping. "Dali, I'm cold and.. I'm a little scared"

Dalia, she didn't say anything, she just opened her sleeping bag a little so that Jasper could fit inside. "Aww thank you, thank you thank you!" Jasper crawled up to Dalia and tried to make herself comfortable. At one point Dalia pulled Jasper even closer (if that's even possible) And the closer I think Dalia has her hand on Jasper's back and her leg over her thigh. Jasper didn't mind, she actually found it cute. Jasper was snuggled against Dalia's chest.

Pov: Jasper

Oh my god

She's so soft *sparkling eyes* this is the first time cuddling with her. I don't want this to end. She looks daseling when she's so peaceful.

*End of Jaspers Pov*

Jasper brushed a piece of Dahlia's hair from her face, touched her soft lips with her thumb, only now has a chance to see the scar she has across the right side of her lips.

#writers block #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writing ocs #writing #original story #story

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diaryofagamesmaster · 8 months ago

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Day 1!

Dear Diary,

A LOT HAS HAPPENED IN THOSE 6 SHORT HOURS WOW

SO! Started off simple enough, got to work for 10:50 (wanted to be a bit early), and it was nice enough. Spoke to the Regional Manager (same guy who interviewed me, was pleasant to see him again), sat down with a guy and waited for the rest to arrive.

Now, importantly, our workplace (situated inside of a larger complex) isn't open to the public yet, which means it's a bit barren and liminal. But, that's okay, and is especially important for a bit later in this entry.

They're testing the fire alarms you see, to ensure the place is fully safe and all, so we have to stand outside (in the cold rain, by the way) and wait for the evac to be over. The rest of the people arrived luckily so although I was early, we didn't miss anything (and that's good!). Got to know the people there, and we've got a nice mix of people.

However, there is 1 person who is, shall we say, "interesting". I'll refer to them as "That Individual", for narrative convenience. You'll see why shortly.

That Individual doesn't seem to quite get professionalism, or really social interaction in more public spaces. And whilst I understand wanting to crack a crude joke or two, you're starting to reach certain limits when you bring up repeated sexual stuff

(including NECROPHILIA)

and certain jokes about ethnicities in front of the team leader. And unfortunately throughout the day, this happens a lot. Here's hoping tomorrow it's less intense, though I'll give you an example of That Individual's wonderful usage of the English language.

As the site's being built still, some facilities are partially complete. This includes the toilets, where there's plumbing but no toilet paper (or soap for that matter). For guys, that's fine, but for women naturally there's an issue present; luckily our site is close to a fast food place, so our female coworkers have to use the toilet there for a few days. Sounds normal so far, right?

Well, one of them comes back from her break a little late and out of breath, and we ask if she's alright. She gives the brief explanation we'd naturally forgotten, and accepted it as-is. Except for That Individual. Oho, no, That Individual needed to craft a response to this matter. So, rather than live and let live, That Individual pries a bit more, and says to her, in response to her plight with toilet paper;

"Why not just use a sock?"

Clearly, the pinnacle of human interaction.

And from now on, we're all a little bit concerned with what That Individual is doing with their socks in the lonely hours of the night.

There was ALSO, in unrelated news (after the first day at work), a funny anecdote of mine. I needed to get myself a taxi (as the place I was headed next was on the other side of the city), so I was trying to book it with my phone. Simple enough, just open the app and-

It just shuts off. I had the charge, but no, not for this app. This is the one that keeps killing it at 10%~. I try multiple times to book the taxi but no, it can't cope. So I head over to this restaurant, and ask the manager there if there happened to be anywhere I could charge my phone. She says "No; there!" in a comical exaggerated way, pointing to the table next to us that happened to perfectly have those plug sockets needed to charge my phone.

When things got rough, they got better immediately, and it was just wonderful. Furthermore, she came over later after I'd booked it and saw me beaming happy, so she offered to get me a free drink whilst I waited for the taxi. And so, I requested (with great appreciation) something I rarely get if ever anymore: a small plastic bottle of milk. And she was so amused, she had a good laugh and brought out that bottle back to me on a tray.

All in all, a really good first day. Here's hoping day 2 is just as good!

#my gm diary #dear diary #first day of work #woo!#went great #very pleased

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matchamabs · 3 years ago

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I know you didn’t ask for it but- BOTW MONSTERS: RANKED BY HOW HOT THEY ARE,,,,

i do fuck all in the days lemme tell ya

ill admit i havent done EVERY enemy but like. i do enjoy making these posts so who knows, i might actually rank everything sooner or later 🤷‍♀️

,,,,, and if u want a specific ranking of botw/aoc stuff lmk 👀

ahh the ol reliable. the classic bokoblin. he is just a little lad! unfortunately they’re genuinely kind of ugly??? and the idk the singular horn in the middle aint a good look. i see cute comics abt these guys being domestic and thats adorable but also giving them so much leeway bc they’re really Not that cute. not sure what the loincloth is hiding and im not sure i wanna know anyway. 3/10 really kind of. not good.

slightly bigger loincloth only means slightly bigger things to hide :( i rlly hate these guys noses and whatever the fuck toenails they have why do they have toenails?????? s’bad. the thing is tho they have the proportions of a potentially attractive gerudo which is probably what takes the edge off the general vibes of... u know... being an abomination. its also only JUST occured to me as im writing that these guys r just evolved bokoblins so. glow up i guess. 6/10 what that tongue do

ok bypassing whatever the fuck rule 34 has done to these guys, i actually dig them. i find the huge fat ones way cuter than the lil bug eyed ones. in their case theres rlly no, like... hotness about them. its just cute. i think they’re cute. any monster that is cute and also doubles up as a bed gets my vote 7/10 get urself a fella as flexible as these guys

u know what, im gonna say it, these guys r actually kinda hot. proportions arent super bad, the face aint bad and generally they have good vibes. aside from, u know, when they’re tryna shank u. id say one of the most bearable monsters to have to look at. 8/10 im not a scalie

??????????? idk what to say. u could tie these little shits to like swingball poles and beat them with rackets thatd b good. aside from that these guys have like no redeeming qualities. they’re a pain in the ass and not in a good way. 3/10 cute but like. is it worth it?

i mean,,,,,,,, someones probably into it. i dont like these guys for a lot of reason and surprisingly the thing that gets me is the fucking hair why does it have that hair its like he-man just went straight over the top with an electric razor its not a good look!!! stop trying to make it work! it wont! and again with the loincloth??? im not into it. the only thing i like abt these guys is the lil waistcoats. they have some amount of decency (but the implications it makes are Not Good). uh. 2/10. barely.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

,,,,,9/10. but if you see a lynel up close like that chances are you died about half a minute ago

again. ??? i dont rlly like. i mean. im digging the top heavy proportions? its got the same body type as kass so like. 4/10. bit plain around the features but what can u do. i dont understand how but the igneo taluses are like. sexier

UGHGHHH I FUCKING HATE THESE THINGS okay okay okay like these motherfuckers lure u in by being quite cute and dancin around and then u get a look at their faces and its like fucking JESUS and its even WORSE when you see under their cloak and they have no necks????? and like????? they do that gay little fucking dance that pisses me off???? they’re wearing hoods that give the ILLUSION that they have necks and im im fumin ok i HATE it i hate it i have been betrayed and i will NEVER FORGET ABOUT IT UGHGHGHG I HATE THESE CUNTS -10000000000000000000000000000000000/10 die

hhhhh i just dont like em. theyre too annoying to be cute now. and whats gonna happen if i squeeze one? is like. water gonna come out? r they just gonna deflate? 4/10 tentacles are not hyrules forte it seems ://

trust kohga to send the twinks out on the front line. seriously. they’re not bad tho? kinda small and underwhelming :((( tho i give extra points for the good crazy laugh we love a good manic cackle 6/10 they dont really count as monsters but ah well where else am i gonna put em

now THATS what im talkin about babeyyyyy we love the muscles,,,,, the posture,,, the stride,,, we love it when u fuck up stealth and a torrential downpour of these motherfuckers come down to beat ur ass,,,,, 9/10 its raining men 😎

u know. u dont rlly like. get a good view of these guys when ur balls deep in a battle with them, but the more i get like closer looks at them the more i go ???? like idk. everything about them looks backwards and wrong. but as far as backwards and wrong goes its not a bad look and the boss theme is a banger so 4/10 maybe dont jump on my ass every time i step one foot onto the desert :/

i just. i dont dig it. idk why. aside from the fact they’re a monumental pain in my ass, and now everytime i hear a beep even slightly resembling a guardian i shit my pants, but. idk??? as far as robots go its not like. terrible. they’re like the milfs of robots. the milves, if u will. a rilf. except i wouldnt. so its more like riwlf. but even that leaves too much up to interpretation so im just gonna call em a cunt and go. 4/10 leg game strong

here we are,,, the big boys,,,, waterblight isnt too bad i will admit, but the spear hand is both annoying and mildly inconvenient. its got a rlly big chest but rlly thin arms?? also not sure how i feel abt the strap on beard but oh well its not like ganons got taste. 5/10 kind of average for a blight i think

a hefty motherfucker. a chunk of a lad. big large. the fact this is like one of the easiest blights makes it more forgiveable to me but like whatever its got going on with the 80s hair needs 2 be sorted out. i like its moves but it doesnt hang upside down like waterblight :((( 5/10 calm down kate bush

ok who doesnt like gun arms. and a gun back. this things like fuckin megatron. the whole face plate thing doesnt look bad either. honestly its kind of a look? but its dickheadery in aoc makes me wanna set shit on fire so :// 6/10 hot but will not leave u alone 😔

ok this one is by FAR the sexiest of all the blights. i just cant explain it. i like guys with bad posture. i had an easy time beating it but apparently its given other people a lot of grief and that makes it 10x more sexy to me lmaooo. also it can clone itself which is like. thats a win. 8/10 ganon spilt all the sexy juice into this one

ok i didnt realise how many arms this motherfucker has and the whole hairline behind the ears thing is not a great look. especially w the beard. in fact the longer i look at it the less sexy it becomes tbh. 3/10 they tried to make arachnophobia sexy and it didnt work

10/10 i will be taking questions in my inbox but i wont be taking constructive criticism and you cant make me

#botw #breath of the wild #aoc #age of calamity #calamity ganon #ganon #loz #legend of zelda #hyrule warriors age of calamity #hyrule warriors aoc #windblight #thunderblight #waterblight #fireblight #yiga #i ran out of ppl to rank and then i went wait--#;)

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mettywiththenotes · 3 years ago

Text

320 bits I wanna talk about

Iieda looks like he’s doing the *inhale* before the BOI IF YOU DON’T- meme. Something along the lines of “BOI IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR ASS BACK TO UA-” kind of thing lol.

He holding something in definitely. Maybe charging up for an attack? Idk but he sure seems concentrated

Actually, Iieda seems kinda considering. Maybe he’s weighing up if he should join in the fight, as if he’s asking “Will I have to fight Midoriya, if it comes down to it? Or can the others handle this?” Something tells me he doesn’t want to have to weigh in on the fight. Maybe tear into Izuku verbally, but fight? No I don’t think he wants to do that

But also, I find it interesting that that black panel of text is under him and then it cuts to Bakugou yelling at Izuku. I mean, it could very well be Bakugou thinking that, but if that’s so, then why is Iieda the first person we see?

So, I think it’s Iieda thinking that. Tensions are rising, it seems. I’m expecting his turn to be full of a lot of emotion, or at least trying to get across to Izuku that he feels betrayed but mostly just wants Izuku to come back home.

I don’t really know what’ll happen with Iieda exactly, but I’m totally interested to see what happens

I know Bakugou has problems with his emotions and words and stuff, but I also think here he’s trying to anger Izuku in order to get him to fight back, maybe so he’s more angry than flexible in a fight, so the end result would be Izuku getting too angry to predict anything and eventually tripping up, and that’s when 1A could capture him.

The one thing to remember about Izuku is that allowing him to think is going to be the opponent’s downfall. We saw in the Kacchan VS Deku 2 fight that Bakugou knew this and so kept attacking as much as possible so Izuku wouldn’t have time to think. Which worked, because Izuku is great at analysis, so making his “Win” attitude [getting competitive therefore putting more energy into attacking than strategy] come out over his “Save” attitude [you’re my friend and I want to help you] is kind of a weakness of his. That’s kind of one of the reasons he lost that fight.

Then again, maybe Izuku has improved since then? I don’t really know but I think enough time has passed for him to have maybe improved more on that so idk we’ll see

I really love Bakugou’s expression in that bottom screencap lol

His wound!! All bandaged up!! I wonder if there’s a scar there or smthg :O

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I know Enji or Bakugou probably gave them details about the multiple quirks but I still find it wild that everyone just knows now

KOUDA! MY SWEETHEART! I’m glad he’s getting a part in this too, along with Sero. Two of them who didn’t really hang around Izuku but still want him to come back :’)

Sero and Black Whip! Finally! I mean it’s not much but it’s still better than nothing

Also, seems like Sero is trying to taunt Izuku to get him to attack him maybe [same as Bakugou feeding into Izuku’s competitive side] soooo idk Sero following Bakugou’s lead? Maybe :)

Look at how,,,, innocent Izuku looks,,,,, *head in hands* AND SERO TEACHING HIM!!

I knew this lil moment would come bite me in the ass at some point, I knew and yet I’m still tearing up goddamn

That “I thought she was going to tell me its a useless hobby” bit really drives home how Izuku’s friends are 1A, that he loves them and they were the only friends he’s ever had [except Bakugou but he was a bully at the time so I’m not really gonna count him for back then]. HOW many people before UA had gone around and told Izuku his taking notes hobby was useless? SHOW me the people!

I, mettywiththenotes, will NOT allow anybody to slander one of my own!

I know it’s like the only moment Izuku and Ojiro shared, with the sports festival thing, but it’s still really sweet that Ojiro sees that Izuku stood up for him

*head in hands*

Shouldn’t this kid be more worried that he’s likely going to get kidnapped?

“Yeah this super evil villain guy has decided he wants to kidnap me and take me away, but like nbd guys really, that’s why I left in the first place! So I wouldn’t be a burden!” Somebody get this kid a fucking therapist or some shit

This is kind of a chilling and pretty scene though. The rain falling above Izuku and him looking down with these piercing green eyes likely being the only light between them. Good stuff.

Satou! Aha I like how he’s pulling all the stops, such as “I WON’T LET YOU BORROW MY INGREDIENTS FOR ERI!”

Also let’s appreciate that Satou caught Ojiro and Jirou and managed to land on a freaking traffic light. The balance on this kid! Very well done

Kaminari putting Izuku in a headlock! How cute :)

Be cuter if they weren’t trying to subdue a martyr-complex cryptid from killing himself, but still

Does Shouji have some kind of support-item?? Or could he always do the stretchy thing?? Or I guess maybe he’s just stretching his arms out like branches [like he usually does] and using them as more like a capture weapon rather than his usual stuff. I don’t think we’ve ever seen him use his heteromorph body and quirk for anything other than the 5 senses, though I could be wrong

Also Shouji remembering what Izuku said at the training camp, I’m so glad! Shouji always seems like the kind to be so protective over his friends, so I’m glad he remembered that. Then again, Izuku did compare them to freaking ALL MIGHT, but if the nice analytical kid in your class who knows your limits and strengths says you could basically beat A GOD, then that’s definitely one for the memory scrapbook lmao

“It’s nice and dark here, Dark Shadow.” Who said that?? Kami or Izuku?? I just have this mental image of Izuku being shrouded in darkness and trying to keep his eyes open from falling asleep haha

Tokoyami remembering that from all the way back then!! It makes me think that not only have Bakugou and Izuku been watching each other, but that Izuku has always had everybody’s eyes on him! Which is true, he’s inspired everyone! It goes both ways; Izuku loving his friends, and them loving him back :’)

Kami telling him to take a bath lmao I love it. Finally somebody said it

*ugly sobbing noises*

This kind of segment, with a mask falling, a space in-between and a reveal, reminds me of Compress’ reveal :) In that, the person is hiding their identity and then when the mask comes off, they reveal who they truly are underneath

While Izuku is of course determined to go after AFO and is quite the fearsome powerhouse, I really think when he takes off that mask, he’s showing who he really is underneath - a scared little boy who just wants everyone to be happy

JESUS, SHOUTO REALLY IMPROVED HIS QUIRK HUH!! LOOK AT IT, IT’S EVEN HIGHER THAN THE SKYSCRAPERS!!

“The burden placed on you... it doesn’t allow for tears, right?” He sounds so sassy here.

Kind of like saying “Oh you look upset. But that’s weird, I thought Heroes weren’t supposed to cry.” Lol it really shows here how pissed Shouto is at Izuku

But then he relents from that snark and is like “Hey, come on, we’ll share this burden. I’m not letting you go it alone, remember that we’re all here.” :’)

I love when Shouto is sassy and passive aggressive but I also love it when he shows that soft side of him

Okay, this is something I really love.

Tsuyu didn’t join the Bakugou Rescue Squad because “they would be just like Villains breaking the rules”

But here she is, learning from that regret of hers and coming right back to make sure Izuku isn’t the one struggling. She wants to be a part of this rescue squad and pick up where she left off :)

Tsuyu has always struggled with her regrets. It was shown after Kamino when she cried, but for me, I only realised this fully during the Joint Arc when she had her regrets about not making better decisions and not being quick enough [I think that was it].

“I won’t cry in such a flurry” reminds me of “I want to live a life without regret” and so that’s what she’s saying here. This won’t be another regret of hers. She wants to do her best to save her friend

“When scared, you’re allowed to tremble when it’s tough, you’re allowed to shed tears. That’s how you become a Hero like in the comics.”

I feel like that quote piggybacks off of Shouto’s “Heroes cry too”, in that, this is now 1A comforting Izuku. This is them fully coming up to him and telling him that they can help, and that he’s allowed to feel sad about his situation. Shouto’s quote was the teaser, while this entire chapter [and the rest that come to follow] is the main course.

And this is exactly who Tsuyu is. Reassuring, comforting, someone dependable. It says a lot that she’s come from not going to help in Kamino, confessing her feelings and crying about it, then coming back in a similar situation and offering her help - that she’s not willing to just let an opportunity go to better herself. I think I remember reading a few posts on her crying after Kamino and saying it was “performative” or that she just “wanted attention” or smthg like that, but I think she’s really just quite an honest person, and here she is making a great show of how she won’t let something like her guilt slow her down from being the hero she wants to be.

[A part of me feels like this is also a little more evidence with the whole People Not Caring About Bakugou’s Feelings Of Helplessness but like. I digress. It kinda counts but at the same time, it’s not what is going on at the moment.]

Seeing everyone try to reassure Izuku was lovely, and I can’t wait for the rest. I’ve seen a lot of people waiting more for Bakugou’s portion of the battle [AND YEAH DUDE ME TOO] but I really feel like Bakugou’s won’t come until like 2 chapters later or something.

Cause, if this chapter is anything to go by, we’ll probably get through Mina, Mineta, Kirishima, Hagakure and Aoyama next chapter, and then we’ll move onto the “more important” conflicts which will be Iieda and Uraraka, and if their segments are chocked with tension drama and tears, then Bakugou will have a whole chapter to himself hopefully.

Which means we’ll probably have to wait 2 more chapters until we get that sweet, sweet Bakugou chapter :( I hope I’m wrong and it comes sooner than predicted but whatever

I know for some people, that’s all they want, but personally I love these little bits that reflect on the background characters. As someone who isn’t really obsessed with the background characters but also likes them enough to appreciate their development/the little moments they have, I gotta say I really liked this :)

#bnha #bnha 320 #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #class 1a

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lizzie-saltzman · 3 years ago

Text

I’LL CRAWL HOME TO YOU

A Hizzie fanfiction / update

Pairing: Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman Fandom: Legacies Rating: M Chapters: 2/? Summary: In many ways, meeting Hope in a different reality had helped Lizzie put things in perspective, and perhaps even understand her in ways she hadn’t before. Understand them, their connection, the palpable animosity that had turned into a reluctant friendship and now something far more tangible. The rest, well, she doesn’t tell Josie. Not about waking up after three weeks away from her real home, tucked under the covers of Hope’s bed with their clothes discarded around the dormitory, with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and her hair sticking to her cheekbones. There were some things better left unsaid. (Upon her return from an alternate timeline a Malivore monster teleported her to, Lizzie must deal with the aftermath of her time spent away, and her newly doormat feelings for Hope Mikaelson.)

chapter 1 here

READ CH. 2 HERE ON AO3 or under the read more

[ 3 WEEKS AGO ]

A muddy splash sends speckles of murky water coating a pair of white boots. Under the full moon, an owl hoots, as Lizzie Saltzman breaks through the branches that leave a bloody mark on her left cheek. She reaches for it, with a mumbled expletive as her breathing grows heavier and her knees start to give. Behind her, a black wolf with yellow tinted eyes that shine through the darkness of the woods gives chase, snarling as it draws closer to her.

She’s been sprinting for a while; Lizzie’s exhausted, pushing past the burn on her thighs as she rounds a corner and leaps over a log dangerously set on the ground, almost losing her balance as her boot skids through the mud. Its drizzling, her clothes are weighing her down, her hair is ruined – if she had the mind to complain about the other terrible but insignificant, personal circumstances, she’d be holding an ice pack to her cheek and ranting over a Strawberry Smoothie. Instead, she finds herself here, in the outskirts of the woods in Mystic Falls, barely managing to get on her feet before the wolf catches up to her.

“Lecutio!” She’s all out of magic after –– the ball of energy flies ahead of the wolf and crashes against the tree behind it, effectively snapping off the branches and watching as they fall near the wolf long enough to distract it. It wasn’t her intention, really – she was aiming for it’s head. Soon enough, the wolf turns it’s head (and it’s disorienting eyes) in her direction, growling.

“Crap…” And she takes off again, her boots splash, splash, splashing rapidly on the wet floor. This is not how she pictured spending a Sunday night.

Her lungs are giving out, her body begs her to stop running; she might pass out from exhaustion alone, and her vision – on top of that – blurs as the light drizzle of rain washes over her face. She wipes it away with the palm of her hand, but it obstructs her already impaired vision in the dark, and trips over a boulder on the ground. Lizzie groans, her body rolling through the mud, and the wolf slows it’s approach. She’s cornered. She’s screwed. She’s dead.

The wolf stalks forward. Lizzie raises her hands to her face, and it launches itself through the air.

Lizzie screams, anticipating the powerful impact, the bite, but instead another wolf collides in the air with her attacker. White, with speckles of grey. They roll around in the mud, snarling at each other, growling, taking bites anywhere their teeth can sink into until they’re both back on their feet. Lizzie watches, covering her mouth as she gasps, pushing herself back until her shoulders meet one of the trees behind her.

Then, the white wolf attacks the black one again. They begin their vicious snarling, and as Lizzie finds the force to pick herself off the ground, she hears one of them whimper. When she looks back, the black wolf is retreating, disappearing through the trees, and the white one turns, even slower in its approach. Lizzie’s eyes widen, out of magic, and out of breath, but she turns around in an attempt to try and run away again.

Except she spins out, when she feels her black hoodie being yanked away from her body, leaving her in a tank top under the rain that starts to pick up. She turns around angrily, but instead of finding a white wolf stalking back, she finds –

“Hope?”

Hope is sporting her too-big-for-her hoodie over her naked body and watching her with her arms crossed over her chest. It covers just enough. Not everything. Just enough.

“Oh, thank God!” Lizzie exclaims, throwing her arms around Hope in sweet, sweet relief as she tries to catch her breath. “I thought I was dead. Dead, dead.”

But she knows Hope Mikaelson. Always coming through with her last minute heroics.

Except this time, Hope pushes her away, hands on her shoulders, taking a step back to get a good look at her. They look at each other, almost comically; Hope with an eyebrow quirked and Lizzie, with her mouth agape. Then, Hope’s strange behavior is perfectly clear –

“Who the hell are you?”

------

[ PRESENT DAY ]

“Lizzie!”

Hope’s tired voice carries down the hallway. Behind her, Lizzie can hear her footsteps approaching – faster, faster – until they stop at her side, walking in tandem with her into the vast, otherwise dusty library at the end of the hall, where students gather quietly over a pile of books raging from anything about the occult to the mundane – European History and an old, thick Gaelic book about Magical Portals that thuds on the ground as it falls sloppily from the top of the bookshelf and almost takes Lizzie out. Talk about head trauma.

“Hey, watch it!” Lizzie looks up as dust gathers below her. Alyssa Chang stands on the top of the rolling ladder, shrugging nonchalantly. Whoops.

Lizzie picks up the book, coughs, swatting the dust away and piling it on top of Hope’s already busy hands. Hope says nothing, only blinks away the speckles of dust as she trails behind Lizzie with concern.

“I haven’t seen you all day. Is everything okay?”

She shouldn’t be taken aback, but she is, by the genuine worried inflection in Hope Mikaelson’s voice. Hope is tired, the evidence marked clearly on her face, vaguely darkened circles under her eyes that Hope barely had mind to conceal this morning with even the smallest layer of makeup. No one would be able to tell, not really, but Lizzie can. She knows that look Hope carries around like a weight on her back when something’s been keeping her up at night.

In front of the tinted window sill, Lizzie turns. The yellow light reflects off Hope’s exhausted, blue eyes, and Lizzie almost stutters, opting to instead, snatch the book back from the pile already gathered on Hope’s arms and toss it onto the nearest unoccupied table.

No, Hope. I’ve been avoiding you all morning until this very unfortunate meeting where we’ll be subjected to a torturous hour of incessant nerd rambling on how to kill the very same monster that sent me through a hell portal into another dimension where I hooked up with you and your unforgettable muscles and now I can’t even look at you in the eyes without thinking about it, so–

“I’m fine”. Lizzie says, saccharine sweet. Too sweet. Enough to make Hope suspicious, as she looks at the book Lizzie tossed on the table with an eyebrow raised. “I was having a perfectly fine morning until MG interrupted my strictly scheduled morning meditation and after reluctantly agreeing to meet here in exactly five minutes, the kitchen was out of Belgian Waffles, so I had to settle for a non-fat Greek yogurt. So yes, I’ve been severely inconvenienced, but it has nothing to do with you”.

“I never said it has –” Hope starts. “Shouldn’t we talk about it? About what happened…”

Lizzie stiffens.

“With the monster…”

She deflates.

“We still don’t know if there are any side effects to any of this. Doctor Saltzman said you refused to talk to Emma about what happened –”

“And now you’re giving me advice about what I should and shouldn’t talk to our school therapist about?” Lizzie scoffs, on the defensive, arms crossed tightly over her chest. “That’s rich, Hope”.

“That’s not what I meant –”

“Everyone at this school is so prolific at internalizing every shitty thing that happens to us on a weekly basis but since this one particular thing happened to me, then of course I’m the one who has to have the damage control, witchy therapy sessions with Emma despite the fact that I’ve already told everyone who’s asked that I’m fine!”

“Lizzie –”

“Is that why you were looking for me this morning? You wanted to check up on me?”

“Yes”. Hope says sincerely. Its her version of an olive branch – honesty. Lizze frowns, but Hope touches her wrist and she stays frozen in place, like she’s been jolted and immobilized by an invisible force. “The same night you found your way back to us you rushed into the woods on a near suicide mission to help me fight a monster we’re still not sure how to kill. Of course I wanted to check up on you. I was worried. You left my bedroom so suddenly last night that I didn’t even have time to ask how you were feeling. I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to come back. I wasn’t sure if we were ever going to see you again.”

Lizzie takes a breath, defeated. We, we, we – she has no right to be stung by the plurality of the word, but it gives her that feeling in the middle of her throat, like it runs dry, like one wrong word from Hope and she might break down in tears.

“I want to make sure you’re okay”. Hope continues. “You’re my best friend”.

And that’s the tragedy of it. She’s Hope’s best friend. Anything beyond that is nothing but something she could only clearly wish for in another timeline. One where Hope doesn’t know about her baggage, one where they got a clean slate to restart their history, no rumors, no backhanded comments…

“Me too”. Lizzie whispers. She brings her thumb up to brush over the side of Hope’s hand.

She thinks about holding it. She almost does, until –

“Yo, guys. We should get this show on the road”. Jed interjects, seemingly out of nowhere, picking up the book Lizzie had discarded on the table earlier and hopping over the banister towards the center table in the now empty library, where the rest of the squad has now gathered around one of Wade’s Dungeons and Dragons books.

By the time Lizzie pulls her hand back and they both gather around the table, Wade’s already settled in with the group.

“– That’s the thing though. Dimensional Warpers don’t usually engage in combat, but they do like learning about their enemies and their battle tactics. They’re not usually ones to initiate but they’ll fight if they sense that their life is in danger.”

“That explains why it disappeared last night and didn’t come back”. Hope pushes her way in between MG and Jed at the front and center of the table. “Do you think it’s after something?”

“Maybe. I can’t imagine another reason why Malivore would’ve spit that particular monster out. They’re elusive, hard to kill, and they only come out at night. Their night vision is impeccable”.

“How do we kill it?”

“Well, they are giant, bipedal, flying snakes, but they’re still snakes. I think we all know what the easiest way to kill one is –”

“Cut off it’s head”. Lizzie deadpans. Everyone turns, and Lizzie stands on the other side of the table, looking intently at the picture of the creature on Wade’s book.

And Hope, looking at the magical artifacts on the far side display, slumps her shoulders.

“We’re gonna need a very big sword”.

------

[ 3 WEEKS AGO ]

“Is your name Lizzie Saltzman?”

“Yes”. Between two slender and shaky hands, an orb flashes blue.

Across the antique, expensive looking desk in front of her, and a family portrait in the space where a tinted window used to sit, Klaus Mikaelson looks at Hope with concern and curiosity. Hope, looking taller and prouder as her hand rests upon Klaus’ leather chair, gives him a side eye.

She remembers Klaus from when she was younger, just as intimidating and commanding as he had been the day he’d sought out their help to save Hope from the Hollow all those years ago. She also remembers the Klaus she’s read about, in the books tucked away in the very same library a couple of doors down the hallway; the tales about The Great Evil. The boogeyman to end them all. The man who had terrorized Mystic Falls and claimed New Orleans like a dynasty, the man who had courted her mother until the day he died — but she also remembers the Klaus Mikaelson that Hope had told her about. The father. The man weighed down by the consequences of his choices and the drive to ensure his family’s survival, their safety, no matter the cost. In one universe, it had already cost him his life. In this one, the story seems to have been painted differently.

In this story, Hope is different. She’s prouder, she wears a scowl like armor but not with the purpose of pushing everyone away. This Hope reminds her of an heiress. Someone destined to inherit something bigger and greater than herself. Maybe it’s all this, Lizzie thinks. The Mikaelson School. Maybe it’s another kingdom entirely.

She looks… Good. Really good.

“Are you Alaric Saltzman’s daughter?” Hope continues.

“Yes”. Blue again.

“That doesn’t make any sense”. Klaus moves to take the orb from her hands, but Hope is faster — much faster — grabs his father’s arm before he can snatch it.

“Dad, you can’t fool the magical lie detector. They’re simple yeses or no's”.

Klaus respects her, she can tell, because he backs off and opens a drawer in his desk, takes out a heavy looking file — and pulls out a picture of her dad. He puts it in front of her.

“This man is your father?” He asks her again.

“Yes”.

And like clockwork, the orb shines blue again.

“That doesn’t make any sense —” Lizzie goes to interject but Klaus holds his finger up, standing from his chair with his hands behind his back, circling around the office like a man with a decision to make. Technically he is… a man with a decision to make. About her.

Which really, really gives her the chills. The bad kind.

“— You see, Alaric is a slobber of a drunk man who unfortunately lost his wife on his wedding day. He was supposed to father two children, twins actually, and his psychopathic to-be brother-in-law murdered his fiancé at the altar. His daughters perished with her. He lost his Tenure at Mystic Falls High, now teaches a second-rate-history class at a local college, and he let the rest of his dreams die in the bottom of a bottle of stale whiskey and fatty liver disease. That man never got to father any children. He’s barely a man at all. No purpose. No drive”.

“Apparently not in this life —” Lizzie mutters. The orb flashes blue and Hope’s eyes immediately snap to Lizzie’s.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She’s the one taking the orb from her hands in a blink of an eye. She’s fast. Really fast. It takes her a second to realize, as Hope holds it between her fingertips and looks at her with blind distrust, that the Hope in this universe might not be jaded by the loss of her family, but this one might be jaded by something else.

Like her own death.

Oh.

“You’re gonna want to sit down for this one”.

------

The Mikaelson School library is even bigger than The Salvatore School’s. The Stallions were branded as the rich, spoiled, and troubled children of Mystic Falls, but the Mikaelson school rivals the self-made stereotype by a tenfold. Lizzie’s staring at a row of books about magic she could have only ever dreamed of reading — it’s obvious to her that Klaus Mikaelson’s vision for a school for the Supernatural was slightly different than her father’s. Somewhere witches, vampires, werewolves and others could live their powers to their full potential.

She picks a book from the rack, takes another one down with it, but Hope catches it before it can fully fall off the shelf — Necromancy: The Art of the Undead — and pushes it back in its place.

“If what you told me is true then your father built a school with the same purpose my father did”. She offers. This Hope, now a little less guarded and lit by the light of the full moon by the library window, is much softer, willing to momentarily let her guard down around the pretty stranger with the wavy blonde hair. “He wanted a place where I felt like I belonged. Somewhere he could offer a safe haven not only for me, but for all the witches, all the vampires, and all the werewolves who are forced to do all of this all on their own. The world is cruel and unrepentant. My dad knows that. So he and my mom bought this mansion, expanded it, and made it into a school for the Supernatural. It’s taken off since; we have a branch in Belgium and another one in development in South America. Argentina. Something about the wine…”

For the first time since she’d been blindly dropped into this dimension, Lizzie smiles. But after a much noticeable glance at Lizzie’s lips, Hope continues. “We thought all the Gemini witches were dead. They’re rare. Powerful —” Hope says. It takes a second for Lizzie to notice she’s sizing her down.

She doesn’t want to talk about how that makes her feel.

“You have to take someone’s magic to use it, right?”

And Hope offers her hand. Lizzie’s brows furrow, but she takes it anyway. She’s siphoned magic from Hope before, but not a fully triggered Tribrid Hope. When she drains her power Lizzie feels an adrenaline rush like no other, like sticking her hand directly into a fuse box and taking all the energy in Mystic Falls with it. She watches Hope carefully for any sign of pain, but Hope doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t move, only watches their joined hands.

Then Lizzie raises her wrist, flicks it, and closes all the doors of The Mikaelson school in simultaneous fashion, making the building tremble.

“Something like that”. Lizzie grins and Hope lets her hand go. She’s grinning back and Lizzie doesn’t know why that makes her feel drunker than taking all that power from her. “The stronger the source the stronger and the magic we can do, but we can take from anything that’s come in contact with magic. This building, for example. A vampire, a werewolf — miscellaneous…”

“Well, here at the Mikaelson school we’re always looking for other powerful witches. I know you want to go back home eventually, once we figure out how to send you back, but if you want to stay, we can make room for you.”

They walk past the archway, to a display case with magical artifacts and weapons of all kinds. Some she recognizes, like the dagger that had started it all that brutally eventful day when Rafael joined the school, the urn, an enchanted compass, Papa Tunde’s blade…

“We’ve collected those over the years”. Hope motions to the display case. “Some of them were already in my dad’s possession before we put them here. The display case was enchanted by my aunt, so it’s practically impenetrable and impossible to open unless you’re a Mikaelson, but my mom thinks it’s important to teach these kids everything we can about magic and everything that could hurt them. Some of them —” She continues, sliding her finger over a display case of weapons. “— are just purely decorative though”.

Lizzie watches Hope’s finger land on the glass over a large broadsword.

“What exactly do you know about my family?” Hope asks. When she looks at the display again, Lizzie can see her own reflection next to Hope’s on the glass, and when she looks closer at the weapon, their faces on the side of the broadsword.

“Oh, you have no idea”.

------

[ PRESENT DAY]

Sparks cloud Lizzie’s vision. At the old mill, in the dead of night, Hope sharpens a sword Lizzie thinks is larger than her standing up. She’d poke fun at her, for wielding such a big weapon for such a small person, but if the past few weeks — days — weeks — whatever, had taught her anything, is how immeasurable the power Hope wields at her fingertips is. Maybe she could provide them both with a quip, if she wasn’t so busy staring at her, agape.

God, get it together, Lizzie.

She clears her throat and Hope stops.

“Hey! I thought we could get a head start with this old thing. Your dad kept it downstairs but I think it’ll give us the firepower we need. It’s a shame though, it’d make for a nice decoration”.

Lizzie wants to laugh. No, it would make for an awful piece of decoration. She’d seen it displayed neatly on a case, but ancient artifacts and old swords make her think of ancient cursed castles and the ghosts within them.

“So asks-too-many-questions Hope has now become knight-in-shining-armor Hope. I gotta say, I think I like this version a little bit better”.

“Because I’m not asking questions?” Hope challenges.

“That’s part of it”.

They both laugh, look at each other as Lizzie takes her place beside Hope, until Hope goes stoic again. She puts the blade down, wipes her hands on her dark jeans.

“Lizzie, I know this isn’t by far the most threatening monster we’ve ever faced but, I think you should stay inside the school. Kaleb and I designed a foolproof plan to kill the —”

“Why are you sidelining me?” Lizzie frowns. “I was of perfectly good help last time you almost got sucked into a portal too, remember?”

“That’s not what I meant —”

“Then what do you mean Hope? I know this isn’t about glory. So what is it? Martyrdom? Pushing people who care about you away?”

And Hope is surprisingly calm, despite the tension in Lizzie’s voice, despite the way she raises it, despite the way it cuts through the sound of the chirping crickets in the woods. “No. It’s the opposite, actually. It’s about trying to keep the people I care about safe. I don’t want you to end up somewhere you won’t be able to come back to us if we risk it”.

“What about Kaleb, then? Surely you care about him”.

A beat.

“Not the way I care about you”.

They stand there, in the cold of the Old Mill, looking at each other as Hope picks up the sword on the table, and Lizzie realizes for the first time, Hope is making an entirely selfish decision… And it’s all about her.

#hizzie #hizzie fanfiction #hizzie fic #hope x lizzie #legacies fanfiction

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popculturebuffet · 3 years ago

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Disney Shortstacular 2021! (Commissioned by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people! I’m Jake, I review comics and animation and last year as a comission for my friend kev (Slots for Feburary are open by the by, wink wink nudge nudge, just hit up my ask box.) I reviewed all the shorts for Disney’s Sparkshorts Program, a program where they give one of their team members who hasn’t helmed a project 6 months, 30 people and full creative control. Ride or die this is their baby.

So naturally with two new SparkShorts coming out, he wanted me to do it all again. But there in lied the problem: There were ONLY two Sparkshorts in 2021. As you can imagine with a project like this they come out nice and slow, to the point the original batch came out over 2019 and 2020. As such my options for JUST doing the sparkshorts were either doing all of them in say 2022 and waiting a year or doing an extremley short review of only two shorts.

But luckily I had a solution in mind. See Disney had a decent amount of shorts this year: we had your usual pack ins for their flims with “Us Again” and “Far From The Tree”, your usual pixar shorts meant for the dvd that are now also released on DIsney+ around the same time, and now simpsons shorts to cash in on something their releasing on the platform, a new phenomenon I wanted to talk about at some point anyway. So once I pitched doing all the shorts of this year to him he gladly agreed and here we are.

So in short: instead of doing just the sparkshorts this year, and likely the next, i’m doing ALL OF THEM. So strap in, grab a pizza, become a mascot for an evil corporation and burn your dad’s boat down as I break down Disney’s shorts from this year!

As a heads up this won’t include Short Circut, another disney shorts program that needs it’s own article, or Launchpad, ditto. We good? okay then, onward!

Going in chronological order because why not, which thanks to Letterboxd is easy to do. So starting off we have one of the few of these that got a theatrical release, Us Again. Us Again was released alongside Raya and the Last Dragon.. which I still REALLY need to get around to watching.

Us Again is an utterly charming short synched entirely to music. This isn’t a new phenemonon, animations done this since the start, but the way it does it feels unique, as it takes place in a city where everyones hopping and boppin to the beat.. except an elderly couple, the man of whom has resigned himself to sitting in his chair miserable. His wife TRIES to get him to get up and move with her, but he’s got things to do.

So she leaves to go live and he’s left mopin out the window. Had to quit smoking decades. That is until it starts raining and he’s hit with some.. deaging him. Yes this is another take on the fountain of youth, cleverly using it for allegory to trying to hold on to what you were.

He quickly dashes to find his wife and he utterly enjoys getting to dance again, i’ts been so long since he could dance again.. only for the rain to stop. Cue a mad dash to stay youthful, and what yo’ud expect: he ends up abandoning her only for it to dry up.. and for him to realize he dosen’t have to ACT old and give up just because he is old. He can still enjoy life.. and he still has the most important thing in it. The two happily dance again, accepting what they are and we get a cute credits montage.

I really love this one. It’s charming, creative and sweet and nicely fights back against issues of aging by showing your only as old as you feel.

Within reason.

The first of two movie Tie-Ins, 22 Vs Earth was.. forgetable. Which is odd given Soul itself still stands as Pixar’s best film, but while this short isn’t bad, it’s pretty predictable: 22, a soul who dosen’t want to go to earth, tries to kidnap a bunch of other souls so she dosen’t loose any more friends ot earth.. only for them to find their purposes and go to earth with each shenanigan. It’s simple enough, still funny but ultimately it’s something you’ll be going “Oh yeah that happened” not long after watching.

Another “oh yeah that happened” kind of short as we get our first simpsons one. It wasn’t Disney’s first foray into using America’s Faviorite Family for shorts, as we got two awesome Maggie Shorts previously, but it’s the first to be made entirely for Disney+ and the first to be done as a clear promotional stunt. Yes Disney is taking full advantage of having another big brand by using it to promote other brands in the horrifying type of corporate synergy people were loosing their shit over when they bought marvel over a decade ago.

This one is.. fine. It’s not terrible but it’s mostly just some fun star wars based gags here and there as Maggie goes to a star wars daycare, like a cloud city themed nap room or the time outs being freezing the kid sin carbonite. It’s textbook toothless promotion: Nothing bad but nothing memorable either to the point I genuinely forgot to log this on letterboxd the first time I watched it. If you like Star Wars in your simpsons... watch Mark Hamill’s guest spot instead.

youtube

Honestly a panicked mark hamill desperate to cram in star wars where it dosen’t belong sums up this short better than I could.

Some of you may recall i’ve talked about this one already, back when i did quick thoughts on things before I realized I didn’t have the time in my schedule to cram those in there. Might try again at some point, we’ll see. But I don’t mind talking about this shitshow again because I have more to say.

For those who thankfully didn’t sit through it, this short is yet another tie-in, this time to Loki, which I happen to be working thorugh. And honestly I was excited for this one: While i’m a fan of the MCU there’s still plenty to poke fun at, and the simpsons are great at biting the hand that feeds them

So naturally I expected something like this right? Right?

Yeah this short.. is a complete and infurating waste of it’s premise. For starters we have the fact they got Tom Hiddleston himself, who only gets one good bit at the end. The parts for an actually intresting crossover ARE there: Loki and Bart find a lot in common being the sons of abusive distant dads and blonde overacheiving siblings, and it’d be intresting to explore that. It’d be funny to see more of Homer who ends up worshipping loki after he doubles his porkchops. There’s a LOT you could do here if you gave it say 5 minutes. And while this short has about 5 mintues of content.. the last two are spent ENTIRELY on the most obvious and labored gag imingable.

Not only that the short blatantly promoted the fact it’d have the various springfieldians as avengers.... who then show up for exactly one shot and some of the credits gags before Lisa easily beats “Loki” who turns out otb e bart... with loki left in his place. There’s no gags about hte mcu’s love of quips, abudneance of characters, terrible villians before phase 3, massive size, the franchises it absorbed... nothing actuallyc lever or intresting just ‘LOOK WE HAVE SIMPSONS AND MARVEL ISN’T THAT KEEN. And it’s not.. it’s just not funny and the half assed nature of it makes it less enjoyable than the toothless but still at least charming Force Awakens From It’s Nap.

Before we get into the worst part of this short by far though, let’s have some fun and break down the springfield avengers shall we?

Now the majority of these are pretty good. As a longtime marvel fan a lot of these are pretty spot on choices, either being perfect casting or perfectly terrible casting. For starters we have the obvious one, Barnie as Iron Man. That’s just perfect, especially since we disapointingly never got a proper take on Demon in the Bottle in the mcu. It’s dark but it’s fucking great. Millhouse as MCU Hawkeye? Yup that’s about as pathetic as this version of clint was before his new series helped flesh him out. Carl as nick fury, yell yes. Mole Man as mole man? Not in the mcu yet but too good a gag NOT to do. Flanders as ant man, didly. Comic Book Guy as quicksilver? fucking yes run fat man run. And finallyw ehave one I didn’t notice on first watch I utterly love. Dr. Nick as Dr. Strange. The gags write themselves. “Oopsie I accidently brought my evil twin in. Aw well i’m sure he can’t harm anyone anymore than I can” “Don’t worry i’ve already operated on your leg 83 times today (blood sspurts) whelp 84′s the charm! (uses time stone)” “You can’t sue me for malpractice because i’m not legally a doctor! Same as it ever was!”

And of course I loved Herman as Captain America, especailly because th eshowarearely uses them and Agnes as Black Widow is fun, as is the incredible ralph and combining my faviorite mcu (and one of my faviorite comics) avenger with my faviorite sprinfieldien as moe is the vision and tha’ts wonderful.

But the rest.. are either passable (Lisa’s Teacher as she hulk, patty and selma as wanda and agatha), weird like having.. what I think is the babysitter from “homer badman as rescue”

And then you have the two I just.. absolutely cannot stand. First off is dr hibbert as the falcon. First off.. why does disney like this guy so much? Hibbert has his moments but he’s mostly just kinda there, a bland parody of a rapist who got maybe one joke a season in the golden years and who knows how many now. And I say this because not only is he falcon instead of carl, when Hibbert makes more sense as fury, but because he ha an icon on disney+. the only characters who do are the simpsons themselves, krusty, and ralph. Why not Carl if you wanted a black character? He’s more of a character than hibbert... not by a lot but still.

But no the one that pisses me off.. is Helen Lovejoy as Captain Marvel

Just.. WHY. You have other female characters. For starters that buisness suit lady.. whose actually blonde and whose not an unberable hate sink no one likes. She’s not a GOOD person but like.. she’s at least funny. Helen has had all of ONE Funny moment in 34 seasons

WHY out of all the characters you have to pull from, inclduing one off characters would you use her? I’m geninely asking. Her husband isn’t in there. Why would you do this?

So for sanity’s sake let’s move on from my pedantic bullshit to some other bullshit.. instead of spending the other two minutes telling a story or proper jokes.. the credits, which to be fair do have great credits image gags, are filled with post credit scenes. GET IT BECAUSE THAT’S MARVEL’S THING. The problem is only one of them is funny, Loki tending bar and Barney’s response to telling him the alchol he serves them will ruin their lives “Eh it’s still worth it to me!”., but none feel necessary. I get having to do at least one, it’s an mcu pardoy, you gotta. But making them actually funny? Was.. was that really too hard? I know Modern Simpsons isn’t up to the standard of the first 10 seasons but I didn’ tknow it’d sunk this bad that they can’t make a marvel parody, even with Disney clearly holding their balls in a vice. And even then i’m not so sure given the next simpsons short. But for now this short can eat mine.

Now THIS is more like it. I made no secret how much I loved the How To Shorts in my House of Mouse Reviews and over a decade after the last one, it’s oh so nice to see Bill Farmer and Corey Burton back at it like a day hadn’t passed.

Though a day had as these were made to deal with the pandemic.. and sadly ended up going form seemingly irrelvant as thigns receided.. to badly relevant as the pandemic kicked up again. As such cooking for yourself, putting on masks and watching tons of tv are still in vouge. But sad state of the world aside, these shorts are just charming with fun gags, great narration and even better animtaion. I geninely hope we get more at some point. I admit to being biased, again I haven’t met a how to short I haven’t liked, but these shorts are not only funny but help combat anti-mask propganda using one of disney’s biggest stars. And while it shoudln’t be that big a flex for Disney to do the basic thign and say “hey asshole wear a mask”, given how spineless they can be towards LBGTQ+ represntation or standing up to china, it’s nice this is one issue they have a spine on. But masks or no masks, these shorts are fucking great.

The first of our two SparkShorts, Twenty Something carries on two fine traditions from it’s predecessors: being utterly charming with a somewhat unique animation style, and pulling from something personal. In this case the creator pulled from the very feelings of being called on to do a short, as she’d only been at pixar for about 5 years before getting called up, feeling like a bunch of kids in a trench coat. That lead to the spark for the short and here we are.

The premise itself is great: A 21 year old girl goes to a club with her sister, and is socially overwhelemd by everything. I can related to social anxiety, as well as feelings you aren’t adulting right even if your doing somet things right. As such a fun short about manifestations of a woman’s 10 year old, 16 year old and baby selves as metaphors for her own anxiety are great and it’s a fun watch, the climax, which shows all the club goers regressing to kid versions of themselves, is what truly makes it. The animation style dosen’t hurt, taking from the 60′s and 70′s resulting in a lovely and unique dot eyed animation style that feels both timeless and fully itself. I also like the reveal of the protaganitst’s true self at the end which has traits from all three of herselves: her hair from 16, the colors and hair decs from 10 and .. well okay no baby things but she might need to be on a watchlist if she had. Ponit is this short has a lot of subtle touches that really make it truly something specail and probably the best out of this crop of shorts. Though there is some stiff competition. Speaking of which...

Now this, the second of the two sparkshorts from this year, was just fun.

The premise is simple but great: an elderly, no nonsense building super and her beloved good boy get ready to set down tow atch EWW Smashdown, some form of wrestling pay-per view and a clear analouge to WWE’s wrestlermania.. they inverted the comapny name for fucks sake.It was something she and her late partner, who we see in photos, clearly watched every year. It’s not even overblowrn or anything, just a woman honoring her fallen hubby or whatever by diong what they both loved.

But as happens for the working class, life can get in the way and Nona’s daughter is forced to drop off her own daughter due to getting called into work. It’s something I can relate to having a busy brother who often needs his kids watched so he can support them by my own mother and their own grandmother. So the conflict is less the young girl being there, Nona is mildly put out but refreshingly dosen’t throw a fit or antyhing, but simply wanting her out of the way as she keeps interupting things. It’s simple, realistic and charming.

Naturally though we get some drama as the grandaughter ends up trying to do a top rope splash after seeing it on tv, which comes off less as melodrmatic GASP KIDS IMITATE VIOLENCE, and more... simply what happens. Kids try wrestling moves not knowing how dangerous it is even with training. It happens. I could’ve seen my own niece doing this when she was younger. Nona saves her.. but her tv is wrecked. And if I may give out a second:... her tv is weridly anacronistic. Like Nona has a smart phone and a face mask is seen hanging on her key ring, next to a handicap plackard. So this is modern day.. which means this retro tv.. shoudln’t be able to do this.l Companies generally don’t air pay per views for free and I don’t think a box like this could stilL GET pay per views. I could be wrong, of course and i’ll accept that as well as her not having enough for the network or something, but it still took me out of it.. though I don’t hol dit against the short as it’s me being a silly hyperfixated ass and not anything actually affecting it being awatchable.

The conclusion is just pure fucking AWWWWW as the little girl challenges her nona to a match to cheer her up and the two hug. it’s just pure adorable and overall this short runs on both cute and a love of wrestling. If you don’t have one, the other or both.. you might not like this. me.. I loved it and i’m not ashamed of that.

This is one I looked forward too I as truly enjoyed Luca this year, as it was one of my faviorite films this year and I felt a nice breezy slice of life piece that can be easily queer coded if you fancy. So going back to that setting was pretty nice.

Ciao Alberto is itself fantastic, being another slice of life tail focusing on Alberto and Massimo after the latter took him in. Alberto is doing great after the conclusion of the film, having settled into Poro Rosso well and being loved by the town, no longer having to hide being a freaky fish guy.

The only problem.. is Massimo himself. While Alberto endlessly looks up to the guy... Massimo isn’t the biggest talker , and given his chatty nature and need for a father figure after his father abandoned him, it’s not a suprise poor Alberto internalizes this as not being good enough. We get a bunch of hyjinks as Alberto tries to overcompensate to messure up to his new Poppa, only for slapstick to insue and Alberto to feel worse. It’s formulaic.. but it works since much like the film itself the pacing is nice and breezy and the animation is gorgeous. I didnt’ even realize it was made on a small budget till TV Tropes pointed it out as they simply reused assets from luca and what new assets are there arent’ noticably a downgrade. The only tradeoff is the transformation scenes are cut.. but Alberto dosen’t transform enough that it’s an issue. He still does it in understandable circumstnaces, but given Alberto WANTED to live on land in the first place instead of the water, it makes just as much sense he’s not overusing the form. He’s happy where he is and uses it more like a fun tool than a dire part of his being.

But things get serious when Alberto accidently does an arson while trying to go out on the boat at night to catch more fish and Masimo is understandably devistated. This makes the poor boy think he really is an utter screw up. And while yes once again a major part of the film is alberto running away... it works. The context is diffrent: There Luca and Alberto had an udnerstandable falling out over Luca refusing to support him, while here, the falling out is in Alberto’s head: Massimo DOES clearly care about the boy.

The problem is simple: while he’s raised a kid before with Giluia, clearly spending plenty of summers with her and likely getting the ocasinal visit as well, she’s USED to him. She’s used to him being a very quite man and knows he loves her anyway, so it dosen’t bother her. Alberto.. needs that validation she simply didn’t because he hasn’t had a loving dad his whole life, or any parents. His abandoned him. So Massimo wrongly assumed the boy simply didn’t need to know he cared. It’s only when Alberto is honest about how he feels the lack of words dosen’t mean approval that Massimo finally gets it.. and the pain on the guys face. Jesus. It only gets more painful when Massimo tries stopping him.. and we get this

“JUST LET ME GO DAD!”

This.. this is what makes the short work. This one line this one moment as the two just stand there dumbstruck for a second, Alberto by what he said and Massimo by realizing the boy sees him as a dad.. and he sees the boy as a son. He honestly probably always did.. but like I said he’s not used to having to confirm that sort of thing. So he does, relating a story about his own father to show that he both returns the sentiment.. and that screw ups happen, but it dosen’t mean you love your kid less. Like that the two start to open up, and rebuild the boat. This short.. it’s really fantastic. It gets better the more I think about it, finding a neat new story to tell. And honestly I wouldn’t mind a series following either these two or following Luca and Gulia at school. I feel the breezy, slice of life tales these films had could translate well to a series or a sequel, and it’s one of the few disney movies i honestly and badly WANT one for. I feel you could find something new to do with it and both sides of thigns leave plenty of room open for a new story.

Now onto the best of the shorts. Granted given one was harmless but forgetable and the other can go choke on a sandpaper cock, it wasn’t HARD but Plusaversary brings back that subversive spark the simpsons has. While it’s never been super edgy, it’s never been afraid to take jabs at it’s corporate overlords and it felt like Disney missed that with the first two shorts, not letting them make jabs at their two big IPs.

Here though the thankfully let them off the leash and while it’s another shameless tie in, it’s one that works better BECAUSE their allowed to make actual jabs about the subject instead of just “HEY YOU LIKE THIS THING, MEMBA THIS?”

There’s a bit of that as all the disney characters gather at Moe’s to celebrate Disney+”s two year anniversary. You know like House of Mouse only it’s actaully on Disney+. It has some cute gags like Elsa freezing a keg and Dr. Strange using his magic to cheat at pool. It’s fun stuff. The maind raw is homer, not let in because plot, gets in by being Goofy’s plus one. And goofy.. is NOT voiced by Bill Farmer. Nor Donald by Tony Anselmo. And the guy Voicing Goofy is fine enough, it’s the simpleton voice they use every so often, similar to cletus’. But Donalds...

Yeah it just hurts my head. They.. they didn’t even try. And I get that MAYBE Disney didn’t want to have the actual voice actors voice them.. but if that’s the case WHY FOCUS A SIMPSONS SHORT AROUND GOOFY THEN. It’s not like Bill Farmer’s retired, just look up! He did shorts this year! He’s still doing Amphibia! Same with Tony. He wrapped DuckTales this year but he’s still Donald. It mutes the parody and the “oh look what their letting the simpsons do with the disney cast” nature of things when theres an obvious sign there were limits.

Speaking of which.. none of the Disney Channel characters show up. And it’s not a “oh it’s kids media or just the adults in the bar thing”. We see the kid from Coco in there, along with a few other children as background charatcters. So films aimed at both audiences ARE in there, and it’s not like the shows don’t have adult. You tell me you COULDN’T stick Stan or Eda in there? Really? It just underlies that disney REALLY dosen’t get that people who aren’t children... watch the disney channel shows. The animated ones anyway. Do want to try Syndey to the Max at some point but that’s a me thing.

Other than that though the main centerpiece, Lisa singing a fun song about Disney+ that takes a lot of jabs at the service, from being a babysitter, to it not being avaliable everywhere, to how happy it makes the shareholders. Not anything serious like the shows missing, but the kinds of jabs that feel like simpsons. Also we get a cameo from america’s sweetheart

Yes they just.. fully leaned into that meme by having Bart once again dress up as Mickey and this time tell everyone to get back to work and drag Homer and Goofy apart. Overall while not peak simpsons..this one was at least still charming. Hopefully we get some next year that AREN’T just cheap tie-ins or if we have to get more tie-ins.. at least remember you have more family friendly shows you can branch out with. Disney OWNS Bob’s Burgers and the Great North, both of which would fit this kind of thing fine. Especially the great north with Ham and Honeybee really loving movies. I would give Disney money to watch Will Forte and Dulce Sloan make star wars jokes don’t deprive me.

One more masterpiece. Far From The tree was okay to me at first, it was the tale of a young racoon who wants to explore on the coast but his dad won’t let him and keeps dragging him back, even breaking a shell the kid grabs like the abusive dick he is. It wasn’t bad but I was worried the old Scarface Racoon was meant to be seen in the right. And while the short does show he had reasons as the poor little racoon runs into a wolf and gets scarred like his pop... it thankfully DIDN’T. It’s shown that just telling the kid DO WHAT I SAY without giving him CONTEXT as to why he can’t free roam and trying to shut him away.. it just traumtizes the kid and makes him miserable. It dosen’t help him to scream at him constantly.

And that.. was actually the point of the film as in it’s most clever bit.. we get a timeskip. Our little hero is now the father and while he intitally repeats the sins of his own father... it’s by NOT doing so we get the real message: you can break the cycle of abuse and you don’t have to do what your parents did just because they were shitty. Mine weren’t, thankfully, but it’s still a message many kids need and it’s conveyed by our hero taking his son.. or daughter. Or her son or his daughter... or their child... look point is the parent sohws teh child the wolf and then lets them hop on their back so they can get around and see the world.. without being in mortal peril. It’s a truly heartwarming great short. My only complaint is the animation which is heavily cel shaded. And while I actually LIKE cel shading here it dosen’t always look finished in places, not so terrible it ruins the short but it’s noticable. Still good though

Now this one.. wasn’t in the orignial plans for this article. I planned this out with Kev and got paid for it BEFORE this short came on Disney+ right before the year ended. The same can be said for the How To Shorts, but it’s my bad I forgot them so I took the financial hit. Same with this one: neither of us could’ve seen this coming, as far as I can tell unlike the other three shorts it wasn’t formally announced or anything, but I also couldn’t avoid it.

It’s a music video for the artist Bad Bunny. Whose Bad Bunny?

I genuinely know nothing about him other than he looks kinda weird and his song used for this is really good. And it is a nice change of pace as this one is done entirely in spanish. I could still understand the dialouge at the start thanks to turning on captions, but it’s a nice little thing

The short itself though.. isn’t great. Stop me if you heard this one... Marge and Homer break up and have to get back together.

Like... good god please stop doing this Simpsons. No one wants “Homer and Marge fight and nearly or temporarily break up” AGAIN. Just off the top of my head they’ve done it in Life in the Fast Lane, The War of the Simpsons, Colonel Homer, Secrets of a Succesful Marriage, The Simpsons Movie, That Leah Dunham Episode, That 90s Show, Bonfire of the Manatees, and Three Gays of Condo. That also gives me an idea: let me know in the comments would you be intrested in a series comparing various simpsons episodes with the same essential premise? or , another idea I’d had before and almost forgot, the episodes considered the worst? Or just weird episodes from later in the series i’m curious to check out for the first time?

But point is this has been done a LOT and both the movie and secrets of a succesful marriage did more than enough that we don’t need to do this AGAIN. Secrets wrung it well for both pathos and laughs and the movie played it dead seroiusly in the best way possible. We’ve had shrub marge!

youtube

And this time .. i’ts not over someone else tempting them, Homer wanting to leave the town to die, a catfsih, whatever the rest of those were about or a dumb retcon. It’s over Homer being on social media constnatly. So this is also a PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN thing. It just.. dosen’t work and isn’t funny or geninely sad. We’ve seen this before. They aren’t going to break up. Please. Stop doing this. Their happy, just let them be happy. My god

So with that we wrap up and while the simpsons shorts were

The rest.. were really good for the most part. I look forward to possibly doing this again next year and I honestly liked this a bit better than the spark shorts: it really covered the full tapestry of disney’s year.

If you enjoyed this review, click on some of the links bellow. We’ve got my patreon, where you can kick in a buck a month to get a free review for signing up (Any half hour episode of a show so if you want me to go simpsonic or have something else in mind, go for it), and 5 dollar patrons get a guaranteed review a month. So if you want me to review the episode where Moe’s bar rag talks then follow it up with that time Sideshow Bob became a mutant, i’ll mutter some swears into a radiation helmet..then gladly take your money because I needs it. You can also simply comission reviews via my ask box, slots for next month are still open.

And if you need some no money fun, god knows I do consider joining my discord! Links are bellow, see ya real soon.

PATREON

DISCORD

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missinghan · 4 years ago

Text

broken umbrella ⤖ han jisung

❖ genre : high school au; fluff

❖ word count : 1,6k.

❖ warning : explicit language

❖ summary : a typical day in your life starts with having candies poured over your head and ends with breaking han jisung’s umbrella.

❖ note : I wanted to write smth dumb okay-

one.

Jisung gives his desk a harsh kick, one that does no good in releasing his inner storm, only to wince in pain later because he’s an idiot.

Classes have been somewhat less than boring these days, partially because his mind is occupied with thoughts of you half of the time and partially because…well, more thoughts of you. Oh wait, today is a little different than usual considering the fact that you did not give him a proper response.

To what?

Putting it simply, he woke up early this morning to go over his routine more thoroughly—styling his hair, making sure that his tie isn’t sloppy-looking, and spraying himself with his brother’s cologne. He doesn’t usually care for any one of those things until junior starts and you show up. Call him desperate, or delusional, or childish even but it truly felt like fate when you two first encountered each other.

“Yeah right, fate,” Hyunjin snickers loudly, swirling a strawberry-flavored lollipop inside his mouth. “You meant when you fell on your ass on the bus the other day and you accidentally grabbed her collar?”

Jisung feels his cheeks heat up thanks to his friend’s less than necessary comment. “Shut the fuck up, you’re just jealous.” It was great. Not only did he fall head over heels for you, but he also left a bad impression.

Back to the point. All of his hard work this morning is reduced to nothing because of the rain. His hair is messed up, his uniform looks sloppy, and his shoes are covered in mud from skipping through puddles. Not to mention, he showed up timely enough to be there when you opened your locker, having various candies and sweets poured down your head, scattered all over the hallway.

Yeji should have told him you didn’t like sweet things yesterday, damn it. Because he’s never seen you giving him that look before. The look that makes him believe you will make him experience torment and pain, begging for the mercy that never comes—make his life a living hell basically.

“How did your plan go, by the way?” His friend asks out of boredom.

“Fantastic,” he replies under his breath when everything is, in fact, not fantastic.

Hyunjin tilts his head. “Did she know?”

“Know what? That I’m in love with her? I mean I wasn’t trying to be subtle or anything-“

“No, did she know that it was gonna rain today?”

Shrugging, he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in exhaustion; forty-five minutes periods should be illegal. “Why does that matter?”

“Hey, Han!”

Jisung turns his head to the voice and sees Felix sliding the door to his classroom open, uneven breaths as if he’s been running for his life while holding two umbrellas in his arms. He glances at his friend’s state with a grimace, head cocked to the side in confusion. Luckily, no one really spends recess in class except for loners like himself anyway. “What are you doing?”

“Y/N didn’t bring an umbrella!” The freckled boy exclaims with excitement, only able to coax an amused hum from Hyunjin. “But you have an umbrella, and it’s still raining! Which means…?”

A comical silence falls upon the three of them. It takes Jisung approximately five taps of Hyunjin’s finger on the table to fully process his friend’s point. Realization lights up in his eyes like a candle but dies down with a pout on his face. “But she can just go with her friends?” he says with expressive hands, though a little disappointed.

“I’m not gonna half-ass it if I plan on helping you,” Felix gives the two umbrellas, a white one and a pink one, in his hands a slight jerk, looking oddly proud.

This time, Jisung catches on immediately; his eyes go wide in shock as though his friend has committed the greatest sin. “Yeji and Lia are so gonna kill you.”

two.

“Did you bring an umbrella?” Lia asks while hopeless rummaging through her stuff. “I swear with my own eyes I saw myself putting one in my bag this morning.”

Yeji shakes her head in defeat, tugging at the straps of her backpack. “I was pretty sure I brought one too. I even used it to walk to the bus stop this morning! Someone must have taken it during recess,” she sighs, dreading the pouring rain and grey clouds.

It’s raining again. It’s only been raining today, the weather forecast did predict that it’s most likely going to last for a whole week too (not that you bothered checking). You don’t mind the rain, though. You like the fact that they make the world appear mistier, hazier like a fever dream.

What isn’t good about the rain is the fact that your parents won’t be too happy to see you come home looking like a wet rat. Or the fact that you’ll probably get a really bad cold, and that won’t be pretty during midterms week. Or the fact that most students are absolute idiots and didn’t bring their own umbrellas either. Everyone is shoving each other for space under the canopy at the main gate so the rain won’t soak their clothes.

You’re not having it. At all.

“Yeji, Lia. I’m going home,” you purse your lips together and take a breath.

Lia frowns at your particular solution. “Already? But you’re gonna get wet.”

“My house is a ten-minute walk away. Shouldn’t be too bad,” you say lowly in faint annoyance, eyes squinted from the discomfort of lack of space; these students have no manners whatsoever, you’re getting claustrophobic.

With a determined huff, you pull the zipper of your jacket up and throw the hood over your hair. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Shadow suddenly looms over the top of your head, warmth radiates to your clothed arm. In the corner of your eyes, a familiar face comes into view and forces a heavy exhale from your lips.

“Hey, do you wanna go with-“ Jisung pauses midway when you take off running, shattering his fantasy of living in a drama into bits without mercy. “Y/N! Wait up!”

three.

“Come here! Or you’ll get sick!”

“Why the hell do you care?”

“Y/N, stop being so stubborn! You’re gonna catch a cold!”

“It’s none of your business.”

After walking down several blocks down the road, past nothing but empty plazas and mostly closed café, you even take an extra U-turn, going through a skeptical alley just so Jisung will get tired and stop following you. Your effort doesn’t not prevail so you give up eventually, deciding to take the proper turn to head home before it’s too late to prepare dinner.

The poor boy can feel the rain drizzle down his black umbrella before falling onto his windbreaker, soaking through the fabric to stain his senses with a chilling sensation. He has already calmed every racing thought that ceases to ease his erratic heartbeat but no matter how hard he tries, there isn’t one second where he isn’t thinking about your well-being.

“Hey,” he calls out; when you turn around, he’s closing his umbrella and tossing it to the ground, leaving it to graze the tip of your shoes. “Take it and go home. I won’t bother you anymore.”

You roll your eyes before picking it up, mercilessly letting it flop right in front of him. “I don’t need it.”

Jisung clicks his tongue in irritation, not caring that droplets are falling from his head and his skin is crawling from the cold. Somehow, he’s starting to become baffled for no reason. Perhaps it’s because of your nonchalance about the current situation; you shouldn’t be so apathetic when he’s genuinely worried sick for your health.

His eyes are heavy with rain droplets so he blinks them away before glaring at you slightly. “You need it more than I do. Would you please stop acting irrationally, take the umbrella and head home? The rain isn’t stopping anytime soon.” His leg jerks up to kick at the innocent object; still isn’t enough to relish the turmoil hurling his innards.

He brushes past you, shoving your shoulder a little while expecting you to finally accept his offer. To his dismay, you once again grab at the poor, poor umbrella, and throw it at his leg with more force this time. When it drops to the ground with a small thud, his heart pauses awkwardly in disappointment.

The sun is going down by the second but you can still see the faint outline of his scowl. “Go home, Jisung. It’s getting late,” you remark coldly, stuffing your freezing hands into your pocket.

With a loud groan, he marches back to where you two were originally standing, a curse word lingers on the tip of his tongue. But he manages to swallow it back down before gently tugging at the sleeve of your jacket. “Take the umbrella at least,” he voices softly, the crack more evident than anything at the end. “Look, I know I’ve been nothing but a nuisance since we first met. I just really like you and I care for you okay? Go home, Y/N.”

“Please.”

You look at him after moments, your once hateful eyes finally glinting with something else other than general distaste and annoyance. It only takes one glance of his tired eyes to pierce through your phlegmatic front, leaving your raw emotions out in the open. Before Jisung can say another word or take notice of the rare warmth creeping in your gaze, you take his hand in yours and pull him toward a nearby apartment complex to not wait out in the downpour any longer. By the time that you’ve released the grip, he’s still staring into the nothingness, eyes slightly wide in shock.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you gonna go home?” he blurts out finally after snapping out of it.

“This is my apartment complex. But I must have dropped my card somewhere. So I can’t go inside.”

A sigh. “Is anyone home right now?”

“My phone is dead.”

Jisung perks up and his hand fishes inside his pocket. “You can use-”

You inhale deeply, looking away. “Enough is enough, Jisung. Go home.”

“You broke my umbrella,” he mentions, blinking rapidly to bat the droplets away from his eyelashes. “I can’t go home like this.”

Few beats of silence later, a middle-aged woman dressed in a beige trench coat walks past the both of you, two high school students pathetically standing under the canopy like wet rats; she swipes her card against the security lock and the glass door pops open without much effort. Sparing you the last look, she’s probably thinking ‘kids these days’ before heading inside with a roll of her eyes.

Jisung hurriedly skips over to hold the door open for you, motions for you to walk in with his head. To his surprise, you comply but bring your steps to a halt to situate yourself in front of him. His lashes are wet and heavy; that’s when you realize how soaked you both are and how terribly cold the temperature it’s getting. Your hand reaches out to brush the raindrops away softly, shaking his heart to the core.

The silence is graceful in the wake of the moment, the rain in the background just makes everything that much more cinematic. However, Jisung isn’t in the right mind state to fanboy over the fact that his drama fantasy is one step closer to reality. He wishes to cling to this moment forever because he just can’t get enough. He can never.

“I’ll get you a towel,” you pull away calmly, thinking how cute he sort of looks when his cheeks are three shades redder. “And a new umbrella.”

His smile has never been brighter, you notice. Even when he’s out in the brutal cold and completely drenched from head to toe. And wait...have his eyes always been so pretty?

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mdhwrites · 2 years ago

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S3 Has Done A Weirdly Good Job Setting Up For It’s Finale... But Was It Worth It?

For anyone who is thinking this is a gag or a gotcha... Well, it’s a little of the second but it’s not a joke actually. I’m sincere in saying that it has made it so that, despite S2B, it is actually capable of even having a finale at this point that might be at all satisfying. The bigger question is if it matters when there’s so little satisfying about the show at this point or to get hyped about. This was inspired by someone mentioning that they expected the finale to be middling despite loving the show because it simply had too much to wrap up. Too many plot threads to tie together. I mean, come on! They haven’t even given Belos a full backstory yet. Which... That last part is fascinating to me from a narrative standpoint but I also don’t entirely blame them for it. I’ll get back to it though because the bigger question is: How many plot threads really are still dangling? How many character arcs need to be finished? How much expanding on things is there to do? Let’s go down the list of what was theoretically needed to be tackled by S3 once S2 was wrapped. We’ll also talk about how each one was wrapped up (expect much snark), or not as some cases will be: (and sorry if I’m a bit off the mark on any of these. I’ve seen parts of the episodes but still refuse to watch the season itself so much of this is second hand): Returning to the Human Realm: Fixed effectively as much by happenstance as anything else. This allowed the first special to focus more on other matters from what I’ve been told. Speaking of those other matters: Luz’s angst over helping Belos and the Collector: *incoherent screaming* Ignoring this being one of the worst plot decisions in the show, it is wrapped up at this point. Getting Stringbean is effectively that moment. This is, you know, in spite of the fact that all evidence points to Luz entirely ignoring any talk of how mistakes are okay and shifting it entirely onto a personal narrative that is questionable at best because when was the last time someone told Luz no? Or didn’t try their damnedest to understand her? When did Camila ever do this in fact outside of when Luz’s actions caused her to ACCIDENTALLY ASSAULT PEOPLE? But it’s resolved with minimal interaction from other characters besides her mom. Everyone forgives her immediately anyways when it was revealed and it continued into the second special for... reasons I’ll get into. Hunter being a Grimmwalker: Dealt with similarly to Luz’s angst where no one actually thinks it’s a big deal besides him until Belos takes possession of him. They then gut their disability allegories by ‘curing’ Hunter through the death of his best friend. Because I’d totally be cured of my depression if my best friend gave their life to make it happen! Amity... Actually, Amity at the point of S3 has effectively nothing going on that needs further expanding, to the point where she doesn’t bring up her dad in S3 Ep. 2. This is probably why she’s the largest comic relief in S3 Ep. 1 with human realm shenanigans and clumsiness because the writers recognize she’s still the third most important of the characters in the human realm. Speaking of: Gus: Hasn’t had anything going on in the entire show except for single episode plotlines. He was never going to get much out of S3. Or even a S5 potentially with how the writers treated him. Willow: I would copy and paste what I just said about Gus except that she gets stuff in the second special even though many of the elements used for it haven’t been relevant to her character for at least one season, if not literally two. And yet she still gets to effectively be the secondary star to Ep. 2 and... I’ll get into why after I’m done with this portion. Lilith: Her character was done with ‘Cool Aunt Lilith’. Eda: Eda hasn’t actually had anything going on for her except Raine since S1′s finale. Even the S1 finale ends up being treated by her more like a reset back to status quote than anything more which has interesting things about it good and bad. I’m being mouthy enough as is though. Belos: Should have stayed dead and sure as shit isn’t getting anymore interesting just because every bit of lore is tied to his backstory. He’s a villain because he’s an asshole and he really isn’t much deeper than that unfortunately. The best thing about him is change he inspires in other characters and... *looks back at Luz and Hunter* Let’s just say he’s no Perfect Cell, a villain who also gets a lot of bonus points for that same reason. The Collector: Over three months he went from “I can’t wait to play in the bones!” to “What is death? I’m just a wittle guy.” Which is effectively mixing an anarchic, force of nature villain and turning him into a sympathetic villain who doesn’t understand his actions who is Upside: one step away from redemption and Downside: not at all coherent or interesting because he’s so obviously barely a character. He’s just missing too much to not easily be read as a tool of the author to have ANOTHER (the at least fourth in the series in THREE SEASONS) bad guy turned good guy. Just, you know, the biggest because it’s the finale. Camila: She’s a saint with no baggage and resolved Luz’s stuff so nothing really there. The Isles being warped by the Collector: I have thoughts on what I’ve seen and heard but I’ll actually pin this for the same segment as Belos’ ‘full’ backstory. Kikimora: Who was still taking Kikimora seriously? Who COULD take Kikimora seriously by now? She’s threatening only because of a mech but she herself has been a joke since Eclipse Lake. Why would they include her... Put a pin in it. Edit: King: I forgot King at first but he’s honestly a main character at this point because of LORE so I’m not all that surprised. He has such little to do between him finding out about his beginnings to when he found out about his heritage (minus Knock Knock Knocking) that he’s overshadowed by a lot of others. After Titan Hunters, he then became quite possibly the wisest, most rational character in the show. Bare minimum, the wisest 8 year old in existence. And that’s... Just super not interesting. Any real plot line left with King I feel effectively died the moment he was ready to give his blood to the Collector with minimal hesitation. For the greater good, don’t get me wrong, but he’s EIGHT YEARS OLD. And theoretically still the same character as he was in S1. But I’ve done several blogs at this point about TOH’s character arcs being rough to put it mildly. And I could maybe go on but that’s much of what comes to mind immediately. So what is left to cover for S3′s finale? Well... The Collector’s final game which doesn’t have to be that long. The Collector’s turn to being a good guy, likely when his game demands he kill King, or King gets a chance by the rules of the game to kill the Collector but doesn’t do so. Just something that makes the Collector start considering how other people feel about his games and the like in a big, emotional way so he can make his full transition. Belos being forced out of Raine’s body and nuked by The Collector. Again. And Luz’s destiny between worlds. Which world, or both, will she be living in. And that’s... actually pretty bare bones going into a finale. That’s more than little enough to cover in 55 minutes alongside some resolution for the other characters getting happy endings in a montage. And... If you didn’t notice, this is actually mostly what was left on the table for S3 in general except for more potential of the process of beating The Collector being more complicated and harder to do. And that’s where we get into the pins about Kikimora and Willow. They’re padding. It sucks to say, I don’t like it either, but without actually trying to finally use the coven heads as antagonists or have a more protracted conflict with The Collector and what he’s done to the Isles, you needed some way to have an episode in the Isles that still dealt with something specifically of the Isles in theory. And those things were chosen to be first Hexide, a setting that has hardly mattered for about a season at that point besides the fact that it gives a convenient meeting ground for Hunter to meet Gus and Willow... Characters who mostly didn’t matter in S2, and especially S2A for Willow. Second was Boscha and Kikimora for antagonists because one is a Hexide antagonist who stopped mattering before the end of S1 and then the person who had a big enough mech to theoretically even challenge the five strongest witches on the Isles. And then because Gus has a good relationship with most people, plus shipping with Matt, the conflict went instead to Willow. Instead of being clever with her arch and how the show has defined her role in the narrative, they go back to an issue dealt with literally in the first six episodes of the series as a representation for repression. Because out of control magic is totally what makes sense for repressing your emotions instead of, I dunno, her powers genuinely just not functioning because she’s plugged herself up too much. It’s not a bad angle mind you, it’s done fine enough and fits okay with the character, even now, but I also made an entire blog about Too Little Too Late because of it. But then we get to the other pins: Belos’ backstory and the changing of the Isles. These are... theoretically things they cover and expand but they’re also just not narratively critical at this point. Belos is indeed still the main villain but he’s motivated by spite and wanting to finish his goal of killing all witches more than he is by his backstory or logic so his reasoning hardly matters. The changing of the Isles also has mostly to do with selling the Collector as a threat and villain, things that are actually against the writer’s narrative goals. So a lot of things people are asking for are things that, from the standpoint of this being a show with limited time and a high cost of production, just... shouldn’t be covered. That time should more be spent refining finishing the plot and giving a satisfying ending. But when there’s so little to resolve, and characters have been either kind of flat or out of character for much of the season... Why should we be excited for the ending? Especially an ending that has effectively telegraphed itself even before a trailer was put out for it. What sucks about an ending like the Sopranos is that an audience can imagine a dozen ways for it to go down and an answer to that, especially in something they love, can be exhilarating. But in something like The Owl House, where the answers are obvious and only the minutia is up for debate, and much of that minutia could be painful or narratively backwards (OOOOOH BOY will it be a bad time for everyone if they bull the same thing they did with Amphibia and have Luz only live in the Human Realm and wish everyone on the Isles goodbye) then... Why should we be excited? It isn’t the conclusion of a story that has too many questions to be certain about or a villain we want so badly to see brought down that it’ll bring us true catharsis. It’s the ending of a world we once saw so much potential in and now are just hoping won’t die in its final moments. And honestly? For me? I wish the show had actually faced a cancellation because that world feels so small now that I’d rather it have just never been given an ending so we could play in the world as much as we desired and never had to face the prospect of one last, painful goodbye instead of a triumphant farewell.

#TOH #Season 3 #RAAAAAAMBLE

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syndianites · 3 years ago

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A Queen Serves and Protects

Chapter Three

First Chapter --> Last Chapter --> Current --> Next Chapter Summary:

Post-Style Queen, Pre-Queen Wasp.

Chloe finds the Bee Miraculous, but instead of finding an obliging, subservient Kwami, she finds the Kwami of Order and Subjugation, and Pollen is not about to let herself be used like Nooroo was.

Granted, the only danger in a teenage girl is the damage she poses to herself. Can Pollen shape Chloe into a hero? Or will she stubbornly refuse to change and remain the bitter, harsh person the city has long since known?

[My take on how Chloe’s character could have developed] ——————————————————————————————

Getting akumatized was a special sort of uncomfortable. But it was exhilarating in all the same ways. Everything that one felt became louder, bigger, something beyond what it used to be. It grew into power. The power to act and take what was yours.

For Chloe, it just made her more upset. The anger had almost fizzled out, but the akuma brought it back with a vengeance. But unlike the last time she had been akumatized, her sorrow manifested much stronger than her rage.

Her skin darkened to a deep blue, almost purple, like the edge of the night sky after the sun had set. Where her hair had been in a high ponytail, it was undone and draped down and around her face. It looked stuck together and damp as though she had just been rained on. Chloe’s makeup looked washed out and runny both from her own tears and the transformation.

Most notably, her clothes became a simple long t-shirt and sweatpants that looked worn down and overused. The pants were a bright, light blue, while the shirt was a dark, deep crimson. To top it off, her sunglasses molded into a hat not unlike what her mother wore, but with goggles inlaid into them.

Without a word, Chloe put her hands before her and a large pair of scissors, easily the size of her chest, formed in her hand. Transformation complete, she turned on a dime and walked out the locker room.

A moment of silence followed before Pollen poked her head out the locker she had hidden away in. “Well, this isn’t good.”

//////

Marinette had never been so uncomfortable in her life. That included that time when she was seven and her twice removed cousins from her dad’s side came over and asked her why she didn’t wear dresses if she liked making them so much. And that one time she stepped foot first into a mud puddle, lost her shoe, and had to walk home with a sock soaked in mud.

It was bad.

Audrey, once Chloe had stormed out, continued on her tirade. “Ugh, how dramatic. Little Charlie needs to learn her place. She simply can’t compare to talent like yours, dear.”

Starting at being addressed, Marinette gave her a pinched smile.

“Now,” Audrey continued. “You simply must come to New York with me. The opportunities are endless, and skill such as yours would flourish under my attention!”

Her heart skipped a beat. New York was a big deal for fashion. Next to Paris, it was the place to be, and opening up her contacts to overseas big names would be a huge step for her career.

But could she work with someone this awful?

Sure, Marinette didn’t like Chloe, but even she thought that how her own mother treated her was cruel. It made her feel bad for the girl. It explained a lot about her, and for a moment Marinette considered being nicer to Chloe.

Not that that would make Chloe suddenly decide to be a good person. It would take the inevitable explosion of the sun for that to happen.

“I-i, um, I need to think about it, Mrs. Bourgeois.” Marinette glanced over at her parents. “I have a lot to consider about leaving or staying, and my parents still need my help at the bakery.”

Her parents, and oh how she loved them, spoke up immediately, “Oh, we can manage the bakery dear! Don’t worry about little old us, what’s important is your future.”

Please, take the hint guys.

Before Marinette can struggle to find more excuses to deny her request, Adrien pipes up, “Mrs. Bourgeois,” he flashes her an award winning smile, “Don’t you think that the way Chloe was handled was a bit… out of hand?” Gabriel laid a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, squeezing it gently before sharing a look with Natalie and wandering off.

Audrey rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “Oh, darling, for such a sweet thing you can be so daft. Girls like that need a quick strike down before they let their misguidedness get to their head.”

Adrien, for his part, kept smiling. For those who knew him well enough, they could see the twitch in his eye as he struggled not to snap at the woman. “Ah, my apologies. In my experience, the best growth comes from a guiding hand that focuses on building a person up rather than tearing them down. But I suppose, for a critic, that is not the case at all. Though, the modelling experience is often different from the experience of those who make judgement calls on others’ hard work.”

Bringing a hand to her chest, Audrey sniffs derisively. “Sure, dear. Of course, most models are meant to make anything they wear look pretty, so it can be hard to see where their accessories are lacking when all they see is themselves.”

Marinette wanted to desperately be anywhere but where she was standing. She almost wished that someone had bust in with the Bee miraculous and caused a scene just so she could excuse herself.

She’d rather deal with her own mistakes a million fold over than this.

Mayor Andre, for his part, smiled a shaky press smile as he tried to talk his wife down.

Adrien, fed up with Audrey, grabbed Marinette ’s hand and pulled her away quickly. Natalie spared him a glance before going to converse with his bodyguard.

“Can you believe her!” Adrien simmered. “How cruel can you be to your own child!”

Marinette laughed awkwardly. “I mean, at least we know where Chloe gets it from?”

Adrien rounded on her. “Chloe is not as bad as her!”

Taking a step back, she watched Adrien wide-eyed. He sighed, taking a breath to calm himself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. That display was just awful.”

He ran a hand through his hair, mussing up carefully styled locks.

Hesitating, Marinette asked, “Is she… always like that?”

Adrien gave a tense nod. “Since we were young. Chloe always wanted her mother’s support, but well,” he waved his hand back in her direction, “You try reasoning with that.”

Before either could pick the conversation back up the front doors to the building burst open. Carrying comically large scissors and dressed as what could only be called a fashion disaster was an akuma that looked one bad day away from a mental breakdown.

Or, well, in the middle of a breakdown.

“Audrey Bourgeois! You claim to recognize talent when you see it, but failed to see how your own daughter can be exceptional. Well, I am the Queen Killer and if I cannot be exceptional then no one can! I’ll cut your reign to shreds.” The akuma accented her speech with a threatening snip of her scissors before launching forward at the Style Queen.

Before anyone could react, Queen Killer had Audrey between her blades and closed. A thing, white line appeared where the blades connected and, as Queen drew her weapon away, there was a horrifying moment where Marinette was sure Audrey was split into two pieces.

Instead, a dark shadow started spilling out of Audrey, enveloping her body as she screamed. When the shadow dissipates, a twisted, snarling version of Audrey that looked like she was fused together with five other versions of herself appeared. It lashed out at those around her, screeching and clawing at them.

Queen Killer laughed. “Now everyone will see how hideous and cruel you are!”

Marinette jolted out her shock as Adrien roughly pulled her away. This, unfortunately, brought Queen’s attention to them as the rest of the room also began to run.

“Dupain-Cheng!” If she had any doubt that that was Chloe, she had none now. ”You stole my mother’s love from me!”

As Queen launched forward with her scissors open, Marinette screamed, “That was not my intention! I didn’t know she would ask me to go to New York with her all over a hat!”

Alas, her pleas were not enough. Stuck in her civilian form, Marinette could not outrun the enraged Queen. Twin blades circled around her waist and cut, forcing Marinette to stumble and fall.

Adrien, worried for his friend, stopped and tried to go back for her. But, between a snarling Queen and Marinette urging him to keep running as a dark shadow overtook her, he kept running. The best thing for Marinette would be Chat Noir and Ladybug. He would have time to check on her later.

Marinette , meanwhile, felt the shadows come off her and… she looked the same. For a moment, she was confused. What was the akuma’s power supposed to be?

But then it bubbled up. Nothing physical. No, that would be too easy. As she looked up towards Queen and thought ‘I need to transform into Ladybug’ a wave of crushing doubt and insecurity gripped her throat.

She would just mess up again. Like she had when she started out, when she lost the Bee miraculous, and every time she let someone get harmed by an akuma. There was no way she could do this. Chat Noir would be better off without her.

As the building cleared and Queen ran out to terrorize the fleeing patrons, Marinette stayed on the ground, shaking. What could she do? Make things worse? Disappoint all of Paris? Put Fu and Chat Noir in danger?

Distantly, she heard someone talking to her, urging her to get up and move. The voice disappeared as he heard footsteps and she was lifted into someone’s arms. A hop, skip, and a jump later had her safely placed down on a chair in a private room, looking into the eyes of Chat Noir. His eyebrows were brought together in concern.

“Stay here, okay? I promise Ladybug and I will fix things for you.” He offered a reassuring smile before dashing out of the room.

When she couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, Tikki flew out of her pocket. “ Marinette !” The little ladybug placed her paws on her face, getting her to look at Tikki. “Are you okay? What happened after she cut you?”

Shaking her head, Marinette focused on her breathing. ‘C’mon Mari,’ she thought to herself, ‘You can’t let Chat do this alone.’

“I, uh,” she looked back at Tikki, “It’s so bad Tikki. I’m going to mess up and make things worse. Like yesterday with the Bee miraculous! I lost it! Instead of getting help, I lost a potential ally and a powerful magical artifact. If I can’t even keep track of things placed under my care, how can I protect Paris?”

Tikki was at a loss for words. This reminded her so much of the Marinette she first met- unconfident, afraid, and so uncertain in her actions. It was like the cut brought out all the most hurtful parts of herself…

“ Marinette ,” Tikki began, “We all make mistakes. What’s important is working to fix them. Sure, if you do nothing you can’t mess up or disappoint people, but you also can’t grow and succeed. Paris needs its Ladybug, regardless of what the people think of you. I know you can do this. Chat will be there to help you too, I’m sure of it.”

Doubt in her eyes, Marinette nodded. While her doubts and insecurity swirled in her mind, the urge to help others reigned supreme. She had to at least stop the akuma and set things back to normal.

“Alright Tikki,” Marinette swallowed thickly. “Spots On!”

///////////

Chat was not having a good time.

His first thought upon finding Queen snipping people in half with her scissors was that he could easily beat her in combat. What could she do with a pair of large scissors when he had a versatile staff?

A lot, apparently.

As he dodged backwards from another attempt to cut him in half from Queen, he tossed a jab her way. “So is clashing colors the new look, or did I miss the memo?”

Queen huffed at him, “Says the boy in full leather! I would know a fashion disaster when I see one!”

She ran at him again, holding the scissors completely open so she could swipe at him with a blade. Chat blocked it with his staff, before pushing her away as she tried to close the blades on him.

“Excuse you, Queenie!” He retorted. “I’ll have you know that my outfit is purr-fect.”

Clearly, she disagreed, if the groan and slash at him was anything to go by.

What a party pooper.

But what was worse was that he couldn’t get close enough to her to properly disarm her. Nor could he figure out where the akuma was while trying his best to not get cut in half. Chat needed to regroup with Ladybug, but she was nowhere in sight.

Biting his lip, Chat jumped back and up onto a rooftop. Giving Queen Killer a salute, he started away from her.

“Get back here you mangy cat!” Queen simmered on the ground below where he ran off. “You better bring back Ladybug so I can take you both off your high horse!”

///////////

Pollen was not the best at sneaking around. Not for lack of trying, of course, but people were ingrained to see a blur of yellow and the sound of buzzing and think ‘Bee!’ It didn’t help that she was larger than the average bee.

What did help, however, was people being too busy staring at an akuma running full tilt down the street to pay attention to the yellow being that was trying to stay unnoticed behind them. So Pollen got a front row seat to Queen’s akuma speech and display of her powers. When Chat Noir showed up she waited for her chance to talk to him or Ladybug whenever she came around.

And, well, there went Chat running for his life.

Pollen sighed. At least flying along rooftops was less obvious than following an akuma.

After shooting past building after building, she manages to get closer to the black blur that was Chat Noir. He was vaulting along, keeping an eye out as he worked on not plummeting to the ground. When he finally stopped to catch his breath, Pollen nearly sped past him.

As Chat retracts his staff and starts to dial Ladybug, Pollen drops down in front of him. “Oh!” He stumbles back, “Hello? Who are you?”

Pollen smooths out her fluff and offers a paw. “I am Pollen, Kwami and Order and Subjugation, and the one who dwells inside the Bee Miraculous. You must be Chat Noir. A pleasure.”

Chat, mystified, offers a finger. “Nice to meet you. I thought you would be with Master Fu and your miraculous?”

“Ah, well,” Pollen tilted her head. “Did Ladybug not tell you?”

He pinched his lips. “No?”

“Ladybug lost my miraculous in the fight with Style Queen. You weren’t there, though, were you?” Pollen considered him for a moment. “I don’t blame you for that, nor do I blame Ladybug for losing my miraculous. But that isn’t important right now.”

Accepting the hand Chat placed out for her, she settles into his palm. “I need to talk to you and Ladybug, but the akuma is our first priority. What do you know about them?”

“Well,” Chat began, “I believe it is Chloe Bourgeois. But as for the akuma,” He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, “I’m not too sure. My current two guesses are her scissors or her hat, since she normally doesn’t have either on her.”

Pollen nodded thoughtfully, despite having seen the akuma land in Chloe’s sunglasses. There was no way she could tell Chat Noir without him having at least some suspicions as to who she was with at the moment. At the very least, he could narrow it down to who had been around Chloe when she transformed.

Chat pushed on. “Even if we managed to subdue Queen Killer and get the akuma out, we wouldn’t be able to do anything until Ladybug gets here to purify it. The best we can do is wait and try to stop as much damage as possible.”

“Actually,” Pollen butt in, with a slow smile spreading across her face, “I may have a solution to that.” Chat tipped his head to the side. “I can immobilize people with my power. As long as I can hold onto the power they will remain frozen, or until I touch them to let them free.”

He perked up, stars in his eyes. “Like how Plagg can use Cataclysm when he’s himself! That’s perfect, Pollen.”

She nodded eagerly, before stopping. “Wait, did you not know kwamis can use their own power?”

Chat looked confused, but nodded slowly. “I didnt figure that out until he used it to free from an akuma a while ago.”

Pollen buzzed, frustrated, before saying, “The Guardian should have told you that! It’s important for a holder to know about their miraculous and kwami, especially a trouble maker like Plagg.”

“Well,” Chat scuffed his foot on the roof, “I don’t speak to the Guardian that much. Last time we talked was when he came to my house and talked about the Miracle Box and such.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Pollen moved out of Chat’s hand and floated in an irritated circle. “You should be just as informed as Ladybug. It’s not fair to you or her to pile information on one of you and expect the other to just go along with it!”

Chat shrugged. “That’s how it’s been for most of it. Besides, I trust Ladybug with my life.”

“But, when keeping so many secrets, can she trust hers with you?” Pollen replied with a meaningful look in her eyes.

She received no response. Instead of dwelling on the matter, she urged Chat to get back to Queen Killer. They still had a job to do, after all.

/////////

Ladybug arrived on the scene to find Chat nowhere in site and Queen Killer happily snipping at random citizens. Great. Before she can engage with the akuma, she hesitates. Could she really do this without Chat? What if she lost her miraculous because she let her civilian self get hit with the akuma’s power?

Shaking her head, she prepared to head in when a flash of black caught her eye. The familiar form of Chat pole vaulting across the rooftops to her left filled her with a sense of relief. She really, seriously needed to keep it together.

Taking a second, she throws her yo-yo to wrap around a chimney in Chat’s path. Her heart races as she tests the line and jumps. Shit, shit, shit, she’s gonna hit the wall, then Queen will notice her, then-

She made it on the roof with two scraped knees. Not flawless, but still unseen. Chat landed beside her, more than happy to see his Lady. A frown creased his brow as he took in her demeanor.

“Are you alright?” He checks her over for wounds, but comes back with nothing beyond a few scratches. “Did something happen?”

Ladybug goes to dismiss the idea before Tikki’s words ring in her head again ‘Chat will be there to help you too.’ Shaking her head, she gave Chat a grimace. “Queen managed to cut me while I was in my civilian form. Even after I transformed the effects are bothering me. It’s… brought back a lot of my insecurity and confidence issues. But we can do this, I know we can.”

Chat nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, I have a plan. And some back up.”

“Backup?”

A yellow figure lands on Chat’s shoulder. “Hello, Ladybug. It’s nice to see you again.”

Blinking in shock, Ladybug exclaims, “You’re the kwami from the Bee miraculous! Oh god, another thing I messed up, I’m so, so sorry.”

Pollen holds up a paw, stopping her. “It’s not your fault. You were in a tight situation and did the best you could. Besides, I’m with someone who may be a good ally in the future. They just need time.”

Chat and Pollen brought Ladybug up to speed on their ideas, to which she poked and prodded at. They exchanged glances before nodding and Chat and Pollen split. Still standing on the roof, Ladybug calls her Lucky Charm. It dropped from the sky as a red and black spotted crowbar.

Keeping the crowbar in hand, Ladybug drew Queen’s attention with a hit to her scissors. “Hey!” Ladybug called out, “Don’t you know scissors are dangerous?”

Queen Killer growled back, “Of course you would start preaching at me, little miss perfect. I bet everyone in the whole city loves you. Well I’m here to cut your heroic tales short!” She launched forward, bouncing off a car and digging her scissors into the side of the building to propel her up to the rooftop to get on Ladybug’s level.

Ladybug, in a quick move, flipped over her and flung her yo-yo around the scissors to send Queen flying back to the ground. Before she could hit a lamppost, Queen dug the blades into the street to slow herself down, only to run back to Ladybug.

‘Good,’ Ladybug thought to herself, ‘Keep coming.’

In the moments before Queen got back in range, Ladybug took a moment to eye the area around her for clues on how to use the Lucky Charm. Nothing stood out, so she sprung from the rooftop to land before Queen and send her yo-yo swinging at her feet.

Queen, quick to the punch, lowered her scissors to cut the yo-yo string. Ah, what a lovely and easy mistake to make when fighting a person who used scissors with a string based weapon. Panicking, Ladybug brought up the crowbar to stop the scissors from striking her.

Pulling back, Queen raced in again with the blades open, looking to trap Ladybug the same way she had Chat in their fight before. Ladybug readied her crowbar, bringing it up to block again. Queen smirked, shutting the blades in a smooth motion. By luck or skill, Ladybug managed to sidestep the action, getting the crowbar’s hook caught in between the blades. Seeing her chance, Ladybug used the hook to pull the scissors from Queen’s hands.

Spitting a curse, Queen abandoned her scissors to tackle Ladybug.

Chat, meanwhile, called forth his Cataclysm and rushed the scissors, destroying them with a touch. When no akuma appeared, he looked back confused. Queen kept fighting Ladybug, managing to get the upper hand as Ladybug hesitated in kicking her off. As Queen pinned Ladybug’s hand with one of her own and reached for her miraculous Chat sprung towards her.

He wouldn’t make it in time.

But Queen stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide beneath the wide-brimmed hat. Pollen popped up from behind her, giving Ladybug a little giggle. “Sorry, I meant to do that a little earlier.”

This time with no reservations, Ladybug pushed Queen off of her. Chat bounded over to her to help her up, to which she shook her head and pointed at Queen. “Find the akuma.”

Receiving a nod, she picked herself up to retrieve the cut off part of her yo-yo. Chat, in this time, took Queen’s hat and ripped it. For good measure, he broke the goggles on them as well. Lo and behold, the akuma haphazardly fluttered out. Before it could escape, Ladybug snapped it up in her yo-yo.

“Bye, bye little butterfly,” Ladybug murmured, letting it fly off into the sky. With a nod to her partner, she threw her crowbar into the air and let forth the rush of ladybugs to fix the damage done.

Pollen, seeing Chloe safely de-akumatized, gave Chat a little nod before rushing off. He made a move to go after her when a bawl reached his ears. Chloe, freshly purified, was trying her best to keep it together. But as Chat knelt to help her to her feet, she jumped him for a hug.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m sorry that I was too pathetic to not get akumatized again. My mother was right about me, I’m so, so sorry.”

Chat rubbed her back slowly. “What your mother said was cruel and unfounded. You’re not pathetic at all, Chloe.”

“And it’s definitely not your fault. Even the strongest, most exceptional people can get akumatized,” Ladybug added, “Besides, even heroes have bad days.” Not that she considered Chloe even close to a hero.

Andre chose this moment to come bustling through the doors of the building behind them. “Princess, my darling!”

Seeing that she was in good hands, Chat and Ladybug pound their fists together and part ways.

Ladybug, however, is stopped by Pollen two blocks over. “There you are! Thank goodness. Can you show me where your miraculous is so I can return it to Master Fu?”

“No,” Pollen told her quietly, “But I want to ask you to trust me. I’ve found someone who needs my help. Maybe one day she could be a great hero, maybe not. But this person has gone through a lot of heartbreak and I don’t want to be another person that leaves her behind. I want you to tell Fu that I have decided to stay with them.”

“Wait, but what about secrecy? How will we know they won't spread the word about the miraculous or accidentally lead Hawkmoth to you?” Ladybug fretted, cupping her hands for Pollen to land in.

“I haven’t told her the transformation words, yet.” Pollen stroked her hand reassuringly. “That way if things go south I can still manage to keep my power from being abused. Please, Ladybug, trust me.”

Biting her lip, Ladybug hesitantly nodded. “Please stay safe, Pollen. If you ever need my help don’t hesitate to ask.”

Giving her a bright smile, Pollen floated up to nuzzle Ladybug’s forehead. After giving parting words, they went off in different directions.

Hopefully, Pollen hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #chloe bourgeois #chloe bourgeois redemption #ladybug #marianette dupaign-cheng #chat noir #adrien agreste #pollen #pollen (ladybug)#pollen the kwami #bee kwami #tikki #plagg #marinette dupain cheng

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zeldas-cigarrette · 4 years ago

Text

Blue velvet. (1)

⎯ zelda spellman x reader

⎯ word count : 1,2k

⎯ warnings: grieve

⎯ ❥ author’s note : I tried something. I’m not sure how this is gonna turn out but I’m planning more parts and I hope some of you like it:) xx

Part two

❀ ❃ ❀ ❃ ❀ ❃ ❀ ❃ ❀ ❃ ❀ ❃ ❀ ❃

✿ ✼ ✿ ✼ ✿ ✼ ✿ ✼ ✿ ✼ ✿ ✼ ✿ ✼

You have been friends with Zelda for as long as you can remember, you loved her a lot but you never knew how to communicate it and when Hilda called you the other day and told you what happened to Sabrina, you hurried to their mortuary as quick as possible. The journey from Europe to Greendale took you only two days, but it felt like years. You wanted to comfort Zelda as soon as possible. You knew how much she loved Sabrina and how devastated and empty she must feel.

When you reached the Spellman property your heartfelt heavy as if it would slip into your pocket any second. You took a deep breath before you knocked on the front door. Hearing the birds chirp and seeing how bright the sun shone felt cynical despite the fact in how much pain the household of the Spellman’s must be. Seconds later the front door opened and Hilda, the usually quirky and happy Brit, stood in the door frame. „Hilda...,” your breath hitched when you looked in her eyes. They were filled with sadness and hopelessness, you never saw her in that state and with that, you couldn’t imagine in which state Zelda must be. You wrapped your arms around the smaller blonde woman and tried to soothe her with your words, but it only made her tear up. She pulled you into the house and before you could react she took you jacket and put it on the hook.

„How are you Hilda?” you ask keeping your voice down. You could imagine her response, you could understand. „I- I mean it’s been two weeks since-“ her soft voice stopped while she tried to suppress tears slipping out of her eyes. „I get it, she was your niece and you have every right to grieve. Sabrina was such a smart and good-hearted girl, I miss her too,” you whispered and took her hand in yours. The blonde nodded and you followed her in the kitchen. It was neatly cleaned, it looked as nothing happened, while the family’s life was so cruelly destroyed everything seemed to go its normal way. „Zelda is upstairs in her room, she barely leaves it,” Hilda explained while filling the kettle with water.

„I’ll go upstairs and see how she’s doing,” you declared and turned towards the door. „Be careful, she hardly wants anyone in her room except Mambo and me sometimes,” she proclaimed. You wondered who Mambo was but you didn’t want to ask, fearing it was the wrong moment. You noted in the information before heading up to the red-headed witch’s room. You took a deep breath before knocking on her bedroom door, you wanted to be sensitive but you were afraid of failing.

There was no answer for your knock so you decided to just go inside, trying to survive. You knew exactly how furious Zelda can get, but you hoped when she sees you she’ll relax. Stepping through the wooden door frame you came to see a curled up Zelda hiding underneath a blanket. „Zelds...” your voice was soft scared she’d twitch away. Just a slight whimper let you know she was awake. Slowly and very carefully you walked over to her bed, sat next to her and placed your hand on her back. Only the unsteady breathing of hers could be heard. You’ve never seen her like this since the death of her parents, Zelda had built back her walls, earned back her tough facade.

Her face was covered with her red locks they were spread on the pillow. „Y/n, what are you doing here?” the witch slightly raised her head and eyes you. „I came to see how you were doing.” Your hands comfortingly travelled up and down her back, trying to soothe her. The older women hugged your waist burying her face in your lap. „I am so sorry Zelda, I know how hard it is for you, you loved her so much,” your fingers untangled her hair. There was no word spoken, neither did she move, the woman fell asleep on your lap. Her soft snores confirming that she had a peaceful rest. Not even the loud thuds that came from downstairs could wake her. You didn’t need Zelda to talk, she will if she’s ready.

˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ

You carefully placed Zelda’s head on her pillow again before you headed towards the kitchen, where Hilda and her nephew Ambrose sat. „She’s asleep,” you sighed and plopped yourself on one of the chairs. „How did you do tha-“

„I don’t know Hilda, she fell asleep on me,” you cut her off before placing a hand above hers. „She’s restless and she’s grieving. But it won’t work if there’s nobody to talk to, I will try to be there for her,” you reassured her.

You knew exactly how hard it could be to grieve over the loss of someone you love. Two centuries ago your dad died, it took you decades to get over it but it felt like a thousand years. He was that happy-go-lucky guy that everyone just loved, his appearance made clear that he was a softie. Your dad always sat in front of his house, reading the comic section in the newspaper, cackling over the sketched scenes.

Quickly, you shook off the unwanted memory staring in the empty mug in front of you, only seeing little rest of the tea in it. Only a slight crescent of the sun was visible on the clouded sky. A loud thud on the door made you jump. „That Must be Mambo,” the blonde witch remarked and scurried into the hallway. „Who is Mambo?” your question was addressed to Ambrose. „Aunt Zee wouldn’t tell us, but they’re kind of a thing,” the boy replied and scratched his back with his magic wand. An unpleasant sting in your chest made you flinch for a second but you managed to gather your emotions again. „Are you currently at least okay?” you asked him when you saw his pained expression on his face.

„Well, it’s alright I guess. Deep down I’m still hoping that this here is all long and cruel nightmare from which I might wake up any second,” The warlock explained. You nodded knowingly of how hard it must be to grieve over your Cousin, the one with whom you’ve spent years of your life living together. Though the girl caused trouble, he had to solve it and in the end, both of them were able to peacefully sleep in their beds again.

When the beautiful woman who was known as ,Mambo Marie’ entered the kitchen you couldn’t avert your gaze. It was like a star just lit the room. No wonder why Zelda loves her so much. „Hi, I’m Y/n” you reached out your hand.

The woman with the perfect brown skin gladly took it before she introduced herself. „My name is Mambo Marie.” Marie’s voice was like a rain shower on a summer day. The presence of the witch released the tensed atmosphere and for a moment it felt as everything has got back to normal.

˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ

Sounds of frogs were audible when you laid in your bed at the mortuary. All of your thoughts belonged to Zelda and you knew why you two only had contact over the phone. You loved her too much, you got jealous whenever she told you about a new significant other and when you saw that stunning witch earlier it only endorsed your distance.

Slowly but surely your eyelids got heavier and you fell into a sound sleep.

#caos #caos imagine #chilling adventures of sabrina #greendale #fanfic #fanfiction #hilda spellman #madam satan #sabrina spellman #sapphic #wlw #wlw love #zelda spellman #zelda spellman x reader

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