#she and Eugene platonically love each other and that’s enough

[i-am-befuddled]

Finally finished Tangled the Series. I get it. I am distraught. Cass and Raps are so gay for each other it’s not even funny

[dustandshadows8]

Why I think Wednesday is demiromantic or greyromantic 

(None of this fan art is mine I found it on Pinterest so credits to the og artists your talent is incredible.)

First, of all for all you beautiful people who have forgotten or didn't know these two definitions, let's take a look:

A grey romantic person:

is a person with a romantic orientation that is somewhere between aromantic and romantic.

For example, a gray-romantic may:  -Experience romantic attraction but not very often.  -Experience romantic attraction, but not desire romantic relationships.  -Desire relationships which are not quite platonic and not quite romantic.

A demiromantic person:

is a person who cannot feel a romantic attraction to someone until a strong emotional connection is established. The emotional connection can be any number of things from a prolonged talking stage to a sexual relationship turning to more. It depends on the case and all people are different on how they feel emotional connections with others.

At the beginning of the show Wednesday says that she does not have any interest in being like her Mother and falling in love and getting married. (Just like to say the proud aroacespec positivity I got form hearing those words...)

First of all this indicates that Wednesday does not consider herself a allo person, she has romantic feelings and has decided to never act on them or she has never experienced romantic attraction before (demiromantic/greyromatic?).

However as the show progresses we can see her form what can be interpreted as romantic bonds with two people.

(And will be by a wider straight/cis/allo audience who might not understand the aroacespec coding in the show.)

But, more importantly, she also forms a possibly stronger platonic bond with Enid.

Wednesday's relationship with Enid progresses in a healthy way. They get to know each other. At the beginning of their relationship they have a tape across the floor which nether of them cross, even at the end when Enid thinks he's saying goodbye for ever she does not hug Wednesday because she knows she doesn't like it. They respect each others boundaries.

Across the show we see their friendship deepen and Wednesday begin to more openly return Enid's affections.

One of the most important things to take from this is the speed of, said, progression.

It takes the whole show for Wednesday to be comfortable enough to hug Enid, which shows he level of trust she has gained for her new friend. She doesn't even accept affection from her family.

And, just as importantly, there is still room for a lot of growth in their relationship.

How does this tie into the grey/demiromantic theory?

Well, as Enid and Eugene are the only two people who Wednesday willingly calls her friends (correct me if I'm wrong my memory is shit) and Enid is the (potential?) romantic interest in the situation, she has obviously formed an emotional connection with her and only after she has formed an emotional connection will she allow Enid to hug her.

It ties pretty perfectly into the Demi category.

Now we have to address something else.

The boys.

First of all, especially as an ace (maybe grey or Demiromatic?) person myself, the relationships with both of them seem very rushed and forced.

It seems to me, that she only uses them to find information about the case. The whole show, everything, even the kiss all looked like a ploy for information.

After she suspects Xaviour she turns on him pretty quick. Would she do that if she really cares about him? And she has no problems with being against Tyler in the final.

All through the show her interactions with them are abrupt and harsh, she often forgets about them to continue her investigations, she frequently appears to have no regard to their feelings.

Why would she treat them so badly if she cared about them?

And why would her reserved personality allow her to progress two relationships so fast?

So how does the grey/demiromanticism link into these situations?

It's her extreme awkward and unusual reactions and treatment of both guys that leads me to think that a) she doesn't romantically like ether of them and b) she truly doesn't know how to interact with someone she has a crush on.

Sometime, when your feelings have deepened from some previous emotional connection, it is a lot easier to ignore them.

And Wednesday has never formed such a connection before Enid.

How would she know how to act and show romantic affection?

The stuff you see on T.V looks stupid. People meet each other, go on cute dates, have an mis-communication, get back together, kiss in the rain.

Where is the realism in that? Where is the emotional bonding the inability to understand emotions? The questioning of feelings?

Is this just how allo relationships are portrayed in the media or do people really just know if they like someone, that easily?

I genuinely don't know if some people just know if they like someone without months of questioning.

And Wednesday probably wouldn't ether.

Which is why she tries to make her relationship so like that, quick and easy, even though the emotions (that I'm assuming allos manage to feel after like two weeks or something) aren't there. Instead it's just the words and actions without any feelings.

So, it's the build up of her and Enid's relationship, her reactions to the boys advances especially in the cliche development of their relationships that feels so forced that and doesn't suit her personality at all that leads me to think that Wednesday is ether grey or demiromantic.

As for the ace part in both.

Maybe I'm just self projecting. But does that girl really appear allo to you?

Really?

[chipmunkfanno1love]

Favourite Ship Tag Game

Since tag games are so popular around here, I thought I’d give it a go and make my own. :D

Choose 4 romantic ships (fictional couples and/or fictional characters you *wish* were couples) you love from any fictional source whether it be books, movies, TV shows, mobile/video games, etc. Please also reference the fictional source they come from. The list doesn’t have to be in any particular order.

Give your reasons why you love this couple and/or why you think they’d *make* a great couple. If you can, please include a picture or GIF of the couple.

Tag 5 of your followers to share this game with. You may choose to tag more or less if you wish, but I do recommend choosing 5. No pressure, just please share this game with others for the sake of spreading the word. 

Please be respectful of others and there opinions. No abuse please. :( Also, have fun. :D

*Warning*: Story spoilers ahead.

1. Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert/”Flynn Rider” from the Tangled franchise.

I love these two because they are beautiful example of a healthy relationship. They love and support each other selflessly in their goals and dreams and never try to pressure the other into doing what they aren’t ready for. They are always there to support each other and build the other up to become the best versions of themselves.  

Rapunzel helped Eugene find the selfless, loving man underneath the selfish, vain thief, while Eugene gave Rapunzel the courage to live her dream and break herself free from the manipulative Mother Gothel’s control and find the truth about her real parents and her being the lost princess. They’re each others New Dream and I love that about them. :D

Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi did amazing in these roles. 

-

2. Branch and Poppy from the “Trolls” franchise

I love these two because they are adorable examples of opposites-attract. Poppy is the bubbly, endlessly optimistic princess turned queen of the Pop Trolls, while Branch is the grumpy but realistic former hermit with a heart of gold.

Poppy helps Branch to see the bright side of things and helps him to find his true colours, while Branch keeps Poppy grounded and realistic when she takes her plans too far and is always there to help her out when she needs him. 

I hope these two marry some day and Branch becomes Poppy’s king consort. They make a great team - romantically, plantonically and just generally as trolls.

I also love Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. Their singing voices are amazing. :D

-

3. Callum and Rayla from “The Dragon Prince” 

A great example of the enemies to friends to lovers trope (though they’re currently on the outs romantically). These two have a beautiful bond that grows naturally over the course of 3 seasons. Despite being estranged due to 2 years apart in Season 4, the two are slowly and naturally repairing their broken bond and I hope in time these two will not only repair their friendship but eventually fall in love all over again and get back together as a stronger and much more mature couple. 

-

4. Simon and Jeanette from the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise

The adorkably nerdy pair and *Smart Ones* of their respective musical trios, The Chipmunks and The Chipettes. Despite being similar in their intelligence levels, the two are still different enough from each other that aren’t clones of the other. Jeanette is more shy and compassionate in temprament to Simon’s more snarky, deadpanned wit. He’s always there to catch her when she falls (most of the time literally, lol) and she’s always there to support him and cheer him up when his inventions are ruined (mostly by his irresponsible brother, Alvin).

Though they are still a bit young and shy to start a serious relationship with each other, it’s obvious this adorable pair were made for each other. They do and will make an adorable pair - romantically, platonically and acemedically. 

-

I tag @16magnolias , @briarosabelle , @creativefictionlover , @psalm40speakstome and @travelinglighttoday . Though anyone can feel free to play if they wise to. Have fun! :D

[captain-crackship]

Just finished Wednesday. My thoughts.

This might be a little too spicy for Tumblr, but some of you didn’t finish the first season. You watched, what? A couple episodes? And made a judgement call on that? So I will debunk a few of the rumors going around Tumblr about the show. Namely, the queerbaiting and racism claims. This post will be sectioned off so not to create a huge wall of text on people’s dash.

Starting with the first issue: Queerbaiting. Who better qualified to discuss this than a queer person?

Your first complaint was that the dynamic between Wednesday and Enid were clearly hinting at a sapphic relationship that was never confirmed. This was not the case. Enid’s romantic interest from the start was a male character. Wednesday I’m willing to believe is on the ace spectrum, at most demiromantic. Would they be cute together? Yes. They’re one of my newest ships. But believe it or not, two people of the same gender can just be friends and love each other platonically. You need to learn what a headcanon is and stop making it everyone’s problem. This issue runs rampant in another fandom I’m in and I’ve seen it enough times to recognize it.

Your second complaint with queerbaiting was Eugene’s moms. A major supporting character had two moms that are minor characters within the show. They didn’t appear for a split second in one episode. They appeared at least twice across two episodes and had spoken lines and dialogue with the main cast for both appearances. In your hyperfixation on Eugene’s moms you missed the other minor queer rep at the Rave’N. There was a sapphic couple at that dance but they were background extras with no spoken lines. Neither of these instances are queerbaiting. Queer normalization at best, and tokenization at worst.

Contrary to what conservatives may tell you, we’re not out to force queerness into your everyday lives and indoctrinate your children. We are regular people. We are also vocal minorities with active communities. You will see more queer people in a city like Montreal than you ever will in a small backwater in Vermont because we gravitate toward our communities where we feel safe. I live in a backwater in the Deep South. I have one other friend here who is a lesbian and I hear people talk shit about her all the time. If there are more like us here they’re closeted for that very reason. It’s not safe to be openly queer in rural communities.

The second issue you had with the show is racism.

I will not defend Tim Burton. He is a racist. He has said egregious things about Black people and the Black community and he is notorious for casting Black actors exclusively as antagonists in his works. That is not the case with Wednesday.

Bianca may have started out as a bully but she became friends with Wednesday as the season progressed and helped her to defeat one of the season’s villains-- a white colonizer who burned outcasts in a barn. She has also been given a backstory as a troubled teen whose mother is in an MLM-slash-cult.

Lucas? Sympathized with the outcasts at Nevermore and had remorse for his actions at Pilgrim World and the Rave’N. Also became friends with Bianca, who steered him away from his mother’s MLM. Even his father was ready and willing to work with Nevermore to solve the murders around Jericho. These are realistic characters with redeeming qualities, not the one-dimensional villains Burton is known for like Crackstone and Thornhill-- who, let me reiterate, are white and racist toward the outcasts of the show. Outcasts that could reasonably be seen as stand-ins for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC.

In conclusion: The Tumblr Wednesday discourse is an excellent example of why critical thinking skills are important and to not be terminally online. Also Wednesday is a good show and you should watch it.

[pansy-picnics]

just wondering what are some of your new dream/cassunzel/uknighted dream headcanons?

i have SOOOO many omfg OK

- i like to imagine cassandra and rapunzel had like….kind of a confession in peev but it wasnt really discussed in depth nor did they actually untangle their feelings for each other so i dont think they actually get together until cass comes back after being gone for a few years. honestly at this point rapunzel still thinks her feelings for cass are platonic so like💀💀💀

this means when cass DOES leave we cue rapunzels Gay Longing (tm) as she does things that she swears are totally platonic like wearing the tunics she left behind and spending hours reading each letter she sends because she has to take in every word and appreciate every last bit of her essence. she sniffs the envelopes because they still have cassandra’s scent on them and. yeah she’s down bad

and eugene can obviously TELL theres something Not Platonic here. but he can also tell rapunzel doesn’t realize it herself and its not his place to just Tell Her so he has to do his best to urge her in the right direction. he’s incredibly open to discussing it and tells her its ok to process those feelings and figure them out. i think rapunzel having a close female friend would rlly help her understand those feelings and she’s like “OHHH so girls DONT just want to kiss each other on the lips as like a friend thing….huh”. i’m only half joking btw.

in my head i like to see that friend being anna…i rewatched the first frozen movie the other day while i was drawing and i need to draw them sometime bc they hold a very special place in my heart

anyways i like to imagine cass coming home to visit at some point and theres so obviously something Going On between her and rapunzel and it’s SUPER awkward and eugene is abt to lose his mind trying not to say anything. but they figure it out eventually dw

- rapunzel LOVES having little trinkets that remind her of her loved ones and her partners are no exception. before cass left the two of them swapped bracelets because it reminded them of each other and they basically wear them forever… if they ever break or get too worn or anything they’ll make new ones together. rapunzel also has a three banded wedding ring for both cass and eugene. she puts them all on her right hand along with her bracelet from varian, because she’s right handed and likes to see them while shes working and be reminded of her favorite people in the world <33

- cass coming to rapunzel and eugene’s wedding and instead of throwing the bouquet into the air rapunzel throws it right into cass’ arms and winks at her. eugene’s giving her a smug look like “you’re stuck with us now”

- rapunzel’s bed is big enough that sleeping arrangements are easy, though they dont really have anything consistent. they all take turns sleeping in the middle and sometimes some of them end up sleeping separately, like when rapunzel and varian pass out on the couch and eugene and cass don’t have the heart to wake them up

- rapunzel and cass going out to the lagoon together since it’s “their place” but quickly realizing it doesn’t feel the same without eugene there, so they bring him out to join them and now it’s all of their’s <3 they have quiet picnics there for anniversaries and stuff

- before rapunzel started dating cassandra, every year on rapunzel’s birthday (or just sporadically for the fun of it) eugene would her out on boat just like they did when they first met. when cass came along, they realize those boats aren’t really made to comfortably sit three adults, so they sit out on rapunzel’s balcony for their little lantern dates instead

lance, the girls and varian + the 7k kids eventually take note of this and band together to build a big enough boat for all three of them as a surprise, which they’re all thrilled about. when they’re finally able to go out together its super cozy….they all just sit there with raps snuggled warmly between cass and eugene, they’re cuddling and playing with each others hair and eugene has his arm loosely around both rapunzel and cass’ shoulders which is enough for them….augh they’re so soft

- on that note one of my favorite things abt uknighted dream is like just how comfortable they are with one another. eugene and cass may not be romantically involved but they still trust and care abt each other deeply. the combination of platonic and romantic love and just that feeling of being safe with Your People. that’s just what the whole dynamic is abt to me

uknighted dream is abt cass and rapunzel making out on the bed and then eugene walks in wearing only a towel and hes like “where’s my GOOD moisturizer. like u know the one” and cass and rapunzel both pause and look up at him completely unfazed and cass is like “i think lance had it” and eugene just yells “FUCK” and leaves the room and then they casually go back to what they were doing

- cass and eugene spar together often and rapunzel likes to sit and watch while she sketches them… partially for figure sketching and partially just to….enjoy the view

ofc cass and eugene are still to this day amazed with her art and always admire it after the fact while rapunzel’s like “^^; this isn’t even that detailed or like. Good” “WHAT DO YOU MEANNNN THIS IS INCREDIBLE”

- going waaaay back to post movie here, but kind of relating to that, i think gothel never complimented rapunzel’s art. unless it caused a mess it never mattered to her so it wasn’t worth mentioning…because of this rapunzel kind of just assumed this was something Everyone could do and it wasn’t anything important, so when eugene saw her paintings for the first time and was completely blown away rapunzel was so confused. like can you not??? do that??? and eugene’s like NO WHAT?????

rapunzel’s still a bit awkward about receiving compliments relating to her artistic skills but shes learning to appreciate it and her talents a lot more. especially with both her partners constantly showering her in praise and affection

- MATCHING TATTOOS!!!! raps designed this one to get on her thigh and eventually eugene and cass both got one to match <33 it’s forever her favorite of all her designs

- the three of them having tonsssss of visual signals and cues that they send each other during royal events or through big crowds to easily spot each other without having to say anything. rapunzel especially needs these cues a lot of the time since she’s autistic and can easily get overwhelmed or suddenly need to leave the room and eugene is really good at making up bullshit excuses for it if anyone asks

- in parallel to eugene calling her “sunshine”, raps calls cass “moonbeam”

- no thoughts just cass and eugene counting rapunzel’s freckles and trying to kiss all of them. also this image

- rapunzel is VERYYYY affectionate and clingy she’s sensory seeking and has many different love languages. she loves running up to eugene or cass whenever they finish work and throwing herself into their arms. she loves playing with their hair and ambushing them with kisses and surprising them when shes DEFINITELY supposed to be in a meeting. also sometimes she bites people but it’s like out of love so its ok

- i’m just writing down every thought that comes in my head atp but modern au cass and eugene would definitely have a shared playlist solely for songs that remind them of rapunzel

additionally

[greensword101]

This is for @barely-nok. I’m sorry it took so long to get some Obake content out for you to consume. I hope you find it tasty lol.

Obake never drank on principle. He needed to keep a clear head and heads were meant for thinking. And thinking meant he could create what he wanted to the limit or even beyond that.

But even sober, his brain would...fizzle if Kei ever so much as blinked at him prettily. Or pouted. Or cheerily threatened to sing “I’m Henry the Eighth , I Am” if he didn’t agree to take a break and - urgh! Just acknowledging the phrase made him feel filthy - spend some “quality time” with a coworker.

Personally speaking, Obake would have preferred the term “expendable” or “replaceable” or “unpaid intern that wasn’t getting extra credit or the merits of knowledge.” Oh, but he would pay anything to get DeciBull out of his sight! And hearing range.

Then again, hearing range would be preferable. Wild cards like Kei were acceptable. DeciBull - or Wil as Kei had casually greeted him by to the former’s chargain -  was more of a Jack; weaker than Obake, but still a threat nonetheless.

If Kei hadn’t taken the car and driven off to God knew where, he would have stormed out of the bar and left that arsehole behind. Maybe steal his glasses and see if the chubby man with a guitar gimmack could find his way back home without falling off the pier.

Wil had barely touched his first bottle and was glowering at his phone for the past half hour. This suited Obake swimmingly, if not for the fact that Kei would know that they hadn’t made any attempt at all and would be tormenting him with that song again! And she would enlist Noodle Burger Boy this time, he was certain. And possibly Trina, though he was certain she would be directed towards Wil instead.

Obake collected himself and recited the longest formulas in the Periodic Table before he rigidly glanced over to Wil.

“I’m surprised you aren’t taking advantage of the karaoke here.”

Wil yelped and fumbled with his phone - mumbling apologies to the bartender as he passed - before gaping at Obake.

“Interesting...” Obake murmured.

“What?” Wil asked bemused.

“You almost looked like an intelligent being for a moment.”

Wil scowled, “Funny.” 

Then a smile crept onto his face. Obake stiffened. He knew he could take the man, he was slimmer and certainly wasn’t sluggish, but bars were always tricky to maneuver around in. Inebriation, sympathizers, or anyone looking for an excuse to be aggressive would make Obake beating Wil up...troublesome.

“Something amusing to you?” Obake took a sip from his own glass to appear ignorant and casual.

“Just thinking how whipped you must be if Kei could make you spend time with me,” Wil leaned in conspiratorially, “Tell me, does she make you sleep on the couch when you misbehave?”

Obake sputtered and and gave Wil a hard stare. Wil stared back undaunted.

“Shut your mouth and have your bloody drink, why don’t you?” Obake snarled and took another, deeper sip from his glass. He was used to dealing with the aggressive and almost territorial behavior Wil demonstrated back at the base. He did not want to be sober to process that Wil was capable of having bloody cheek.

“How can I have my ‘bloody drink’ if my mouth’s shut?” Wil asked innocently.

“Test my patience and we’ll find out soon enough,” Obake growled under his breath. He could do it.  One stab between the ribs and he could slip out in the noise and confusion. He just didn’t want to put up with Kei pestering him when he got back and possibly annoying her with a potential murder.

Wil sniggered and had another swig of his beer. He went back to his phone, but he barely seemed to be reading what was on the screen.

That was...unexpected. But it was a better alternative to dealing with a feral monkey by himself. Obake found himself enjoying the Manhattan more than he expected and finished it off. He was beginning to fish the cherry out when Wil spoke up again.

“Was it good?”

Obake groaned and glowered at Wil, who was starting at his empty glass curiously. What didn’t that fool understand about having a little peace and quiet?

“I don’t typically drink myself,” Wil mumbled into his bottle and drank. He sputtered for a few moments and continued, “I just stick to a beer once in a while.”

“Thank Heaven for small miracles, then,” Obake narrowed his eyes and waved the bartender over, “Another one, if you would be so kind.”

“Me too,” Wil smiled at the bartender and held up his empty bottle. Amazingly, the bartender smiled back and came back moments later with their second drinks. Wil called after him as he walked off, “Thanks, Jim!”

“You frequent this place often?” Obake ventured and helped himself to his second Manhattan. Screw sobriety, it had been so long since he had anything that tasted so good touch his lips.

“I used to,” Wil admitted, “Just for a bite and maybe a bottle. That’s kind of how me and Kei met, actually.”

“A little nip before beddybye?” Obake cooed mockingly at him.

“Crime and I have something in common,” Wil smirked, “We rarely sleep.”

“Tragic,” Obake chuckled and raised his glass in mock salute, “To your insomnia, I suppose.”

Wil raised his beer in kind, “And to good company if I ever get any.”

Now, they both laughed for real. Obake noticed for the first time how pleasantly red Wil’s face had become. Was it the alcohol or the first genuine spark of life he was expressing? If it was the latter, that would mean Kei was behind it somehow.

Suddenly, the good feeling popped like a soap bubble and Obake hid his displeasure by finishing off his second Manhattan. Wil gawked at him.

“You should slow down, Kei is gonna freak if she has to pick us up from the ER because you got alcohol poisoning or something.”

“Kei this, Kei that, you haunt her like a lapdog!” Obake spat out. Damn that woman and her silly, childish notions of fun and damn that boulder she decided would make good company!

Wil blinked and leaned back a little. A moment later, he was glowering back with that familiar hostility, “At least I don’t treat her like a nuisance like you do! Do you have any idea how much she cares about you?!”

“Cares?” Obake snapped his fingers at Jim for another glass and leaned closer to Wil’s face. His nostrils flared and he could feel Wil tense inches away from him. “Why would she have to care about me? If that’s what you call pity, then I’ve no need for it! She can pretend all she wants that we’re all supposed to be some family, but in the end, that’s all it’s going to be. A stupid dream! Why would she care about making me ‘socialize’ with the others or spending ‘quality time’ with her silly boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend?!”

Obake jabbed a finger into Wil’s chest, “Don’t play coy! I know you think I’m a prat to her! And I know you won’t believe that she can almost make me feel human! But you don’t have to worry about me getting in the way, Prince Charming! She’s all yours, so you don’t have to worry about me -”

“I’m gay.”

“And I’m Bob, the pleasure’s all...what.” Obake had to take a moment to process Wil’s flat retort.

“Gay. I like guys. I love them. I love kissing them. And I’m already taken.”

Obake opened his mouth and closed it again. He noticed that his third Manhattan had arrived and wasted no time downing it. Wil didn’t repeat how it wasn’t safe to do this time, and he was thankful for that. 

Suddenly, he felt someone standing right behind him and stilled.

“Is he giving you problems, Wil?”

“No worries, Eugene,” Wil smiled at the person behind him, “Just clearing up a misunderstanding over here.”

Obake felt a little dizzy and pinched his nose, “Let me understand this correctly. You have never had feelings for Kei?”

“Platonically, yes. Romantically or otherwise? No.”

“And this whole time, yo - you’ve...” Why couldn’t he find the right words? “You’ve...acted harshly because...?”

“Because she’s one of my best friends and I don’t want her to get hurt,” Wil said firmly. He pointed at Obake with a fiercely protective look, “I can’t help who she wants to connect with, but I won’t stand by and let her get hurt. She’s gone through too much to deserve that.”

“Alright, I’m just going to butt in for a moment here,” Eugene moved from behind Obake and stood to Wil’s left, wrapping an arm across him protectively. He was pleasant to the eyes; tall, broad, dark brown hair and a scruffy goatee. He looked at Wil, bemused, “You weren’t here scooping for another cutie, babe?”

“Wh...why...why would he...?” Obake’s tongue felt like lead. Dear Lord, he could barely speak, he was so embarrassed.

“Because this is a gay bar?” Eugene supplemented as if it weren’t obvious. Obake blinked. Come to think of it, it was rather odd no one had come to bother them when they came in. Did...did that mean...?

Somewhere in San Fransokyo, Kei was laughing herself silly. Obake was certain of it. 

“Everything alright over here?” Another voice, deeper than Eugene’s mischievous and light tone asked.

“Hey ‘Nan! This is an acquaintance of mine,” Wil helped himself to his beer, “and apparently he thought I was stealing his girlfriend until a few moments ago. Bob, this is Kanan. My other boyfriend.”

“Other...” Obake’s head was swimming. This was too much to process...

“Yeah,” Wil said shyly, “We’re...we’re kind of a poly sort of thing.”

As if to prove his point, Eugene promptly gave Wil a deep kiss on the lips that was eagerly returned. Kanan came into view and Obake noticed how dark skinned he was and the ponytail before he decided he was too sober to handle this all right now.

He made to stand and tripped over his stool. And a moment later, his Manhattans returned and splashed all over the floor.

In hindsight, he should have checked how much alcohol was in each glass...

It was about a half hour later when Kei found all four of them outside the bar with Obake being supported by an irksome Wil and amused Eugene. Kanan looked torn between disapproval and laughter.

“Was it fun?” Kei asked hesitantly. Obake took one look at her and sighed. It was his own fault for drinking too much.

“It was something,” Wil supplemented as he helped buckle Obake into the backseat, “And educational, apparently, so that’s a plus.”

“We were there at the tail-end,” Eugene added helpfully, “It was kind of entertaining.”

“You sure you can take care of this?” Kanan asked Wil.

Wil looked at Obake and sighed, “We’ll be alright. Thanks, anyways.”

“See you at the next heist meet, babe!” Eugene blew a kiss.

“Tell Raps and Hera I said hi!” Wil called back as they drove off.

“And here I thought I’d be picking you up at the police station for a bar brawl,” Kei half joked.

“Stay with me, Bob!” Wil shook Obake gently, “Don’t go to sleep. First rule in treating alcohol poisoning.”

“Piss off...” Obake slurred.

Wil sighed and let his head sink against the headrest for a few moments. Why didn’t he just become an accountant like his parents wanted?

“Wil...” Obake said sluggishly, “In..in the...event...I survive this with my memory intact. Would you...do it again?”

Wil blinked in surprise and chuckled weakly, “Only if you watch what you drink next time, lightweight.”

“Momma’s boy.”

“Evil Brit.”

“Four Eyes.”

“Nnnnnnnnnnneeeee~rrrrrrrrrds!” Kei cackled as her passengers bickered with each other without any former hostility from before.

[kingreywrites]

it's weird because in tts they show platonic affection with lance and eugene, they hug and stuff which is super rare to be shown between two men, but Rapunzel barely gets any platonic ones which is so weird. She hugs Cass a few times but I think like 80% of those are just Rapunzel hugging Cass and Cass either doesn't reciprocate or is shown to be "annoyed", which fits her character but its sad :( I guess they didn't want her to hug lance because they didn't want to imply romance (which is stupid because a man and a woman hugging is not automatically romance). Rapunzel is so so people focused and having people willingly hug her rather than her hugging them is something I can imagine being a huge growing point for her. Gothel only hugged her to get her hair close, and Eugene + her parents definitely hugs her + that's good!! but the platonic aspect is so important and for a series focused on Rapunzel's social life outside of the tower they really don't show things like this which would show her development and reiterate how wrong she was treated :( sorry for the rant it kind of hits close to home lol, maybe one day someone could write a fic of her just being hugged

I mean, as I said I do think that the whole storyline with Cassandra, and about how Rapunzel pushing her boundaries constantly until it fractures their friendship is... good, and even needed, in a way. Recovering from abuse is not all sunshines and rainbows, and Rapunzel did learn a lot of behaviours from Gothel, so it's normal that she struggles, and it's also important to talk about. She's not owed hugs by Cassandra just because she grew up like she did, and it's fine that their relationship is complicated and not easy for Rapunzel to navigate. I think the most frustrating thing about it to me is like, how s3 ended with the show ignoring all these issues and acting as if everything was fine from the beginning ghsjdkd I'd Give Anything is like "remember when rapunzel and cass were Best Friends and Cass loved being her lady in waiting and giving her hugs and it'd be better if everything went back to that perfect time 🥺" when this is just?? false??? sigh

i lost my train of thoughts but basically it's not that she has "negative" lessons about boundaries that bothers me as much as it's that she never really gets a counterpart to that. She doesn't get to enjoy them, she struggles because she doesn't understand them at first, and when the series ends, guess what? she's more or less at the same place socially as she was in the beginning, which is "I have a deep connection with Eugene and Cassandra, also sometimes I hug my parents" + she has some new friends too but they don't get that much attention. The problem with Lance isn't even that they're not allowed to hug (i don't know if it's a problem about romance like you said though afhsjdjd), it's that they're barely allowed to TALK TO EACH OTHER. He's here during the three seasons and most of the ideas I have about his relationship with Rapunzel are headcanons because canon just doesn't address it

And like, it's crazy but in a way, most characters in TTS feel lonely to me. They're allowed like two meaningful relationships each and these relationships aren't even allowed to intersect gjsjdkkd it's even more upsetting with Rapunzel because like, she's the protagonist who grew up isolated from everyone and you want to see her finally be part of the world (but it never truly happens), but even in general they don't get to be a group of friend imo. Rapunzel is friend with Varian, and Eugene is friend with Varian, and they all are friends with each other but they never truly interact as a group, you know?

I don't even know what's my conclusion here or if that answers you at all but ghsjskd I always wished that in general TTS gave Rapunzel more friends than what she got. I don't really draw a hard line between platonic and romantic because like, Eugene being her friend is an important part of them loving each other and I don't wanna dismiss that friendship because it's not purely platonic, but the problem stays that only having two or three developed friends isn't... enough, for me

[glacecakes]

Alchemy Lullaby (17/17)

Of all the changes that came with living in the castle, becoming a father was not one he anticipated. When Eugene encounters a small child suffering like he did, he gives them the opportunity to grow up the way he never did… helping them both heal. (AU where Varian is 4 and gets adopted by Eugene)

Varian reunites with his real family. Fred gets dunked on. Eugene and Rapunzel surprise each other.

WE ARE AT THE END OH MY GOD ;-; sorry this took so long I have not been vibing but yknow. It be like that. First off, a big thanks to everyone who has helped me on this crazy journey. The scar and 7K server being my serotonin machine (if you wanna join dm me), AJ and Gues for helping me with ideas, and of course Finn, my partner in crime, the platonic love of my life, without who this crazy mess would probably not have been completed. And of course, all of you who have commented and kudos'd and bookmarked. This fic just passed Only as Strong in hits and that totally blows my mind.

I have so many lil baby ideas that were either too short to go here, or happen after AL, or didn't go with the story flow that I want to write! I'm debating whether to do it like VVO where they're all in one fic or just spam the varian tag. As always please leave a comment if you enjoyed this, thank you so much! If you have any specific requests for baby oneshots I'm always open!

Ok ok enough rambling

The moonstone clattered to the ground, dull and quiet like any other rock.

For a few moments, no one spoke. The only sound was Quirin’s heavy breathing, exhausted, as he slumped over Ulla’s slowly cooling body.

“Well…” Eugene finally breathed. “That was… something.” The adrenaline finally began to wear off, replacing a feral desire to protect with burns and shaky hands. In his arms Varian doesn’t stir, the soft breath against his arm the only sign he’s still alive.

“Understatement of the fucking century,” Cassandra groans. The decay incantation settled deep into their bones, making every movement painful. The only one unaffected was Rapunzel, protected by the golden pulse in her chest. She moves her hand to reveal a golden stone, similar to the moonstone.

“Millennium ago, a phenomenal event had divided an ancient power in two. The Sundrop and Moondrop fell to Earth; two elements waiting to be reunited…” She glanced up at Quirin, confusion written all over her face.

Slowly, shakily, she stood up and stumbled over. This was the one time she wanted shoes, what with the blood pooling at her toes. The man at her feet said nothing, simply staring down at the body with empty eyes. She heard whispers of soft footsteps behind her, indicating Eugene had followed with Varian in tow.

Quirin’s mind was a whirlwind, chattering faster than he’d ever spoken. What ifs, curses, screams, but despite all that…

He didn’t feel guilty. Not in the slightest.

Was that wrong of him? He just killed the mother of his child, the only woman he ever loved, and he felt nothing. Well, he felt relief. But regret, guilt, sorrow? None. Was this fatherly protection? His devotion to his king? Did he fall out of love? Maybe it was a mix of three. But then again, the woman he fell in love with and the woman he just killed were two wildly different people. Had she always been crazy and he’d just been blind, or did the moonstone corrupt her from its place in her womb?

It seems parenthood can change you for better or worse.

The princess kneeled down next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. When he glanced up she smiled briefly, before glancing down at her breast. “Is this…?”

“The sundrop,” Quirin breathed, awe-stricken. “But how?” He glanced down at the woman (corpse) at his feet, and then over to Eugene and Varian.

With a grunt, Rapunzel ripped it free from her body. It hummed faintly, bathing her in a golden glow that illuminated her hair back to blonde. How magnificent and haunting all at once; the source of her power that caused so much pain to her family, that caused her kidnapping… that caused her to meet the love of her life.

It would be so easy to simply… reclaim it. To reabsorb its magic and regain the power to heal. But when she glanced around, at the destruction caused by its counterpart…

��The only way to destroy the moonstone.” She said with an air of finality, clutching it tightly in her fist. “Is to reunite it with its equal.” Quirin nodded in agreement. It was kind of amusing, that the destruction of a cosmic entity was merely an afterthought in this scenario.

Just tying up loose ends.

In another reality, maybe Rapunzel and Eugene and Varian would have sought the moonstone out. Maybe they would have debated whether or not to reunite the stones, unsure of the damage it would cause to Rapunzel.

But maybe someone else would have stolen it, harnessed it, and caused even more suffering untold. To her, to her friends, to her family…

A moan came from Eugene’s arms as Varian squirmed. His eyes remained shut, but he reached out a tiny hand for his dad to grasp. Internally, Eugene gave a massive sigh of relief. He’d been so worried that his son was gone, that he wouldn’t wake up without the moonstone. If that had been the case… god, he didn’t know what he’d do. Well, actually, Eugene knew exactly what he’d do (that being to reinsert the moonstone), but whether or not Quirin would let him is a whole other story.

“Bluebird? Can you hear me?” He whispered, gently shaking the boy. It was weird to see him without his signature hair stripe, almost as weird as long-haired-brunette Rapunzel.

“Daddy… m’ tired,” Varian whined, curling into a warm chest and breathing in familiar cologne. He sighed, content. He would’ve fallen back asleep if not for Eugene gently rustling him.

“Sorry bud, I need you to wake up for a little bit,” he whispered, biting back a smile. With an overdramatic groan, Varian opened his eyes. It was a familiar routine. Almost as if they were back home and he was just waking Varian up for the day. “How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”

“My throat...” he was cut off by a weak cough.

“Aw bud, I’m sorry, we’ll get you checked out at home, ok?” At Varian’s nod Eugene let out a massive sigh of relief. “I think Rapunzel needs you for a second.” He raised his eyes up to his girlfriend, who was now trailing a finger down Varian’s cheek.

With a small smile, she helped Varian out of his dad’s arms and placed him onto the ground by her side. “Would you like to help me get rid of the rocks?” She asked, and he bit his thumb while nodding shyly. His eyes had trailed over to Quirin and… Rapunzel was quick to move her hair in the way. He didn’t need to see that.

With a heavy, shaking hand, Quirin’s gloved hand reached out for the moonstone. He hesitated briefly, anxiously. What if it was absorbed by him? No, he couldn’t falter. He’d waited this long, salvation was within reach!

He grasped it tight. It didn’t react. Perhaps it knew the sundrop was close? Or maybe it knew Quirin didn’t want to use it? Regardless, he didn’t question it. Shaking, he stood up to his full height and ambled over to mother and son. He and Varian locked eyes for a moment. The boy’s eyes were troubled, clouded with hazy fear, confusion, but also… acceptance?

Quirin smiled. He held the stone out. “Would you like to do the honors, young man?” He whispered.

“Um. Yea, ok.” Varian said and took it into his tiny hands. He was so small, what was dwarfed in Quirin’s hands required both of Varian’s to hold. He looked up at Rapunzel, who’s own stone began to flare with power as it sensed its other half.

Eugene placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Are we sure this is a good idea?”

“Nope!” Cassandra snorted at the kid’s candor.

“But whatever happens…” Rapunzel said, “We’ll face it together, as a family.” She looked pointedly over at Cassandra, who rolled her eyes.

“Alright alright, I’m coming,” She said.

“Yes, Auntie Cassie, join us!” Eugene chimed, earning an elbow in the arm.

She stood on Rapunzel’s side, supporting her best friend as she held out the sundrop. Eugene readjusted so he was holding onto Varian from behind.

Quirin stood aside, finally content.

The stones touched.

-

Varian skipped down the hallway with Ruddiger and cart in tow. The raccoon reached his tiny hands out, determined to swipe an apple from a nearby display. Just a little closer…!

The raccoon blinked as the apple vanished. He could’ve sworn it was there just a second ago… confused beady eyes glanced up at his best friend, only to chitter in delight when he saw Varian had stolen it. The child took a bite before handing it to Ruddiger to finish.

“Excuse me!” Varian said to one of the maids (Faith? Felicity? Names are hard) “Have you seen mommy and Auntie Cassie?”

The maid giggled. “In her highness’s room, I believe.”

“Thank you miss!” He called. Faith shook her head, smiling. That boy was awful at sleight of hand, considering his father, but no one would care about a single apple.

Things had been pretty quiet since coming home, in all honesty. In Varian’s opinion, a bit boring even.

Well, the first few days home weren’t so quiet. Upon arriving at the palace all had been rushed to the infirmary, only to be let go with minor injuries. The only exception was Varian, who was confined to bed rest for a week. Getting poisoned half to death will do that to you.

He’d spent the week constantly in the presence of his family who rotated out. He’d wake up to Rapunzel’s soft voice with breakfast handmade by Lance, light exercise with Cassandra (that usually involved learning how to use a wooden sword). Then Arianna would come teach him something, either basic Coronian history or math. He’d nap with Ruddiger, and finally Eugene would spend the rest of the day with him, from dinner to bedtime. It was paradise to the little boy.

At some point during the week, Hugo came by with a get well soon gift. He’d gushed to Varian nonstop about all they’d done in school, how cool the castle was, and hey is that a raccoon?

Hugo’s mom (who apparently knew Ulla, judging by her crestfallen face upon hearing her fate) watched over the boys while the king and Quirin got chewed out. Less so Quirin, since he already made up for it by, y’know, killing his ex.

“Let me get this straight, you changed the law after my kidnapping so birth parents always have primary custody?” Rapunzel rubbed her temples, frustrated. Frederick, for his part, at least looked guilty.

“I wasn’t sure if you would’ve wanted to stay with whoever was raising you…!”

“I feel like any little girl who finds out they’re a long lost princess would rather live with her birth parents,” Eugene muttered.

“I was so worried about getting found out, that once it happened, I didn’t bother to actually look into it, I just… UGH! You should’ve at LEAST repealed it the second I came home!”

“I… forgot?”

“SERIOUSLY?”

In the end, it was agreed that the law not only hurt Varian, but dozens of other abandoned kids who could never be adopted now. Suffice to say, it did not survive the day. In fact, Rapunzel immediately got to work creating a service for saving abused kids, and appointed Eugene in charge.

“There’s no one here who could do better than you,” She said. “You suffered under our systems, and then saved our boy from the same fate. Twice. I trust that you’ll figure it out.”

Eugene smiled wetly, pressing his forehead to Rapunzel’s. “Sunshine, you’re going to be an amazing Queen, you know that?” He brushed a lock of hair out of her face. Now that her hair was breakable, she’d debated whether or not to cut it. Long hair was a part of her identity, after all, but without it’s magic she wasn’t sure it was worth the upkeep. In the end, she decided to cut it back, not as short as before, but rather a comfortable bob.

“And you’ll be amazing by my side.” She said, placing a kiss.

Eugene wasn’t the only one to get an upgrade. Apparently Cassandra and her dad working together on the breakout plan meant he got to see her in action, as well as her dedication to protecting the royal family. Now, she was officially a royal guard, training to replace her father someday.

Which meant Lance, as instructor, was her boss.

Eugene feared for his life.

Varian turned a corner before lifting Ruddiger out of the cart. He was getting heavy, and the cart couldn’t do stairs well on its own. Together they bounded up the steps into his mom’s room.

“Hi Mama!” he cheered, running into her embrace. She easily scooped him up and twirled him around, prompting delighted squeals. Ruddiger curled around Rapunzel’s neck, joining Pascal.

“How’s my baby boy today?” She chimed.

“I’m good! Miss grandma said to come here,” He had no clue what to call Arianna; between the queen insisted she be grandma, the king wanted her to be addressed by title, and Eugene calling her ma’am, it all jumbled up in his head.

“Yes, we need your help!” She said.

Cassandra grimaced. “You need his help, I want no part in this.”

“Aw, don’t be like that!”

“Listen, Raps, I adore you, but your taste in men is atrocious. And coming from me that’s a low blow.” She stuck her tongue out at the little one who let out a squawk of protest. With a wave, she left the room.

“What’s wrong with daddy!?” He cried after her, raising a fist. “Fight me!”

“Let’s not fight family, ok? Remember how well the last time turned out?” Rapunzel hissed between her teeth. Varian cocked his head, confused.

“But I won last time.”

Can’t argue with that.

“Speaking of that…” Rapunzel hummed, carrying Varian over to her walls. From floor to ceiling paint covered nearly every surface, detailing her life and all the people in it. Front and center was a portrait of their family. Varian was nestled in between his mom and dad, with a beaming smile. “I know you won our fight for Eugene’s love but, I still love him. You know that, yea?”

“Mhm.”

“Well…” Her eyes trailed over to another drawing, this one much smaller; that of her coronation, when she’d turned down his proposal.

It’d been about six months since that fateful day, six months that Varian has been with them. In that time Varian turned five. While they didn’t know his exact birthday, Quirin had been helpful in estimating around when Varian had been born, and they picked a random date around late March. It had been a pretty small party, what with everyone still reeling a bit. But it was nonetheless momentous for two reasons: one, Eugene’s gift to Varian had been his official adoption papers, and two, Rapunzel had decided she was ready to marry Eugene. Seeing her son so happy in the man’s arms… she wanted that. She wanted it forever.

Hence why she asked Varian to come see her.

“You know what marriage is, right bud?” At his confirmation, she continued. “Well, me and your dad aren’t married… but I want to change that. If we got married, I’d become your mom officially, like how Eugene adopted you. Do you… would you like that?”

Varian blinked a few times. The gears in his head whirred to life, slowly cranking out a response. Finally, his sky blue eyes lit up in understanding and happiness. Mama wanted to stay with him forever! He nodded so fast it hurt, and he had to stop after a few seconds.

“Thanks, baby,” Rapunzel said, overcome with joy. “Now, you can’t tell anyone about this, ok? I want it to be a surprise for daddy.”

“Can I tell Ruddiger…?”

“Yes, you can tell him.”

“What about Hugo?”

“I mean if you want…”

“Uncle Lance?”

“No, he’s terrible with secrets.”

-

Eugene hummed under his breath as he helped Varian get ready for the day. Both mother and son had been all giggly and whispery the day before; clearly they had a secret between them. “You gonna tell me what you and mom were talking about?”

Varian cocked his head in confusion. Oh gosh, it never got old, still just as cute as the first time!

“Last night,” Eugene clarified.

Varian gasped, covering his mouth. He shook his head in despair. Daddy didn’t like keeping secrets from him, he said it was good to tell the truth… but mommy asked him to keep it to himself! Would she be mad if he told him?

“Don’t wanna spill?” Eugene teased, chuckling. He helped Varian into his new shirt. He never did find out what happened to Varian’s sailor outfit, the one he wore when he was with Ulla, but when the house blew up there was no way it survived. Now Varian wore a dark purple school uniform, with white buttons and ascot. His shoes were shiny and black, the pristine boarding school kind. There was a hat that went with it but Varian never wore it for more than a few minutes.

Varian shook his head.

Eugene smirked. “Alright, how about I share a secret with you, hm? Maybe then you’ll tell me?” He took the silence as an invitation. “I’m gonna ask Rapunzel to marry me.” He almost said again, but Varian wasn’t there the first time, and he still wanted the kid to think positively of him. It felt nice to tell someone; he’d tell Lance but he was terrible with secrets.

Varian looked like he was gonna explode.

His dad burst out laughing. The kid’s cheeks were so puffed up you’d mistake him for a blowfish, and his face burned red. He opened his mouth, but bit down on his hand to muffle his words, and stomped his feet in frustration. Frustrated tears bubbled up and, had it not been for his dad’s calloused hands, would’ve fallen down.

“Oh, bud,” Eugene wheezed. “It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me, alright? But I wanted to tell you that. I was going to propose tonight.”

Tonight!? Rapunzel and he were planning for tonight too! He was gonna sing a song! At his distraught face, Eugene quickly backpedaled.

“Bluebird I still love you! I know you technically won that fight but I’m still gonna love her, but you’re still my little boy! Are you mad?”

“No!” Varian whined. He hated that he couldn’t tell him why he was upset! Daddy was so good at cheering him up.

“No?”

“No.”

Exasperated, Eugene picked his son up and left his bedroom for the day. “Well when you’re ready to tell me, you come get me, hm? No pouting.”

-

He pouted the rest of the day.

It sucked.

Eugene could tell it was stressing Varian just as much as it was stressing him, but because Varian refused to talk, it made the whole situation that much worse. He thought maybe he was just mad at him, but apparently he wouldn’t even talk to Lance! And he loved Lance!

Varian hated being quiet! He was the biggest chatterbox when he wanted to be! The last time he was this quiet towards his family was back when he first moved in. But still the boy held his tongue. If he didn’t, he might accidentally tell someone! And he couldn’t even tell Rapunzel or Cassie, since they were busy all day!

Maybe today’s just an off day, Eugene thought as Varian pushed his food around at dinner. He looked so miserable, like he was near tears, and it pulled at his heartstrings. Eventually Varian gave up on trying to eat, and that was Eugene’s cue for an early bedtime.

For his part, Varian didn’t really complain all that much. But then again, if he complained, he might slip up!

“Just double checking, bud.” Eugene said after he tucked the boy in. Varian’s little onesie was so precious, covered in clouds and a sun on his chest. “You’re not upset about me proposing to Rapunzel?”

In all honesty, he was more worried about nightmares. All of their hard work building up Varian’s confidence had crumbled like a stack of cards thanks to Ulla. He was wary of guards and staff, unsure if any of them would turn them back over for experiments.

Even though Eugene had explained to Varian that his momma could never hurt him again, that he was safe and no one would ever take him away from him, that really wasn’t true. For one, Rapunzel was living proof of that. But more importantly, Ulla’s claws dug deep into the boy’s mind, haunting his dreams. At least once a week, even now, Varian would wake with horrible screams and visions of electric chairs and amber formulas and rocks. He was bouncing back a lot faster than the first time around, but there was a reason he’d started looking around Corona for a child psychiatrist.

“No…” Varian sighed. He may be bummed about their plans, but if the end result was the same, he couldn’t really be too upset. Right? He picked at his sheets. “Just wanted to see mama…”

Eugene smiled sadly. “I’ll have her come see you after our date, ok?” With a kiss to the forehead, the father left the room.

Varian waited a few moments.

Then he slipped out of bed.

Regardless of whether or not his and Rapunzel’s plans were ruined, he’s not missing this proposal! Honestly he was a little offended Eugene didn’t ask him to help. He could’ve been like, “Will you be my mommy?”. But then again, Rapunzel already was his mommy. So maybe not those exact words.

Whatever! The point remained!

He peeked down the corner, where Eugene and Rapunzel were talking. Ruddiger’s tail swished in Varian’s face, making it impossible for him to make out what they were saying. But judging by the box Eugene hid behind his back, and the chest Rapunzel hid behind hers, it was something about a surprise on their date tonight.

Man, adults were weird. Why all the secrets and cryptic speech?

They walked side by side, neither looking at the gifts hidden away, nor at Varian trailing behind them like a lost puppy.

“I heard Varian was cranky today,” Rapunzel snickered at the face her boyfriend made in response. He looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. Which, to be fair, wasn’t too far off from his “smolder”. And he wondered why she didn’t fall for it.

“Yea, a bit,” he said. “He didn’t want to tell me what you two have been up to.” At this, she raised an eyebrow. In all honesty, she expected him to cave. Her sweet little boy kept it together! Well, maybe not emotionally. She’ll grab a cupcake for him later.

“Well, I think he’ll be in a much better mood tomorrow,” she hummed. “I was surprised you wanted to go on a boat ride instead of our other plan.”

“Yea well, I had an idea.”

“A good one?” She shrieked when he jokingly poked her stomach.

Varian followed them quietly, his padded footsies keeping him undetected. The night chill nipped at his cheeks, turning them red as an apple. But he didn’t care. He kept following until his parents approached a boat and rowed out a small ways. It was far enough that Varian probably couldn’t swim it, but he could still see them. The soft sound of waves filled his ears, the moon’s lullaby trying to soothe its kin. But Varian’s focus was solely on his family.  

“To think, about a year ago we were out here…” the princess glanced up at the starry sky. “And now…” She glanced over to see Eugene’s warm, loving smile.

“So, are we going to share gifts now or later?” Eugene joked. “It’s kinda funny, since today’s not really anything special, but we still got each other gifts.”

Rapunzel hummed, smiling. “This one isn’t just for you.” She glanced down at the box, an ornate, mahogany chest her mom gave her for the occasion. “It was supposed to be ready at Varian’s birthday but I figured I’d just give both of them to you.” Eugene’s smile turned even softer, if that was even possible. His heart was so warm, he half expected to burn from the inside out. The chest creaked open, and he gasped.

“Oh, blondie…”

There were two crowns sitting on plush blue velvet. Eugene’s was a dark silver, almost black under the moon’s shine. It had three prongs, not unlike Rapunzel’s tiara, though these were much pointier. Embedded on the middle prong was a gleaming violet stone, reflecting the color of Corona. Varian’s was relatively simple, more of a circlet. Also silver, it had the same loops as Rapunzel’s, with a myriad of blue stones instead of her red.

Eugene let out a shaky breath, almost nervous to touch them. “Rapunzel, these are…!” It felt almost wrong to have them. A year ago he’d tried to steal hers, and now he’s getting one of his own? But he couldn’t deny how much he wanted this. Not the crowns per say (well, that’s a lie; he may not be a thief anymore but he still loved the finer things in life) but to belong, to match with the loves of his life.

There was one nagging question though. “How’d you get your dad to agree?”

Rapunzel snorted. Around the same time she’d blown up at her dad, she’d found out about the nobility’s haggling in regards to him and Varian. “I told him we’d give him another grandkid.” Eugene choked on his own spit. “Uh, can we, um, raincheck on that? Varian’s already enough,” He wheezed. With his anxieties soothed, he reached out, fingers brushing against the cool metal. “I gotta say, these are pretty nice. Just big enough to not mess up my hair! Aw, blondie, you think of everything.” He struck a pose. “How do I look?”

“Like a king,” Rapunzel beamed. She reached into her pocket, ready to give him the other gift. “Speaking of king-”

“Hold that thought, it’s my turn!” Eugene said, holding up a finger. He missed his girlfriend’s pout.

Across the bay, Varian pouted as well. “This is boring,” he whined to Ruddiger.  

“So, speaking of kings,” Eugene said, and Rapunzel rolled her eyes fondly, but softened when Eugene’s face turned more serious. “I know the last time I asked was… less than perfect. And in the time since that… so much has happened,” that was an understatement, and they both knew it. “You asked me to wait, and I just want you to know that I am fully willing to wait still. But… I just wanted to… check in?” He opened the box to reveal a cupcake. But before Rapunzel could question it, Pascal grabbed the cherry, revealing a ring on top of the frosting. She gasped.

“Rapunzel… will you marry me?”

Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy. She sniffled, reaching into her pocket. “Only if you marry me,” she laughed, revealing the golden band she had. Eugene’s face lit up, and smiled harder than he ever had. The night was full of silence, just the two of them as they swapped bands.

“HEY! DID YOU DO IT YET?”

Eugene burst into silent laughter, burrowing his face onto Rapunzel’s shoulder as his own shook with mirth. Honestly, he didn’t know why he expected any less. Of course Varian would try and follow them. His fiance (!!) grabbed the oars, rowing back to shore where their son bounced up and down with impatience.

The moment they stepped out onto the dock, they got an armful of child. “Oof!” Eugene wheezed. “I thought you went to bed, young man?”

“Nope!”

Rapunzel hummed. “But didn’t your daddy put you to bed?”

“Uhuh. I just got up again.”

Eugene barked out a laugh, sweeping Varian up into his arms, much to the boy’s delight. He shrieked with joy, clutching his dad’s neck tight. Rapunzel couldn’t help but join in, wrapping both of them into a bear hug.

The small family’s laughter rang out into the night air, up towards the moon.

It shined just a bit brighter.

[cyberfairyblog]

Some more stuff about Vanessa Marbles or marble idk XD

Contains spoilers for a 30+ year old show ft. My fancharacter Vanessa Marbles-Whittaker. Rambling, oc x canon (romantic and platonic), some meddling with canon events, and j*ll*an m*rsh*ll bashing

- i'm thinking about her placement in Odyssey & I'm entertaining the thought of having her "debut" be in 1989 bigbrainmeta

- She arrived in town like right after Connie and Eugene got fired

- So that makes her older than Jason in terms of episodes; she appears a whole 3 years before him 😂

- That first year she did genuinely like her nunnery but didn't really interact with her fellow nuns much keeping them at a distance

- It wasn't until year 2 she started having doubts. Nothing bad happened it just that there was a nagging feeling that she tried to stifle

- Vanessa is afraid of heights that's why she travelled by train instead of plane. She gets nervous by bridges & mountains even a tall hill is enough to make her stomach churn

- She got the job at Whit's End to help herself learn to befriend people & because the show needs more responsible adults lol

- For a time there was rumors about her being a vampire which she took in stride because having sensitive skin she walks around with an umbrella

- Eugene helps her with technology and how to operate the Imagination Station

- "Is that a time machine?"

- "No it's a holographic imagery generator meant to emulate time periods from prehistory all the way to even the future! Well not the future future, still has to figure out how to predict outcomes but I'm working on it."

- Vanessa dead ass got lost at the generator part

- She legit said that she was surprised they didn't blow up Odyssey given how powerful that machine is this around the Novacom arc

- Jason was a total enigma to her like 'who is that crazy fellow' and someone tells her that he's Whit's son & she's like oh. OH John didn't tell me he had kids smh

- They didn't get along at first and had poor communication though Vanessa really did try to be fair

- The funniest moment was when Jason accidentally revealed himself to be NSA and Vanessa revealed herself to be a Blackgaard - THE Blackgaard's daughter

- "Wait so you're mad at me for being a spy but yet you hid THIS from us?"

- "Well yes but actually no, at least you have the entire government on your side everyone literally hates my family jason!"

- Vanessa is very protective of her mother and Uncle Edwin

- She's a somewhat decent actress, she has stage fright sort of but swallows it in order to help her uncle get his play off the ground

- Despite switching to Protestant she still upholds a lot of Catholic values since she was raised as one

-She doesn't have much contact with her mother's side of the family due to strain from her parents divorce again divorce frowned upon in strict Catholic families

- She did give jason a gift for his engagement to Tasha but after that fiasco he tried giving it back to her and she told him to keep it

- In an alternate universe (let's call it marbleverse for future reference) jason proposed to her (having already broke up with Tasha years ago) and she declined not ready for marriage. they hurried up after novacom tho lmao

- Vanessa inherited a Blackgaard Castle located in Connellsville which she retooled as "midnight manor" a haunted house/vacation home

- Vanessa prefers Eugene with his hair down because seeing his eyes creeps her out

- "Six feet apart j*ll*an, six feet apart." Vanessa like everyone else with a brain dislikes villain marshall

- "Hello again it's me Vanessa! Double-S Vanessa, Double-T Whittaker!" She jokes this after she meets j*ll*an the second time

- Vanessa doesn't interact with child characters all that much but a part of her character arc is becoming a cool aunt to jason's cool uncle

- Some kids and connie helped set up a date for jason/vanessa totally not suspicious they knew what was going on and decided to play along; discovered they actually enjoyed each other's company

- During his time as The Stiletto Jason left roses and candy and other tokens around for her to find, which she eventually figured out was a sign of him being alive

- She was mad, relieved, overjoyed at his presence & the rare time you see her cry

- Only other time she cried was when Tom Riley passed because she admired the man

- Meta-wise Vanessa prefers jason's old look though she likes all of his designs

- Vanessa did get her own public access show which was crucial to the novacom arc

- Afterwards she suggested the idea of reforming the boxes into teaching tools, using them as art projects

- Vanessa was so sus of Monica Stone like "you think im not watching you lady?? Think again! I know you, i am watching you!"

- Vanessa and connie are like sisters considering she's an only child; in fact connie waa another close friend she made in odyssey

- If Chris (the narrator) gets sick or unavailable Vanessa fills in for the intro and such is introduced in her workshop painting

- She canonically has a guardian angel named Mariposa who sometimes appears; Mariposa works under Malachi and her human disguise is Posie

- After leaving the nunnery the first thing she did was buy a trendy wardrobe like miniskirts, boots, she was happy she didn't have to were ultra-conservative attire anymore

- She has a pet doberman named angela who ironically hates everyone in town

- If vanessa wasn't with jason her next choice of love interest would've been Richard Maxwell

[polymathart]

PolySpeaks: Cassandra x Rapunzel

“Plus Est En Vous” has left me a lot to think about. The love that Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cass all have for each other are just so special. I do not think I have ever seen or read of any story that illustrated such a deep level of love. I’ve always been cautious to see Rapunzel and Cassandra’s love as romantic. But I also have never been able to just label it as platonic or sisterly. I think I’ve finally come to terms with just exactly what the Series has shown me. It’s shown me a loving relationship deeper than most seen in media or written in literature.

These are all my own thoughts and don’t reflect the opinions of anyone else. I’m open to discussion, criticism, whether openly or privately.

Eugene: I think Eugene is pretty much straight. I don’t think I have seen much to indicate he has interest in anyone other than women. But he is confident and is not squeamish about close contact. He just has that suave, charming character that loves to flirt but not always in a romantic way.

Cassandra: I think I’ve finally been able to agree that Cassandra is bisexual and maybe demisexual. I think she just has more attraction and is more comfortable with women than men. I don’t think she is indifferent to men. I can see her liking a man with a big heart and a fearless soul. (Yes I ship Cassarian still but that’s not the focus here.) She definitely has affections for Rapunzel she has not yet fully recognized as romantic. But at the very least she has more love for Rapunzel than she does for anyone else in her life. When she started out, she saw Rapunzel just as someone who shared her struggles of making friends. She disliked Eugene not because he was with Rapunzel. She 1) had a job to do 2) thought he was nothing but a free-loading two-bit hood and 3) she just really liked hanging out with Rapunzel—possibly her very first real “friend.” As the Series goes on, I think Cassandra is not hurt or let down by Rapunzel considering her a “sister.” But she still feels like something just does not work right with that word, “sister.” By this point, she is not head over heels for Rapunzel, but she is extremely attached to her friend. She wants something deeper than “sister” but still does not call it romance. She just cares so much for Rapunzel in a soulmate-like way. Following her betrayal, Cassandra misses Rapunzel. She understands now that she does indeed have something in her heart for Rapunzel that is more than just “best friend” or “sister.” When she reconciles with Rapunzel, she does not call it romance but she definitely feels a love between her and Rapunzel that was even stronger and closer than she thought she would ever feel. She is not obsessed with Rapunzel in an unhealthy way, but she realizes that Rapunzel has truly become a huge part of her. She is in love not solely in a romantic way, but in a way that crosses definitions and levels of love. She just loves Rapunzel so much that she cannot name it. When she finally says “I love you, Raps,” I do not hear it as her flat out admitting she is romantically attracted. To me she just sounds like she is saying she loves Rapunzel, but the love she feels for her is too great to even specify as between her and her sister, lover, or best friend.

Rapunzel: Finally, I see Rapunzel as being pansexual, or maybe to be mor specific, panromantic demisexual. I doubt that when Rapunzel was growing up in her Tower, she ever saw gender as a part of romance. Rapunzel is naturally just so loving and so affectionate and so desiring of closeness that she does not care about gender. There is just so much love in her heart that she cannot direct it to a single type of person or relationship. That is why she is so quick to latch onto someone or sit next to someone or dance with someone. She had never grown up shy towards anyone. Yes she has shown some shyness when she met the Pub Thugs, but she casts it aside so very quickly. She does not value her own personal space as most people would do for their own. She is bursting with love and happiness that she cannot help but extend and share it with whoever she meets. I do not think she truly feels romantic attraction towards Cassandra as she does to Eugene, but she definitely has special affection for her. Similar to Cass, she knows that there is something more than just a sisterly, romantic, or even friendly love. She knows there is a deeper love she has for Cass than she has for most other people. And this is not to take anything away from Eugene. I believe she has just as much love for Eugene as she does for Cassandra.

Conclusion: I do not think Rapunzel or Cassandra value romance over genuine friendship. I still don’t want to use the word soulmate for the kind of love Cassandra and Rapunzel have for each other. I personally think there is no word to describe the love the two have for each other. There is just so much love they have for each other that romance is not enough to describe it. They both just love each other so much in such a deep way.

There is a word for this kind of love—the greatest form of love: unconditional. Not in a “no matter how awful you are, I will let you off the hook no matter what” kind of way. Instead, I think of their unconditional love as more “I love you so much. You have no clue how big of a part of my life you are. I love to the ends of the Earth and I just cannot stop loving you despite everything that happens. I want to enjoy life and experience everything this world has to offer with you. I want to share every last bit of joy and sorrow with you.” The way I see it, the love Cass and Raps have for each other includes romantic elements but ultimately goes far beyond just that. There’s just so much love they have for each other in their own special way. In a way, they are whole by themselves, but being together makes them even more whole.

TLDR: Cassandra is bisexual and more attracted to girls than guys but not opposed to guys. She is also slow to admitting feelings but quick to subconsciously showing feelings. Rapunzel is pansexual and is just full of so much love that she does not associate any specific gender when she thinks of romance. She is naturally open about her feelings and just as naturally open to showing her feelings. Cass is touchy around people she trusts. Rapunzel is touchy around everyone she values.

One more time: These are all my own personal opinions. This isn’t ghost written by anyone. I am open to any and all conversation about this topic. I am okay with criticism and discussion publicly or privately or anonymously.

Dominus vobiscum,

Polymath.

[blanche--neige]

The use of symbolic storytelling in Mr. Sunshine

One of my favorite things about Mr. Sunshine is that it doesn’t simply have outstandingly beautiful cinematography, but on top of that it is so full of visual  storytelling and symbolism. There are so many powerful pictures that tell a story all of their own, so many small moments, gestures and phrases that form a beautiful pattern that lend greater meaning to almost every scene and give the overall impression that not a single word, action or shot is done without deeper meaning and purpose. 

There are countless outstanding moments in the show: the ending of the rooftop chase when we see the trees with red and yellow leaves in the background; when Eugene and Ae Shin cover each others faces with their hands or when Dong Mae touches Ae Shins skirt. Those are powerful pictures that stay with you for a long time, but what impresses me even more than those specific scenes and shots is how the show uses some of the more subtle moments to tell a completely nonverbal story that spans the whole show, by creating repetition and patterns (this is also used for the dialogue). 

One of the best examples of that concept is the language of touch between Ae Shin and Eugene and how every physical interaction between those two is not only filmed to showcase the power and importance physical contact can have (which is something that has become completely mundane nowadays) but also to mark a clear change in their relationship. Every time there is clear focus on their physical interaction, it is to showcase that their relationship has reached a new stage. The way the camera lingers on those moments is a clear indicator that there is far more going on than them simply touching (while in most cases, you simply have a kiss that is a turning point and indicates the beginning of romantic love and then afterwards it is just random moments of touches that showcase no deeper meaning than the obvious). Here, it is a great combination of subtext and symbolic storytelling (combined with spot on dialogue that indirectly conveys the same message, without ever directly telling it) which creates some form of visual language that comes into play every time they interact. 

1.  “Shaking hands implies that one is not holding a weapon in them.” “When do we let go though?” “When you wish to wield a weapon.” 

While this scene shows Ae Shin accepting Eugenes offer of “doing love” together, sub-textually it is about them finding even ground and deciding to walk in the same direction, aka “not wielding a weapon against each other”. Since Ae Shin at this point doesn’t know the meaning of the word love and still thinks “love” is something comrades do together and Eugene only makes the offer under false pretense, this interaction is still platonic, as is reflected in the “business-like” handshake and overall stiff body language and dialogue. The symbolic meaning of a handshake, as explained by Eugene, also reflects that. There is no romantic intention in this handshake, but it is the first time they touch and the importance of that is strongly reflected in the way both of them react to this pivotal moment. It is not the start of their romantic relationship, but it is the beginning of their relationship as comrades. The music, editing and scenery give this still platonic interaction a romantic undertone, which reflects that subconsciously, both of them already have romantic feelings for each other. Other symbols used in this scene:  Flowing water: water and especially moving water is a symbol of change and often present at turning points. It represents the continuous natural flow of life ... Bridge: The bridge is a symbol of communication and union. It stands for progress and connection and most of all it represents transitions, a crossing over to start a new journey in life. The only other time the bridge is used as an important setting is when Eugene confronts the Potter and they break with each other. By then, the scenery has completely changed, the flowing water has turned to ice and the trees are bare.  Handshake: Forming of unions, offering of peace between people or nations who previously were at odds. 

2.  “Today we shall take a step forward. Tell me. An introduction. A handshake. What should we do next?” “It is called a hug. You won’t be able to do it through.”

Unlike with their last physical interaction, at this point Ae Shin already learned the true meaning of the word love. Her asking Eugene what the next step is and later on initiating the hug herself is a sign of her accepting the offer in it’s true sense. At this point, she already trusts him enough to allow herself to show her affection in a physical way, which is contrasted by Eugenes inability to hug her back. The symbolic meaning behind this is clear: while his inability to hug her back also has to do with the social hierarchies, mainly it shows that even through Eugene has feelings for her, he isn’t yet able to show her the same trust she so blindly shows him. Indirectly, this stage of their relationship is reflected in the dialogue, with Ae Shin being the one who freely chooses to take the next step in their relationship, while Eugenes answer is clearly hesitant. 

3. “But then I met a woman. She often made me waver. I knew you’d give me that look, if I told you my story. I knew, but it still hurts.”

So much symbolism going on in this scene, which is only fitting since it is the clear turning point for Ae Shin and probably the most (reluctantly) vulnerable moment for Eugene (it is the only time he puts into words what happend that day and how deep those emotional scars are still felt). In the beginning, we see them walking together side by side on the ice but at the end Ae Shin is walking alone (the ice under her feet making loud noises like something is breaking) leaving Eugene behind on his own. Eugenes words “I suppose we can no longer walk side by side” empathizes that their paths will diverge from here on. Until they start to mend their relationship again, we not once see them standing or walking side by side, only shots of them standing opposite each other.

Like with the bridge, the lake was only used once before in this manner, when they first had an open conversation on the boat, with the fresh and living water being a symbol of life and the fountain of paradise. Now it turned to ice, which represents death, coldness and the absence of love, a clear symbol for their relationship in that moment. Walking on a frozen river also gives a sense of fragility and uncertainty, which represents both their mental states. They are literally and metaphorically walking on thin ice with each other.   

The moment  Ae Shin is letting go of Eugenes hand symbolizes many things. First, we merely see her leaving, clearly shaken and without saying a single word. The ground under her feet makes loud noises and in the end she falls, empathizing that she can no longer walk the path she was following without stumbling (as referenced by Eugene on their next meeting when he says “I’d rather wish you not stumble again”). It is a visual representation of how Ae Shin is feeling in this moment. She may not say a thing, but Eugenes words have shaken her to her core and are a turning point for her. Only in this moment does she realize what Dong Mae really meant by accusing her of being a “noble fool” and learns to question herself for the first time.  Next we see Eugene offering her his hand (and thereby support) despite feeling deeply hurt and rejected. It shows how Eugene reacts in all of their interactions: no matter how much she hurts him, he will still show his support if she needs it, but never forcing it (his hand isn’t enclosing hers, giving her the chance to let go at any given moment).  Finally, it is Ae Shin who is letting go of his hand and thereby setting a clear end to their relationship, which is the main reason the the camera lingers so long on this moment. 

Little side note: can I just say how genius it is that we see Eugene, and only Eugene, bathed in sunlight/light so often. This is one of the best examples, clearly showing that only Eugenes hand is touching the light (and since to Ae Shin, his character is representing a form of enlightenment, especially in this moment, it is really fitting).

Other symbols used in this scene: Ice/Winter:  coldness, absence of love, difficult and unexplored territory not conducive to human life and life in general, death Lake:  A lake represents emotions, innermost feelings, repressed feelings, self-contemplation as well as a chance for revelation (mirror of the self). 

4. “In this world, differences certainly exist. Differences in power, differences in opinion, differences in status. But that’s not your fault, and neither is it mine. It’s just that we met in this kind of world.”

This is probably my favorite of symbolic storytelling in the whole show, because with so little it tells so much. What stands out here is that it is the only time they are touching hands while there is a physical barrier between them. This barrier are gloves, which embody “power and protection, as well as nobility". They are a very clear symbol of the class divide that at this point in their relationship is their biggest obstacle to overcome. What makes this even more pivotal is that it is Eugene who is putting his gloves on her hands. While on one hand this shows that Eugene still is concerned with protecting her, even while they are at odds with each other, it especially symbolizes that at this very moment he acknowledges her nobility and therefore that she is far above him and beyond his reach. Even more than Ae Shin, it is Eugene who (subconsciously) puts this barrier of social hierarchies between them, since at this point he is still unable to overcome his own feelings of inadequacy. With just this one simple gesture, it is shown that not only the nobles of Joseon still think in terms of social hierarchies, but that Eugene himself still isn't able to see that his own worth is not tied to his roots as a slave. This becomes even more evident when he is barely able to say the words "Differences in social status".  Him putting the gloves on her hands symbolizes at once his unwavering devotion, his submissiveness to her as the one who holds the power in their relationship and his willingness to harm himself (in this case his lack of protection from the cold) in order to secure her safety, which are all major themes that come into play in their relationship.

It is also the first time Eugene is letting go of her hand, with the words “You have to move forward. I will take a step back”, following, which also is referenced in a later scene (coming back to that later).

5. “In Joseon and America as well, it was always like this. Always. People always said that I don’t belong to any of them.” “Your with me.”

When last Eugene actually took her hand in his, there was still a barrier between them but now in this moment, both of them are finally able to let go of all the social restrictions keeping them apart. The hug that follows, this time initiated by Eugene, is a direct callback to the first hug they shared, only this time it is Eugene who is finally able to trust Ae Shin enough to express his love for her in a physical way. Until this point, he was unable to initiate any form of (non-platonic) physical contact and was shown to be highly uncomfortable with it. Again this direct callback to a scene before get’s more noticeable by using the same location. It is the only time ever we see them together in the apothecary when both of them first initiate a hug to express acceptance of emotionally completely dedicating themselves to the other, .  The apothecary is also the setting in which they keep all their secrets away. Ae Shin uses it as a hideout for her rebel activities, their secret letters to each other are exchanged there and of course the turning points of their (secret) relationship take place here. In the cultural context of the time, hugging someone who is not your husband is strictly forbidden, so it is something they can only do in secret.  (Side note: Again with the reflection of the sunlight only on Eugenes side)

6. "Is that why you asked if I can fish? So you could hold my hand?” “Your funny. No!” “Too bad then. Because it was the reason for me.”

We got many beautifully framed shots where the focus is on their hands, but this is actually the first time they are really holding hands in a “romantic” way. It isn’t that this moment of them touching set their relationship on a new path like the other ones did, but it is a follow up to their last interaction and showcases Eugenes growth in terms of their relationship and that he didn’t only hug Ae Shin because he was emotionally vulnerable in that moment. Grabbing her hand like that out in the open is a very bold move on his part and something he would never have done prior to the scene before (his forward and even a little cheeky words reflect that sentiment). Him taking off his jacket and even bearing his arms in front of her also shows that he lost his uprightness in her presence and is able to be more vulnerable with her. Now that both of them are on the same level, this is where their love really starts to bloom, which is shown in the clear flowing water surrounding them and the first plum blossoms starting to bloom. The start of spring, the season for love, hope, new beginnings and birth or rebirth of things.

Other symbols used in this scene: Blue sky: Blue sky represents freedom, happiness, hopefulness and the chance for endless possibilities.  

7.  “What is your plan? You have only one bullet left” “As always, I only need one bullet.”

This one is hard. It’s almost impossible for me to describe all the things this one moment alone makes me feel. In terms of symbolism there is not as much going on as in some of the other moments, but it still left the biggest impact on me, mainly because of all the moments that came before. The way he desperately squeezes her hand and finally let’s go very reluctantly tells you just as much as the “one bullet” dialogue they had before (another great use of symbolic storytelling that uses a certain pattern. It isn’t the first time that Eugene uses the one bullet tactic, and every time it comes at a greater cost. This dialogue combined with this image already tells us everything we need to know).  Noteworthy of course is that we see them using the hands on which they wear their wedding rings. They also both have their pinky finger dyed in red. Back in the day it was custom for young girls to dye their nails in spring and if the color stayed until winter, they would marry their true love (which sadly didn’t happen for them. But it can be seen as a symbol of them intending to get married for real in the future/or alternatively that they accept each other as their spouse). Here we yet again have a direct callback to a prior scene: The only other time we see Eugene letting go of Ae Shins hands, he also said the words “You should move forward. I’m taking a step back.” Those words are repeated here as well, shortly after letting go of her hand for the last time. 

Of course there are other moments when they touch and all of those moments have their own meaning as well. But listing all of them here would probably be too much. Those are just the highlights and also the moments the show visually clearly shows us to be the most important ones. There are countless other moments of symbolic storytelling in the show. This extensive use of repetition, contrast  and patterns is used time and time again, whether it is the use of locations, objects, actions or other visual elements. Most notably, it is extremely often used for the dialogue as well. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a style of dialogue that was so heavy on metaphors and symbolism. There are certain phrases used time and time again by all the leading characters. Sometimes the context is completely different to show contrast, sometimes it is the same context to build repetition and strengthen certain themes. When Ae Shin and Eugene talk to each other, they use their completely unique set of words, using an imaginary style that from their very first encounter to their last one contains phrases like “we seem to head in the same direction” (first encounter), “walking side by side”, “wherever you go, I will follow the same path” or “You should move forward. I will take a step back”(last encounter). This specific choice of words creates an image that has nothing to do with the kind of language normally used between lovers (those key words are also not used by the other characters) and reflects the nature of their relationship: comrades who deeply respect and cherish each other first, and lovers second.  The symbolsim of walls

Walls, or metaphorically the wall also has a strong symbolic meaning in their relationship. Like the glove, it stands for the divide between two different groups of people. The first time we see that wall that is keeping them apart is when they are at odds with each other specifically because they don’t belong on the same side of the wall (for one because of their class divide, but also because Eugene still sees himself as American and not Korean. A Wall also represents the point where two nations are divided).

The other times we see that kind of wall, it becomes a physical manifestation of their class divide. It is the wall belonging to Lord Go’s home. Here they talk to each other while being separated by a wall that in this context symbolizes that Ae Shin belongs to nobility (and therefore stands on the side of Lord Go’s residence) and Eugene belongs to those who are low born (on the street). In those instances they are also not allowed to talk freely to each other because social hierarchy dictates them to not show their feelings for each other in this setting. The wall becomes a physical reminder of that. This is where Ae Shins act of jumping over the wall to run after Eugene right after he got rejected by her Grandfather because of both his slave status and his American nationality becomes a far stronger meaning. It is in that moment that she finally decides to stand by his side, no matter if society want’s to dictate her otherwise. This is further empathized by Eugenes act of putting her shoe back on and beforehand intimately touching her foot (and her allowing him to do so). It is a clear sign from her side that social hierarchies don’t matter anymore, at least in the face of her grandfather. (In connection to Dong M. the term “jumping over a wall” is also used and at one time he jumps over the wall of the Go families residence, clearly showing yet again that he doesn’t let himself be restricted by social hierarchies, while Eugene is the one referred to “using the door”. That is one big difference between them. Eugene would never simply jump over the wall, because social hierarchies are still set in his thinking. He only crosses the line when openly invited in by the “other side”.)

Here, when they are both in the palace, they still have to go by the rules society dictates to them. This is another moment where they are simply forbidden to show their feelings for each other and talk openly. In this scene it gets especially evident that in the eyes of society, they will never be on eye level. Ae Shin might have jumped over the wall of her grandfathers residence and thereby went against her grandfathers wish, but she still can’t openly stand by Eugenes side as long as she wants to live as nobility. Side note: Not really related to the wall symbolism, but Eugenes monologue (I don’t think he was ever as talkative as here lol) in this scene is so full of metaphors. When he says “These are plum flowers. The crest of the Korean royal family. I wish I could see this flower all year round. What a silly thought” it would be obvious that he was talking about Ae Shin even if we didn’t see him indirectly talking to her. Ae Shin is compared to a flower more than once. She was the one introducing Eugene to those flowers and there also is mention here of it being the crest of the royal family (so a sign of nobility). Even tho by now Ae Shin gave her heart to him completely and decided to not marry Hee Seung, Eugene still knows that it is a silly thought to hope they could see each other every day. The queens servant then answers: “What a shame. It blooms only in spring“. This is true as well. Spring time, so the time when those flowers bloom, was the only season during which they could see each other more freely and during which time their love was allowed to really bloom and where they completely committed to each other. So yes, sadly Eugene was only able to see those flowers (their relationship) bloom in spring. Everything before and after was a combination of great pain and a little happiness in between. (also it is quite funny and telling that Eugene is only able to sincerely tell Ae Shin that she is beautiful indirectly either by writing it in a letter or telling another woman how her beauty took him by surprise)

And here finally, the most notable representation of the wall of Lord Go’s home symbolizing the power and nobility of the Go family. When Lee Wan Ik comes to destroy the Go residence, all that is shown on his side is the simple act of destroying one single wall to symbolize what will come in the future. This symbolic act alone brings Lord Go to his knees and is the indicator of his death. The destroyed wall is a physical manifestation of the downfall of the Go Family, something both Eugene and Dong Mae are deeply troubled by. (Eugenes voice over about the uncertainty of their future and the great pains that will come while looking at the remnants of that wall underlines that)

The use of the seasons Another noticeable thing is the extensive focus on the seasons. The way the seasons are visually tied into the cinematography for one (aside from being gorgeous to look at) makes it easy to get a feeling for the time span of the show. In most movies and shows (also in most books) I barely have any idea how much time passed from beginning to end. Here it’s almost hard not to notice that the story starts in autumn and slowly progresses over the span of more than a year.  The seasons are also used to reflect the progress and state of Eugene and Ae Shins relationship.

This kind of symbolic storytelling gives great depth and at the same time heightens the re-watch value of the show immensely. By now I honestly lost count how often I watched some parts of the show and I still find new details and meaning almost every time. I probably learned more from analyzing all the different patterns in this show about symbolism and symbolic storytelling(and just storytelling in general) than from the 2 years I went to film school (which, aside from being a great compliment for the show, also shows how little the art of symbolism is valued nowadays if you barely learn anything about it even in film school...). The show also does a great job of making those elements accessible to a wider audience. Mr. Sunshine, no matter how deep and complex it’s themes and characters, is not an auteur or indie show, it is still “mainstream”. In a way, it’s like a huge budget blockbuster with mainstream appeal mixed with the kind of storytelling I mostly recognize from the old classics and the visual presentation from way back when movies were expressed more artfully and artistically than they are now. It’s always great if a book or movie/show is able to make more artistic or complex concepts accessible to a wider audience. That’s actually way harder than adapting those things for a smaller specific audience like more auteur movies/show like to do. Just because a show is made for a wider audience, doesn’t mean that it can’t have artistic value and complex and heavy concepts presented in a more symbolic than literal way.

[wexhappyxfew]

For Thirsty Thursday, what has been your favorite character relationships to write?

JULIANNE!!! hello!! i hope you are doing well and that your day has been lovely :) 💛

so, for this im going to pull 2 from sunshine soldier, because currently i dont want to give anything away for the soldier of stars!! :) thank u for this!!

Sunshine Soldier

Sunshine Soldier was my first ever fic I published anywhere, and it holds a very special place in my heart as does Charlotte Tarvers. Throughout the context of the story, there are many different relationships that Charlotte has with members of Easy Company, but I have to say my 2 favorites are her relationship with Ronald Speirs, and her relationship with Eugene Roe. Now, this was when I just had ideas and was just going with it and it worked and stuff, but she was a combat medic 🥰

PLATONIC - Eugene Roe and Charlotte Tarvers: Charlotte became a combat medic in Easy Company and her and Gene connected almost instantly because Charlotte was born in France before her parents decided it was only right to leave France and come to America for a better life. So, Charlotte grew up speaking French, and that is initially what bonded Gene and her together as well as Charlotte’s love for the medical field and saving people whether it be physcially, mentally or emotionally. She was always putting others before herself, she’d grown up that way.

Gene and Charlotte are my favorites for the platonic relationship of the book mainly because by the middle of the story, it is clear that they just get each other. Such as knowing when one is upset, or when they are genuinely, purely happy.

A pivotal scene is in Bastogne [Episode 6] where Gene has come back from Bastogne, hearing Smokey was paralized and he is sat upon a tree, doing that 1,000 yard stare. Charlotte herself is also struggling like Gene, but she puts Gene in front of her own worries, even as she grows sicker just to make sure that he is okay. She makes sure he eats, and he sleeps and he’s warm and that, without even having to talk, she tells him that she’ll always be there for him. Their relationship was very deep, personally to me, because they could respect each other, and get work done, but they also had fun together and Gene felt himself around her, because she was the Sunshine and had that effect on everyone. And they also brought out the best sides of one another, which I loved!!

Gene and Charlotte just truly were the people who didn’t need to be at each other’s side all the time to know what the other was thinking. One look and they read each other’s minds. In a way, their like Yin and Yang, completely each other, with the head and the heart. Gene was the head of the operation, firm, determined, soft-spoken with a quiet demeanor, while Charlotte was the heart, truly using her emotions to express herself and truly emote who she was but staying strong as a female and a woman who was looked up to as someone who saved lives along the front line.

I just really loved their Head/Heart relationship that ran together so well. I adored that :)

ROMANTIC - Ronald Speirs and Charlotte Tarvers:

THESE TWO. They were literally so fun to write and honestly so adorable to write.

Charlotte first met Ronald Speirs back in Toccoa when Sobel put her on night patrol the same time Speirs was on night patrol. And Charlotte, being Charlotte, was not one to listen to what others said about people, she figured everyone deserved proper first impressions instead of what was said. There was automatically that sort of chemistry that people kept looking back on it seemed.

Throughout the course of the war you see these two in different situations with each other, long enough to notice, like, oh so he’s admiring her righ now, or oh that was a flirty comment. Just little things like that bits of admiration, where you could see that Charlotte’s general attitude and character impressed Speirs to many heights. Even with just little moments of them passing by, or catching each other’s eye contact, they were always in the backs of each other’s minds, but war didn’t seem the place for romantic feelings.

Their relationship was very much a slow-burn, as it took the entire book really for them to acknowledge their feelings for each other, but they saw each other at their highs and their lows and still respected one another and were devoted to each other, which I adored because they complimented each other really well.

Like, Charlotte, a combat medic with a fever, running through Foy with a gun because she thought someone oughta save their asses. Ronald Speirs energy right there.

But they bring out different sides of each other. You want soft Speirs? Sunshine Soldier will give you soft Speirs. Charlotte brings out that gentle, cuddly and soft side of Speirs that I feel isn’t talked about widely. He may be a tough guy but he needs some love too :)

Speirs I feel brings on that even more loyal and trustworthy side of Charlotte in a way. Charlotte never believed any of the rumors about Speirs and she told him straight up, because well it’s Charlotte and she’ll be blunt. And Charlotte remained loyal to and continues to remain loyal to Speirs no matter what anyone else says because she knows who Speirs is, and she trusted him wholeheartedly, not matter what really.

Even though they are strong together as a couple, with high respect and loyalty and trust and caring love, they were strong alone in their own ways which I feel made them work. They had established to each other that they were strong and were worthy leaders, that were willing to let their guards down for one another. That led to them having a good relationship together because they knew themselves and became stronger together, which I LOVE!!

—————-

thank you julianne!! this was really fun, i was able to show my thought process, a shortened one, of two of my favorite relationships from sunshine soldier. maybe i can do one for the soldier of stars soon!! :) 💛💛 lovely question!!

[rainyday-deer]

One more question... What do you like about Hector and Rapunzel? 😍💝

As a ship?? OHO BOY

So like-- First off, I do try to make it pretty obvious about why I like them in the lil scribbly scenarios I do for them, and the kind of dynamic I can see them having. Most of what I do isn’t even explicitly shippy, and can easily be read as a friendship. Which is a big thing for me, tbh. I want to make it seem plausible that these two could be friends, and then have them grow into something else.

I will be forward-- I really enjoy Heroine/Antagonist ships, especially for Rapunzel. Anyone who has followed me long enough, or knows me well enough, knows this to be true. I enjoy enemies to friends to lovers. It’s a very fun dynamic, and figuring out how it could work is a fun past-time lmao

A lot of this is based on context clues, speculation, and headcanons though, since Hector wasn’t touched on in depth in the show. C’est la vie.

Hector’s pretty interesting too, since while he’s an antagonist, he’s not necessarily a straight up bad guy. He’s doing what he thinks is right, even if it’s in an incredibly extreme manner. He believes he’s helping to keep the world safe, by keeping the moonstone a secret, and keeping everyone away from the dark kingdom. He could not have given less of a shit about Rapunzel, or the fact she MIGHT be the sundrop. Hell, he looks INCREDIBLY unimpressed with her when he finally gets close.

That said, when he shows up again, he’s still willing to fight on her side because it’s the right thing to do. It kind of reiterates that NO, he’s not a bad guy.

And that’s kind of the crux for me. Rapunzel has won over arguably worse people. The Pub Thugs were unapologetic thugs (and remained that way, even when chasing their dreams). Rapunzel won over Stalyan, who wasn’t above letting her father poison someone so she could force Eugene into marriage. Var and Cass both kind of count too; She forgave them after they BOTH committed treason and attempted murder because they were angry with her. She’s a very loving person who wants to see the best in people, and I don’t think Hector would be an exception.

And like-- They’re actually kind of similar. They’ve both got the long periods of isolation thing going for them. They both love animals (Did you see how Hector was comforting his Rhino?? He loves him, end of story), and they’re both incredibly loyal to the people they care about (arguably to extreme lengths). All these traits manifest in different ways, but they’re there. Sort of like a strange reflection of the other.

Even visually I kind of feel like they contrast against each other in a really pleasant way-- But that’s more of a personal opinion.

Also! There’s one subversion about them that is interesting (to me personally):

Rapunzel is technically more caught up in the world than Hector is. Rapunzel’s had about 2-3 years to learn about the modern world around her. New books, inventions, politics. She knows about most, if not all, of it. Hector’s knowledge is outdated, given his longer period of isolation. You’d think he’d be the more worldly one, and in some ways he is, but that doesn’t change the fact that Rapunzel is the one most up to date, so in a weird way, a little more knowledgeable.

Not about everything, mind you, but it’s an interesting note imo.

On a more emotional side: It’s pretty well regarded by Hector stans that he’s touch starved. Arguably, he’s a little socially and emotionally stunted too-- And so is Rapunzel! BUT, she’s a lot more willing to reach out and be compassionate. She’s genuine about it, and given their few similarities, I do think Hector would be willing to at least hear her out. And she does get it, which in turn, means he gets her too. I feel like they’d be able to notice easier if and when the other is overwhelmed.

(Also also on the touch starved thing: Rapunzel is a cuddlebug. She’s touchy. Hector would get SO many hugs, arm touches, kisses, etc)

Striking on the opposites thing though-- Hector is probably standoffish and grouchy with strangers. Rapunzel wants to be everyone’s friend and be liked. I feel like they’d help each other balance it out. Rapunzel would encourage Hector to try and make friends, and he might try to help her let it go and chill out if someone doesn’t like her (Because, lbr, she does struggle with it a lot.) Rapunzel is very forgiving. Hector is arguably more stingy with forgiveness and earning trust back (Not that he can’t-- He didn’t kill Adira, after all). They’d have a yin-yang dynamic, I think.

So I guess the bottom line is just... I think they’d have some interesting interactions, and I think their dynamic could be a lot of fun, be it romantic or platonic.

[flystrue]

⌠ aubrey joseph. cismale. he/him. ⌡❝ — well, look who’s just arrived ! if it isn’t the one and only eugene lane. though, around here they’re known as the obsequious. don’t tell ‘em i said this but the twenty two year old mechanic kinda has a reputation of being self - critical and acquiescent. but y’know, they can be magnanimous and conscientious too. typical aries. anyways, welcome home and stay safe gene ! ❞ 

let’s  rock  &  roll  buckerOOS  here  is  a  v  long  intro  bc  i  got  rlly  !  excited  !  abt  this  rp !  i’m  nae  (  twenty  ,  she /her  ,  acst  /  from  good  ol’  australia !  )  and  i’ll  be  playing  eugene  lane  ,  whom  you  can  learn  more  abt  below  !

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬.

full  name  :  eugene  anthony  lane .  

nickname  /  alias  :  gene . 

age  :  twenty  two .  

gender  /  pronouns  :  cismale  ,  he /  him .  

sexual  /  romantic  orientation  :  bisexual  /  biromantic .

hometown  :  born   &   raised  in  misty  hollow  ,  connecticut  ,  babey  !

occupation  :  mechanic .

could  be  compared  to  :  grizz  visser  from  the  society  ,  monty  green  from  the  100  ,  rio  from  money  heist .

𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲.

eugene  lane  :  you’re  born  in  a  run - down  trailer  ,  broken  blinds   &   shattered  kitchenware .  born  to  two  parents  ,  one  of  which  is  nothing  but  an  absent shadow  in  your  life  ,  and  another  who  carries  an  edge  like  knives   ━   you’re  born  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  tracks  ,  but  you’re  not  born  there  alone .  you’re  sister  is  born  several  minutes  before  you  ,  and  she  will  stand  steadfast  by  your  side  throughout  every  up  and  down  ,  she  will  always  be  there  to  be  your  pillar  of  strength  ,  and  that  is  more  than  enough  love  to  survive  on   ━   you  are  brought  up  rough  ,  and  not  just  in  that  busted  up  trailer  park   :   you  blend  into  the  back  of  classrooms  to  avoid  all  the  sneers   &  pestering  ,  but  teachers  see  you  ,  they  remember  who  you  are  .  they  say  you’ve  got  a  decent  brain  in  that  head  of  yours  ,  something  valuable  ,  something  to  be  harnessed  into  greatness .  they  say  all  your  opportunities  are  waiting  for  you  just  around  the  bend   ━   it’s  a  nice  dream  ,  although  you  fail  to  see  your  own  potential .  for  now  ,  you  have  your  gadgets   &   odd  science  experiments  ,  selling  exam  answers  &  reports  to  students  under  the  bleachers  promising  A’s  ,  and  that’s  enough .  

the  household  is  a  tense  one  ,  and  your  mom   &   sister  fight  A  LOT   :   your  mom  is  intolerable  and  cruel  ,  and  your  sister  is  a  spitfire  that  is  easily  ignited   &  not  easily  extinguished   ━   you  do  your  best  to  keep  out  of  your  mother’s  vengeful  path  ,  even  if  it  means  looking  away  when  your  sister  needs  you  most  ,  even  if  it  means  cowering .   you  are  not  a  fighter  ,  you  do  not  raise  your  fists  or  your  tone  :  you  prefer  the  road  less  bound  for  conflict  ,  to  speak  softer  &  use  gentler  palms .  your  father  ,  when  he’s  around  ,  has  said  this  is  weakness  :  too  passive  ,  too  eager  ,  but  gene  can’t  see  a  fault  in  being  kinder  than  most .  

highschool  graduation  is  a  sigh  of  relief  ,  no  longer  hassled  &  tormented  by  peers  that  you  tried  and  tried  to  gain  respect  from .  BUT  NOW  WHAT ?  you  are  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  food - chain  ,  and  you  have  been  brought  up  with  nothing  but  the  tendency  to  only  see  your  faults   ━   somehow  ,  you’re  offered  apprenticeship  at  a  local  automobile  mechanic  in  exchange  for  free  labor   ━   not  ideal  when  you’re  seeking  to  pull  your  own  weight  in  that  new  apartment  with  your  sister  that  neither  can  really  afford .  but  you  make  it  work  ,  you  take  up  odd  jobs  wherever  you  can  find  them   :   drip  ‘n  dry  laundromat  ,  the  hollow  diner  ,  even  your  very  own  from  home  computer  repair  business  that  never  really  takes  off  ,  but  it  pulls  enough  to  get  by  until  you  can  navigate  your  way  under  a  hood  ,  enough  to  say   :   THIS  IS  ALL  ME  ,  eugene  lane  did  this  !    and  that  is  enough .  

𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲  &  𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 .  

first  and  foremost  ....  he  Baby   .....  GOD  he  really  does  have  a  big  heart  !!!!  cares  abt  people  a  HECK  ton  !!!  everything  he  does  is  for  his  sister  +  those  he  loves  /  befriends  !!!

v  self  critical  of  himself  tho  like  ...  he’s  constantly  doubting  himself  and  his  ability's  even  though  !!!!  he’s  v  smart  !!!  if  u  ever  need  help  with  anything  techy  ,  he’s  ur  man  !

loves  his  job  ...  sm  ...   he  fuckin  LOVES  tinkering  with  stuff .  although  he’s  really  only  been  an  official  automobile  mechanic  for  abt  a  year  or  so  ??  will  flip  out  over  cars  tho  ..  he’ll  ramble  ALL  DAY  abt  his  opinions  on  different  manufacturers .   

he  gives  off  grandpa  vibes  ...  he  hardly  curses   &   he’s  in  bed  by  9 ...  yes  he  watches  soap  operas  in  his  spare  time  ,  and  what  abt  it .

will  Never  snap  back  at  anyone  EVER .  he  will  100 %  always  back  down  from  confrontation .  the  only  time  he  has  ever  stepped  !  tf  !  up  !  was  when  he  was  in  his  late  teens   &   he  ...  lost  oop .  he  got  rlly  badly  injured  (  permanent  hearing  loss  in  his  right  ear .  ) 

strangely  tho  ??  he  is  weirdly  CALM  abt  all  this  murder  stuff .  he’ll  be  like  ‘  yeah  that’s  kinda  Freaky  ,  huh  ’  but  then  5  mins  later  he’ll  be  out  Walkin’  down  dark  alley’s  or  taking  in  hitch -  hikers  : /

but  he’s  also  this  vine  when  it  comes  to  anything  Creepy

𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 .

gonna  get  my  homies  mood  rings  so  i  know  when  they  need  a  hug  :  bad  boys  bad  boys  .. .  whatcha  gonna’  do  .. .  whatcha  gonna  do  when  they  come  4  u .... i  want  a  BROTP  for  him  !!  YESTERDAY  !!  bonus  points  if  it’s  like  a  dumb  boy  band  squa d  

u  was  my  fuckin’  cinnamon  apple  :  ok  i’m  kinda’  picturing  that  ....  on  /  off  type  relationship  ??  they  are  constantly  a  are  they  /  aren’t  they  situation  bc  one  second  they’re  all  over  each  other  and  the  next  they  refuse  2  speak  to  each  other .

a  strictly  platonic  gal  pal  :  just  a  gal  that  he  is  genuinely  friends  with  ?? not  to  get  my  nerdy  pants  on  but  .....  hermione  granger  /  harry  potter  type  deal  ?? pls  he  needs  it  ...  I NEED IT

break  his  heart  i  dare  u   :   he’s  such  a  sentimentalist  that  he  grows  attached  to  ppl  v  quickly  so  mayb  it  was  first  just  a  fling ??  or  mayb  a  highschool  crush  gone  wrong ?? maybe  he’s  CURRENTLY  crushing  on  them  and  they’re  gonna’  try  and  let  him  down  easy  BUT

a  GIRLFRIEND  /  BOYFRIEND ??  :  just  gonna  throw  it  out  there  ...  bc  who  knows  !  he’d  be  a  good  boyfriend  ...  he  would  open  doors  4  u   &   giv  u  .....  all  his  undevoted  love  and  undivided  attention  ALWAYS .  

a  bad  influence  :  gene  is  a  goody  goody  ,  so  this  person  would  probably  be  pushin  him  outside  his  comfort  zone ??  ━  maybe  they’ve  manipulated  him  in  a  way ??  got  him  to  do  their  bidding  ??  or  mayb  he’s  just  followin  them  around  &  tryin’  to  keep  up  w /  their  shenanigans ?? 

let’s  tell  each  other  secrets  ,  ill  go  first ...  i  Hat e  u  :  kinda  picturing  someone  he  clashed  with  in  highschool  ??  but  mayb  even  someone  who  just  gives  him  a  hard  time OR  MAYB  the  person  he  fought  with  that  last  tim e ??

and  literally  anything  else  !!  pls  plot  with  me ... i  lo v  e u 

[tshepiso-reads-books]

I Fully Understand The Hype | The Diviners by Libba Bray

Started: November 16th, 2019

Finished: November 24th, 2019

Despite the fact that it took me an unbelievably long time to finish I had a rip-roaring time reading The Diviners [Goodreads} . This spooky paranormal read was filled with equal parts atmosphere and charm and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun YA read.

Our primary protagonist in The Diviners is seventeen year old Evie O’Neill, a whip smart flapper with her eyes on notoriety. After an unfortunate incident in her hometown of Zenith, Ohio Evie is sent to live with her bachelor uncle, Will in Manhattan. Almost immediately after her arrival Evie worms her way into the hunt of an occult serial killer Naughty John and uses her skills of psychometry and boundless charm to unravel the paranormal mystery.

The Diviners is filled with great characters. While Evie is the primary protagonist of our narrative, we also closely follow five other characters: Memphis Campbell, Theta Knight, Mabel Rose, Jericho Jones, and Sam Lloyd. All of these characters are richly rendered and compelling enough to carry their slice of the narrative. What’s great about Bray’s character writing is her ability to capture the unique vulnerabilities that make the core of all our characters. I was able to easily connect with each of them because of their engaging personalities and depth of their characterisation. While Bray didn’t spend equal time with each of the teens (that would have made for one hell of a slog) she still managed to create six memorable characters, which is  a feet deserving of praise

I adored the relationships developed in this novel (both platonic and romantic) . The book was filled to the brim with hilarious dialogue that made every group scene a fun time. I appreciated the quiet moments between characters; those scenes in particular revealed interesting facets to our protagonists and made me believe their growing friendships. My favorite character interactions were definitely between Evie and Mabel, I adore these two’s friendship so much. I wouldn’t go into The Diviners for romance because it’s certainly a background element to the plot (though shout out to Theta and Memphis for having the most adorable meet-cute). I can tell Bray is setting up a lot of romantic conflict so it’s gonna be a fun time watching that unravel.

The mystery in this novel was intensely compelling. Because we get the concurrent perspective of our antagonist, Naughty John, The Diviners isn’t hinged on figuring out the mystery of who the serial killer is. The atmosphere works to build a sense of pure dread and anticipation in the audience. Bray establishes the ominous tone throughout the novel so well because of her omniscient third person narration. She intersperses asides that have a birds eye view of the conflict that both give her story scope as well has imbue the story with a sinister presence.

I adored how deeply political this novel was. The Diviners is often praised for its diversity in its cast, we have a fantastic plethora of minorities in this book including black, jewish, immigrant, and gay characters throughout. I don’t often see people talking about how integral a refutation of bigotry is to the plot of the novel. The racism and xenophobia of 1926 is baked into the plot and setting of The Diviners in a way that never felt like lip service or set dressing, but pointed and relevant. The fact that the antagonist of this story is supported by a rising white supremacist movement hits hard in the context of 2019. I’m not even capturing the depth and breath of this but the thesis of Bray’s point can be summed up in this one quote:

“When the world moves forward too fast for some people, they try to pull us all back with their fear”

The 1920s is an often glamorised period of history, people love the flappers and the cinema. Bray brings to light the ugliness of the time in an important way and reminds us that the 1920s was also a time of eugenics and xenophobia and in bringing that to light speaks to the bigotry of America today.

Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Diviners was pure joy to read. I fully understand the hype and I will promptly be binging the rest of the series once King of Crows comes out in February.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Content warning: sexual assault (IPV), animal abuse

[rinusagitora]

The love, lead, and the undead.

Fandom: Monster Prom

Characters: Vicky Schmidt, Damien LaVey, Brian Yu, Oz, Zoe

Pairings: Brian/Damien/Vicky, Oz/Zoe, platonic Brian/Oz/Zoe

Words: 3.9k

Summary: Canon divergent. Chapter 2/?. WARNINGS— smut, alcoholism, depression, mentions of csa, childhood abuse, medical horror; After Damien and Vicky share a night of passion, trouble brews.

Home was supposed to feel cozy and lived-in.

Vicky vaguely remembered her childhood with her mom and sisters. That was home. She remembered her biweekly visitation with her dad too. His home was cold and smelled like dog urine and beer. His car smelled like cold metal, and then it smelled like a gas fire after he wrapped it around a pole. She remembered the smell of her dad's breath as he screamed at her to buckle up, like putrefaction. She remembered what her blood smelled like when her head collided with the dashboard.

Since the accident, she hadn't felt at home. Gary was the man who reanimated Vicky. His lab was hard and cold. He was never really affectionate towards her. Once Gary died of mercury poisoning, his brother Eugene took her in, and that was never home, not after the things he did to her. Even Vicky’s apartment wasn't home.

She wasn't ready to stay in a place so hollow.

"Can you stay the night?" Vicky asked. Damien walked her home after they loitered on campus several hours after the school day ended.

"Yeah. My dads won't mind."

Vicky guided Damien inside and he kicked off his shoes by the door. "This is cute," he complimented.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Booze?"

"Wassail?"

"Is… is that booze?"

Vicky forgot he didn't celebrate Christmas. "I'll get you some whiskey."

"Thanks, babe."

Vicky returned with two glasses of single malt whiskey. When she sat next to Damien, he crossed his legs and gazed upon her. "So, bank robbery. What got you into that?"

"I like being independent. It'd hard juggling school and my social life when I need to pay rent. Robbery is a huge payout every couple of weeks, so I can cover my bills and have plenty extra to play around with," she explained. "Vera is a fantastic partner as well. I wouldn't get half as much as I do without her."

"Are you guys, like, friends? Does Vera even have friends?"

"I feel like she’s my friend," she said. "If we’re asking questions, though, why are you going to a public school? You're the motherfucking prince of Hell. I'm sure there are a plethora of academics at your dads’ disposal that could instruct you better than any of our teachers. You’d probably learn stuff that would be more relevant to ruling over Hell.”

"I wanted to go to school up here. It's not that I feel out of place, but it's refreshing not constantly feeling like people are sucking up to me up here for their own benefit. I prefer being sucked up to for being feared."

"I'm sure you'd rather be sucked off."

His face darkened with his blush. "Well, yes, but… God, you are forward."

Vicky was pretty forward. As curious as she was about Damien's other love interest, she hoped to avoid those heavy topics so soon. But she was bored, and she was a whore, so the obvious solution was to fuck.

She set her whiskey aside, and Damien downed the remainder of his. She crawled on top of him. She kissed him, kissed across his jaw, and scraped her teeth against his earlobe. Damien purred. With one hand, he pulled her back to his lips. He licked her lips with his broad tongue. When he slipped inside, he massaged the roof of her mouth. He pulled her shirt up to her shoulders and she pulled away from him to undress and discard her clothing.

"You're gorgeous," he said. He stroked the underside of her breasts. Vicky bit her lip and smiled down at him. "These are amazing. No wonder you're so popular," he told her with a fistful of her breasts in hand.

Vicky pried Damien's hands off her chest and kissed his neck. She kissed down his neck, his collarbone, his chest, his belly. His hips bucked when she licked his erection through his pants.

"Fuck," he groaned. He unbuttoned his pants, and then lifted his hips so Vicky easily slipped his pants off. She held his erection in one hand as she languidly licked up his shaft. She tasted his precum on his head. When she slipped it into her mouth and lapped at the opening, his fingers combed through her hair. She swallowed him down to his base, where she smelled his sweat on his bladder. His breath rattled in his lungs. She only bobbed a handful of times before he grasped her chin and the back of her head, which effectively pinned her in place, and fucked her face. It touched her voice box, she gurgled, and it was delightful. She held his thighs to prevent from touching herself.

His thigh muscles quivered as he pulled out. Saliva and precum dripped onto Vicky’s chin. She smiled up at him. “You’re a freak, babe,” he hoarsed.

“Fuck me,” Vicky mewled. Damien vanished her pants and underwear like a magician. He dropped her legs over his shoulders, and held one of her quads as he positioned himself. Vicky’s moan echoed through her apartment. He was so long, he continuously massaged the nerve endings inside of her, and it made her legs spasm around his neck.

“God,” he groaned, “you’re amazing. I’m gonna fuck you into oblivion.”

“Like a toy?” she whined. Like a pretty doll he took everywhere. She wanted to be wanted by him so badly.

“Like a toy,” he concurred. He grabbed the arm of her sofa and pounded her unmercifully. It was like he hammered heat and bliss into her gut and it crept up to her chest and face. Her chest heaved. She ran her fingers through Damien’s silky hair. He kissed her palm, and when her hand drifted down his jaw, he caught two of her fingers in his mouth. He parted her pointer and middle fingers with his tongue and licked the webbing between them like he did when he wanted to be a crass, nasty bastard. As juvenile and stupid as it was, it pushed Vicky closer to the edge, like all he wanted was to lay between her legs and eat her like a lollipop.

Damien grunted. His thrusts became sloppy. With his eyes glued to her, he pumped her full of his seed. She watched him finish with a patient smile. He was so cute when he climaxed.

“Holy shit,” he breathed as he pulled his flaccid cock out of her. His cum coated him. It oozed onto her thighs. He pulled her lips open and watched it flow. When he looked back up at her, he had that awful, shit-eating grin that always went straight to her groin, and then said, “I’m gonna clean you up, baby.”

Vicky was helpless against his whims. She only whimpered as he scooted down to her pussy like a dream come true.

First, Damien licked up her. She covered her warm face. Already, he was so wonderful, overwhelming, fantastical. Three licks into his prize, a prize because Vicky felt as golden as a trophy, his pointed tongue pressed on. He lapped up his cum like a hungry cat, he even plunged inside and sucked it out. When he finished, he did a slow, torturous victory lap up to her clitoris that made her beg.

She grabbed his horn and pulled him against her crotch as hard as she possibly could have. He seemed to enjoy it. Damien pushed his fingers into her, and then he hooked them against the roof of her canal, and in conjunction with his oral treatment, it made her squirm and press herself against him, unable to conjure the means to tell him to go harder, faster.

“I love you, Damien,” Vicky finally gasped as her fingers ran through his silky hair, “please keep going!”

Damien picked up the pace. Her legs clenched around his impish ears. Vicky was helpless, because Damien was a fucking expert and her own whorishness worked against her. Her chest locked up. It was like she was overcome with a tidal wave of heat and loveliness.

Vicky helplessly laid as her chest heaved. Down and down she went, until she finally rolled her eyes forward to meet Damien's face on her chest. He wiped cum off his chin and then kissed her. "You're pretty metal, babe,” he said, “you held out for awhile."

"I have experience," she said. "Can we go lay down? This isn't the best place for post-coital snuggling."

Damien pulled Vicky to her feet. Inside her bedroom, she fell onto her bed, blissful and sated, secure in Damien's arms. Vera told her time and time that her relationship with men wasn't healthy, and Vicky knew her self-esteem was fueled by whoever her partner happened to be. But Vicky was an addict. She couldn't help herself.

"I love you, Vicky," Damien told her, as his fingertips traced her side.

She smiled. "I love you too, Damien," and all was well with the world.

---

Vicky and Damien went to school together, hand-in-hand, until Vera and Liam caught them together, and whisked her away to gossip.

“Sweet mother of god,” Liam said as they power walked to the back of campus, “did you guys spend the night together?"

“Yes,” Vicky replied.

“Like, in your bed?”

“... yeah. He’s my boyfriend. The loveseat isn’t long enough for him to sleep on to begin with. That’d be like stuffing a banana into a really tiny tupperware container, or a croc in a storm drain.”

“Where the hell do you come up with these comparisons? You know what? Never mind, I don’t want to know,” Liam said. “Let’s rewind. First of all, I wanna know how all this happened. I’ve known Damien for a couple of years now and I don’t think he’s been with anyone who he’s come to school with.”

“Oh boy. I’ve been trying to get this to happen for awhile now, so I’ll give you the condensed version. Apparently, we liked each other, and were just too stubborn to talk about it until Vera made us talk about it yesterday.”

Vera sighed. “You know that’s not it.”

“Well, we did it last night,” Vicky replied.

"Wait, what? Mother of God, you two work fast. Was it any good?"

"It was fantastic," Vicky sighed wistfully. "He lasted forever, first of all. But he was so good. He finished in me, and then he got in there and cleaned it up with his mouth."

"Oh. Oh wow, that's hot," Liam mumbled.

"That… that is actually really hot, but that wasn't what I meant."

“Vera, are you talking about Damien’s polyamory?” Liam asked.

Apparently everyone but Vicky knew about it. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. "When we talked about it yesterday, it really stressed him out."

"Vicky…" Vera sighed, "I understand you don't want to make him uncomfortable, but you need to ask him about this. You deserve to know."

The way Vera talked about it, like Damien was a diseased whore and Vicky needed his bill of health, put her on edge. "We can talk about it when he's ready. I don't mind sharing Damien, and if it's someone likable enough, I might even partake myself. But this is something that really upsets him when he has to talk about it."

Vera stopped in front of Vicky, arms crossed over her chest and a look as stony as her victims. "You're his fucking girlfriend," Vera said. "I don't care if it makes him uncomfortable. You deserve his honesty. He doesn't get to pull the mysterious boyfriend shit like he's the love interest from a young adult novel, you two are partners, and he has to behave as such. No secrets. No beating around the bush."

"You're not being fair to Damien. He's not trying to hide things from Vicky. He's not the brightest, most socially skilled guy, but he's a good friend," Liam said.

"Is it fair to Vicky that she has to wonder who this other guy is?"

"That's enough," Vicky snapped. "I see your point Vera. I'll ask him about who else he's interested in, but I'm not gonna push. I know you're implying he might be keeping other partners a secret. But I trust Damien. He hasn't given me a reason to distrust him in the last year I've known him. He's sweet, he's just more awkward than he likes to let on, like Liam said. But I know you guys are just looking out for me, so I'll keep you guys in the loop. We'll talk about it if there's something that's setting off alarm bells for you."

Vera gritted her teeth. "Fine. Out of respect for you, I'll stand down. Just remember you deserve only the best."

"Thank you," Vicky replied with a grateful smile.

---

Oz’s goo churned. He wondered what made him so nervous. Everything was so peaceful, and Zoe hummed atonally as she scribbled in her notebook.

“Zoe,” Oz whispered, “do you feel like something terrible is going to happen?”

“I don’t feel like much of anything right now,” she replied. “Are you okay? Oz?”

He exhaled. His eyes went dark.

And then Oz was in a lab. Rather, it was like he watched through a fisheye lens from his chest. He folded saran wrap around kilos of cocaine. He didn’t care much for coke, he certainly wanted nowhere near a coke house to begin with.

“Put your fucking hands up!”

His head whipped up. Oz saw the spiral of the rifle’s barrel and then a flash.

He trembled. He tasted cotton candy and he was fucking exhausted.

“Oz!” Zoe bled into his vision like water color. “Oh my god, Oz, are you okay? You started convulsing and speaking in tongues, and as hot as that was---”

“Stop, Zoe,” Oz groaned. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Fuck, my head hurts.”

“Oz, what the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know,” he said as he massaged between his eyes. “I was… I was in this lab wrapping drugs, and then I think I was shot point blank.”

“Oh my god, that’s horrible,” Zoe said. “That’s so vivid…. I thought you were just having a seizure because of my awesome fic. I think you had a premonition, though. At least that's how my premonitions have been happening since I've inhabited this form. Our friends could be in danger, we have to investigate this.”

Oz held his head. Zoe was right, but he was scared. What if they were too late? As old as Oz was, he wasn’t omnipotent.

---

For hours, Vicky pondered Vera’s argument. Vera, of course, was right. She didn’t know much about Damien’s love life to begin with. The more Vicky thought about it, the more it seemed like something that they should have discussed from the get-go.

Still, she was nervous. She picked at her dinner. Damien had already gone through three servings and the only thing Vicky had done with her food is turned it into a weird, macerated pile of pasta and beef.

"Are you gonna eat that?" he asked.

Vicky pushed her plate towards Damien. "No. You're welcome to it."

"This stroganoff is fucking awesome. Why don't you bring your own lunch? Fuck, I'd stab a dozen of our classmates for this shit. This is almost as good as my dad's cooking."

"Really?" she said. Damien nodded as he shovelled more pasta down the hatch. "Y'know, I'd like some help with the dishes."

"Sure thing."

They stood next to each other, and Damien happily whistled an army cadence. "You know," Damien began, "I never really thought I'd like this domestic shit. I know my dads defrag at home, where everything is simpler than impending war. I just didn't think I'd be like them."

"I assume you're a lot like your dads. You got your sweetness from somewhere," Vicky said.

"Same goes for my violent streak." They wrapped up. Damien flicked his wet fingers into the sink. "Y'know, I've been wondering how you died for awhile now. You're so… I don't know, homely, I guess? But you're stitched to shit. It's like someone popped your head into another body."

"That's pretty much exactly how that happened. My dad drank heavily. He got into a car accident and I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I don't remember much after that until my dad's great uncle, who was a… geneticist, I think, reanimated me."

"How come we've never met him? Actually, why do you even live alone? You're only in high school."

"Gary, the man who reanimated me, died six years ago."

"So you've been living on your own for six years?"

"No." Vicky's talons sunk into her wash cloth. "Gary's brother Eugene took me in. I moved out two years ago."

Two years too little. Eugene still felt close by. She still felt his hands on her shoulders and his cum on her clothes. Her backside stung. She wanted to throw up.

"Vicky?" Damien's voice sounded distant. She rocked in place, the entire world oscillated. She wobbled over to the couch and laid down.

Vicky was still dead in a lot of ways. She had a home, and was still homeless. She had friends, yet she had no family. Vicky was happy, on the outside. On the inside was a violent maelstrom of taint and cum and self-loathing that violently pummeled her.

"Vera, I don't know what to do. Vicky and I were talking about this Eugene guy and she completely checked out. I-I don't think she can even hear me right now…. Yeah, I'll pass you over. I just need a second."

Damien clasped Vicky's shoulder. "Babe?" he said, "Vera wants to talk to you."

Vicky gingerly held his phone against her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, sweetie. Are you safe?"

"No."

"Who hurt you?"

"Eugene is still here," Vicky said. "He never left. He recycles everything in my dreams. I wish I had died that day."

"Where is Eugene now? Is he still at your place?"

"I don't think so."

"Did Damien help him hurt you?"

"I don't know who Damien is."

"He's a friend, okay? You can trust him. I need your help, though. Can you breathe with me for a minute?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to count to seven. Inhale for me." Vera counted. Vicky breathed in. "Hold it… now exhale until I count to seven." Vicky exhaled. "Now, rub your arms, Vicky. Rub the couch. What does the couch feel like?"

"It's kinda coarse. But not in an itchy way."

"Okay. What color are Damien's eyes?"

Vicky's eyes met with Damien's. They were gold, in a sad way. He looked worried. "They're yellow," she said.

"What else is yellow there?"

"The throw pillow. The one that's got braids on it. The kitchen has a yellow ladle. Well, the handle is yellow, the bowl is stained since I didn't rinse it off when I had tomato soup a couple months ago."

"Gross," Vera laughed. "Okay. One more thing. What do you hear?"

"I think my ears are ringing. No, that's an ambulance. Did you call an ambulance?"

"No. They're just passing by. How do you feel?"

Vicky sat up. "Present," she said.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

She looked into Damien's eyes. He seemed reserved. Vicky got the feeling he was conflicted. She hadn't had an episode like that in months, and Damien deserved an explanation.

"I do, but I'll fill you in later," Vicky said.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later."

Vicky returned Damien's phone. "What the fuck was that?" Damien asked.

"Look… I have issues left over from the accident. Sometimes, I think back to it and I completely implode."

"Implode is about right. Is all that really from your accident?"

Vicky frowned. Why did her issues have to be so apparent that she had to bare her soul to everyone? All Vicky wanted was peace. But no, Damien had to pick and pry and fucking prod.

"It's in the past. I don't have to talk about it."

"You don't--- fuck, it's clearly not in the motherfucking past if you're still freaking out about it!"

"Fine!" Vicky snapped, "you want to know the truth? My dad beat the living shit out of me. I got three broken ribs, a broken finger, and a concussion before they divorced. Despite all this evidence, my dad managed to bail himself out and get weekend visitations un-fucking-supervised. He drank like a fucking racoon, and when he got drunk, he got madder! He unbuckled me and threw me against the dash when I was giving him lip. When I struggling to get away, he swerved into a fucking pole and I went through the windshield!"

"And of course, his damn uncle is a freak and had to bring me back for his precious research. I was tied to a table for years before he died. I was gonna starve on that table. But then Eugene saved me. But everything comes at a motherfucking price. I had to make sure his house was clean and he was jerked off. Day after day, and nobody helped me! No, you all just think this is an amazing survival story. I'm dying inside, and you all get to sit down and forget about it the second you leave my company. So I don't want to fucking talk about it anymore."

Vicky was so mad, her vision blurred. Her hair stood on end, and she shook like she clung to the ceiling of a steep fall. Damien was taken aback. He was probably mad. Vicky just wanted him gone, though. He was like everyone else. He picked at her wounds.

"Vicky," he whispered.

"Leave!" she boomed. "You're like everyone else. You don't care about me."

"Don't you ever say that!" he screamed. "I love you so much, it hurts, and it hurts even more knowing the pain you've been through." He grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her into his embrace. "I would kill hundreds of people if it made you happy," he said.

Vicky tried to shove him off her. "Let go of me," she barked, "get the hell out of my house!"

"No. I'm staying here."

Vicky hit his kidney. Damien's hold loosened as he crumpled to the floor. "No! You don't get to pick at my wounds and keep your own damn secrets. Get out of my house, you edgy, self-absorbed bastard!"

"Fuck!" Damien cursed. "It's Brian, okay? But that doesn't fucking matter to me right now. You're hurting and it's at least partially my fault. You're fucking right. I'm not the most sensitive guy, but I love you so much, I would do anything for you, absolutely anything. I'm going to fix what I did wrong. I'm going to stay with you, even after you move past this."

Vicky was at a loss for words. She began to cry. She joined Damien on the floor, and then she lifted his shirt to look where she hit him. There was a fist-sized bruise there, the color of blueberries. "I'm sorry," she wept. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Damien sighed. "I'm okay." Damien sat up a grunt, exhaled harshly, and then hugged her like she was tiny and fragile. "It's okay. We're okay, baby."

She held him so tightly. He was slender. He was sturdy. "It's not okay. I said terrible things. I hit you."

"It's fine. It gave me wood, so we're even."

Vicky laughed. "Okay." She wiped her eyes. "I love you. I was just scared. And it hurts. It always hurts."

"I want to make your hurt go away. I know that I can't though. I'm here to comfort you, though. I'll always protect you."

Damien held the back of her neck. It seemed like forever that she stared into his eyes. Time was weird for Vicky. But she didn't particularly care, because Damien kissed her like she was sweet and fragile and priceless.