#to be clear I'm not complaining. just making a prediction | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rollinouttahere-writes · 10 months ago

Note

yandere jabra x woman reader

I'm on the Hunt, I'm After You

Yandere Jabra x Fem!Reader

Chapter 1

3.6k words

Warnings: harassment, unwanted advances and touching, implied stalking, yandere

“Oh (Y/N), your favorite regular is here~!” Gatherine called out in a singsong voice.

“No! Come on! He was just here for breakfast, you can’t be serious!” You slapped the order ticket onto the table and spun around to face her.

“Yes, and now he’s back for lunch,” she snickered, absolutely no sympathy for your plight.

“My entire section is packed full, you’re just trying to pawn your customers off on me!” You hissed.

“Oh trust me, he’s in your section. When the hostess tried to explain that there weren’t any openings in your section, he went over there and threw out the people at one of your tables.”

You gawked at the woman, aghast at how casually she was telling you all of this, “Are you kidding me? I don’t suppose he got them to leave the money for their bill behind first, did he?”

“Probably not, but I’m sure you could get him to pay it if you play your cards right,” she winked at you, and the subtext was heard loud and clear.

“Ew, no thanks,” you had to suppress the urge to gag. “He’s so sleazy, how in the hell did you ever date him?”

“I mean, it wasn’t for very long, but he really wasn’t bad or anything. Kinda clingy, though. But now I’ve got my sights set on someone else,” she sighed dreamily.

“And how’s that working for you?” You asked dryly, rolling your eyes. How anyone could want to pursue someone like Rob Lucci was beyond you. Sure, he’s good looking, but that ice cold look in his eyes was extremely off putting.

“It’ll happen,” she spoke resolutely. “These things take time, you know.”

“Yeah, sure.” You had your doubts about her most recent romantic pursuit, but that really wasn’t your business. You ripped another order ticket off your pad and scribbled down your regular’s usual lunch order before placing it with the rest. Fortunately, that man was predictable in what he ordered, so you could spare yourself at least one trip to his table.

Gatherine was continuing to wax poetic about Rob Lucci behind you, but you had your own problems to worry about. You grabbed a bottle of sake from the liquor cabinet and an ochoko to bring with you to the table.

The kitchen door stood before you, acting as the last barrier between you and the customers. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to relax. It’s just another customer. A creepy and annoying one, sure, but it was nothing to get so bent out of shape over. You’ll be fine.

With a nod, you confidently walk out and scan the room to figure out which of your tables had been evicted. It didn’t take long to do so, Jabra stuck out from the other customers. Much to your chagrin, he made eye contact and flashed you his typical wolfish grin. As per usual, he was happy to see you.

Making sure to keep your face as neutral as possible, you approached the table he had commandeered. He was here alone this time, which was less than ideal for you. If he was with one of his colleagues, the experience was much more tolerable since they would tend to keep him distracted. Kumadori, as dramatic as he was, kept Jabra more than occupied with his antics, and Fukuro was fun to have around because he would always let loose some piping hot gossip. It was especially funny when the tea he was spilling was at Jabra’s expense.

Alas, you would have no such fun today.

The ochoko is set onto the table and you pour a generous helping of sake into it, “Good afternoon, sir. I don’t suppose you would know what happened to the people who were here before, would you?” Of course, you already knew what had happened, but you wanted to make the bastard explain himself in hopes that maybe, just maybe, he would feel a bit of shame.

Their plates and glasses were still on the table, though they had all been pushed to one side. You’ll have to flag down a busser to get that cleaned up, lest the manager complains about looking “unprofessional”.

Jabra grins, “Oh, them? They were already done eating, so they let me have their table.”

Your eyes drift over to the half eaten meals, “Is that what happened?”

“What? Are you calling me a liar? That hurts, you know!” Taking a page out of Kumadori’s book, he dramatically clutched at his chest as if your words were so sharp that they actually cut you.

You rolled your eyes, not caring if he saw it, “I would never.” Every syllable was completely flat and monotone.

“Well, maybe I pressured them a little,” he snickered. “Did they not pay before they left?”

More like before they were kicked out. Whatever, you don’t want to prolong this interaction by arguing with him, “Nope, can’t say they did.”

Jabra gasped in mock outrage, “How could they do something like that to you?! Some people are shameless!” He could say that again. He dug around in his pocket, “Tell you what, I’ll cover their bill. I would hate for you to have to pay because they ran out on you.”

Thank god, you had been worried that you were going to have to foot the bill. Jabra acting like this wasn’t completely his fault was certainly annoying, but you could take it if it meant not losing a chunk of your paycheck over his stunt. A wad of cash was held out to you, but all you did was stare at it.

“That is way too much.” Without even counting it, you knew that was easily three or four times their bill.

“C’mon, just take it. It’s a nice tip, isn’t it?” Undeterred by your hesitation, he holds it out more, trying to force the money into your hand.

You took a decisive step back. You know what game he’s playing here. He isn’t being generous to make up for evicting your table, he’s trying to make it so that you feel like you owe him. Your hands fidgeted with your apron, “It’s too much, I can’t accept that.” The last thing you wanted was for him to have some perceived leverage on you and try to use that against you.

“Since when do waitresses refuse tips?” His fingers drummed against the table, the once relaxed smile had become rigid. “How about this: You can use this to cover my meal, too.”

Even if you took what his bill would be into account, it would still be an absurdly large tip. Now you were torn between standing your ground so as to not give him an in, and caving so that he doesn’t get upset.

Apparently, your internal debate was taking too long for his liking. Jabra reached forward suddenly, grabbed your apron, and yanked you towards him. You yelped as you stumbled and scrambled to stabilize yourself. The first thing that your hand found purchase on was his shoulder. If you hadn't grabbed onto something you would have fallen right onto him. Now that you think about it, that was likely what he had hoped would have happened.

Sleazy pervert.

Jabra took advantage of the close proximity to stuff the money into your apron. Rather than retracting his hand now that his mission was accomplished, he rested it on your hip, thumb tracing circles over it, “See? You’ve got the money and nothing bad happened”

You begged to differ. Between the smarmy smile on his face and the unwanted touches, you had to fight the impulse to slap him. He deserved it, but unfortunately that would absolutely get you fired. You had to settle for wrenching yourself out of his grip and taking several steps back this time. Through clenched teeth, you mutter out a ‘thanks’.

Taking a moment to calm down, you try to excuse yourself, “I need to go tend to other tables now.”

You try to hurry past him, but he catches your wrist, “Hey, wait! You haven't taken my order yet.”

“You get the same thing every time, I already submitted the order to the kitchen.”

His smile widened, “Well maybe I want to try something new, you never know.”

This man was definitely trying to get a rise out of you. You haven’t bothered giving him a menu after the first time when he waved it off and said he didn’t need one. But if he wanted to play stupid games, then you suppose it was your right to let him have stupid prizes. For once, you found yourself to be the one grinning. Albeit maliciously.

“Alright. I’ll cancel the lamb chops and fetch you our vegetarian menu to look over.” His smile dropped and he looked downright panicked. Deciding to take it a step further, you reach for the sake bottle, “My bad for bringing this out, I’ll switch it out for some water. Good on you for making healthier choices.”

Finally, his hand abandoned your wrist and snatched the sake bottle out of our other hand, “Whoa there, I was just joking!” Once the adrenaline rush of almost losing his precious alcohol passed, he chuckled, “Didn’t know you could be so funny, rabbit.”

The nickname made you scowl, you hated when he called you that. Any attempt at expressing as much only seemed to encourage him to use it more, so you’ve learned to bite your tongue.

Jabra leaned forward and propped his chin up on his fist, “It’s sweet of you to remember what I like.”

“I’m just doing my job,” you explained flatly before bolting out of there. You wiped your palms on your apron, they had become uncomfortably sweaty during that whole interaction. Him being touchy wasn’t anything new, but he was escalating it beyond the point where you could grin and bear it for the sake of employment. You don’t remember him being this bad when him and Gatherine were still together. Then again, you really hadn’t been paying that much attention, so maybe you just missed it.

What had you done to be forced to endure this treatment? Even if you did get fired, you couldn’t escape. Working at a place as secretive as Enies Lobby came with pros and cons. Sure, you were being paid extremely well, but that came at the price of not being able to leave freely. If this job didn’t work out, you would be shuffled to a different, less desirable position. Waiting tables was among the better positions given that you made tips on top of a decent wage. You were only five months in on a ten year contract.

Based on what you’ve heard from your coworkers, you would be pressured to renew your contract after it ends, and if you did choose to leave it was a grueling process involving being thoroughly interrogated to ensure you hadn’t overheard anything you weren’t supposed to. It’s been said that being allowed to leave was virtually impossible and unheard of, they always find something to justify keeping you here. Hell, you wouldn’t be surprised if speaking to Fukuro was an immediate disqualifier in and of itself.

The odds of ever being able to leave were unlikely to say the least. This was something you hadn’t known until after you were hired and signed the contract, but that seemed to be the case for everyone. It was scary and disheartening, but you’re trying to stay positive.

If you could just keep this up, your family would be set for at least the next ten years. You sent them almost everything you made, only keeping enough for the most basic of living expenses. Even when you were living as barebones as you were, it felt luxurious by comparison to what you were used to. Your home island was so poverty stricken that your family’s only hope for survival was for as many of you as possible to leave and send back money to those who couldn’t. A handful of your cousins had also applied to work here, but only you were hired. Presumably because of your brother being a promising marine that was climbing the ranks. No doubt he put in a good word for you.

Was it selfish to wish he hadn’t? Probably, but there’s no point in dwelling on that, is there?

After you finished checking on your other tables, you went over to the register with the bill from the guests Jabra had thrown out. You paid it and couldn’t help but be awed by how much berry was still left over. It was enough for a month of groceries back home. You can’t fathom being paid so well that this would be seen as disposable income.

As uncomfortable as Jabra made you… your family needed this money. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to indulge him at least a little if it meant keeping your loved ones from starving. Maybe you could learn to take it in stride and not let it get under your skin when he leered at you like you were a piece of meat.

You shoved the money into one of your pockets and lightly slapped your face. You’re on the clock, now isn’t the time to be getting hung up on your unfortunate situation. Spinning on your heels, you head for the kitchen to see if any of your orders are ready yet.

Someone was coming up on your side, and you turned slightly to see who it was. William, one of the busboys on shift today was heading for the kitchen as well with a tub full of dishes. Oh right, you needed him to clean off one of your tables.

“Hey, Will. After you drop that off could you clean off table 13 for me? Jabra’s at it, but he kicked out the people who were there and their plates need to be taken away.”

He stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at you, “He kicked them out? The fuck is his problem?”

You snorted, “Do you think I know?”

The tub was unceremoniously dropped on a nearby counter and Will less-than-subtly looked out over the dining room. His lip pulled back in disgust when his eyes landed on Jabra and the leftover remains of the previous diners’ meals. He ran a hand through his frizzy red hair and huffed, “What a fucking creep, he’s lucky he’s so high up because if he wasn’t I would kick his sorry ass myself.”

The bold threat made you chuckle. Will was like this with all of the staff here. He didn’t give a shit if someone was a high ranking marine or government agent, he would call out anyone for making the wait staff uncomfortable. Well, almost anyone. Even he knew better than to confront a member of CP9.

“Thanks for worrying about me, but it’s fine. I can handle it.”

Just like that, his attention was back on you. His arms crossed over his chest as he regarded you with an exasperated expression, “Just because you can “handle it” doesn’t mean you should have to. That asshole needs to learn to leave you the hell alone. He didn’t get handsy again this time, did he?”

The way that you immediately averted your gaze and grimaced answered his question. His expression darkened and he began untying his apron, “I’ll kill him.”

“No! No you will not! It will be the other way around, calm down!” You latched onto his arm and tried to talk some sense into your hot headed coworker. “It’s fine, really!”

Will was glowering in Jabra’s direction. His chest heaved with each agitated breath and his hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Sharply, he turned his attention to you. His rage contorted face slowly relaxed into a deep scowl and he sighed, “Fine. Whatever. He’s lucky you’re holding me back.”

“Sure he is. Now get back to work before Mal catches us slacking off.” The manager, Mallory as she preferred to be called, was a hardass. You did NOT want to be caught being idle by her.

“Yeah, you’re right. But hey, you better let me know if that creep tries anything else. Even if I can’t beat his ass, maybe we can get something worked out so that you’re less likely to see him.”

You shook your head, “Okay, mom, will do.”

Will grumbled at you to watch it, but ultimately decided to drop the matter for now. You approach and go through the kitchen doors, keeping them open just long enough for William to slip in before they can close. You check the counter and find that fresh plates of hot food are being piled on and one of the cooks slaps the bell a couple of times to signify that an order is ready. From the looks of it, there are a few orders done.

A quick glance at the tickets confirms that most of these are for your section, so you waste no time piling them onto a tray so you can haul all of these out at once. One of the completed orders was Jabra’s, much to your dismay. You just got away from him and now you’re going to be forced to go back. Lucky you.

Wanting to prolong the inevitable, you saved his table for last. None of the customers you had leading up to him were feeling particularly chatty, so this wound up not being as much of a buffer as you had hoped.

Sucking in a breath and plastering a fake smile onto your face, you hurry over with the hope of dropping off the plate and running before Jabra could harass you again. The table had been cleared, and you can’t help but wonder if Will was mean mugging Jabra the entire time he was there.

“Here’s your meal,” you state plainly.

You tried to just keep going, you really did, but Jabra’s arm snaked around your waist, effectively keeping you from running. Your mind was screeching for him to stop touching you, but such comments had to stay in your mind.

“What’s the rush? It’s like you’re trying to run away from me,” Jabra’s tone was teasing. If only he knew how right he was. Or maybe he did and this was all some sick joke to him.

“We’re in the middle of the lunch rush, I have a lot to do right now,” you’re surprised at how calm your voice is despite how irritable you felt. Hopefully he’ll accept the answer and let go of you. His grip was so strong that you couldn’t easily step out of it.

“I guess you’ve got a point, I won’t keep you here long.” If only he wouldn’t keep you here at all. “It’s a shame you have to work so hard. Why don’t you let me take you somewhere nice tonight?”

There he goes again. This was far from the first time he made this proposal. He’s nothing if not persistent, you’ll give him that. Your nails dug into your palm as you mulled over your excuse this time. Hanging out with Gatherine? No, you’ve used that too many times. It’s not like he was going to stop if you gave a masterful excuse, you suppose anything would work, “Sorry, I’m going to be busy cleaning tonight.” This wasn’t even a lie, you’ve been meaning to do a deep clean of your apartment for a month now.

Jabra huffed, “You’re going to work all day here only to go home and work some more? Come on, let me treat you to a fun night. It’ll be nice, I promise.” His arm constricted, forcing you even closer.

“I’ve been putting this off for a while, I really want to get it done,” you insisted.

A tense staredown ensued, and you weren’t sure who would win. Would you lose your nerve and break eye contact first, or would he give up? The hair on the back of your neck felt like it was standing up from the tension in the air. His jaw was tight. It appeared your string of rejections were starting to get to him.

“Alright, I get it,” Shockingly, he let go of you and looked down at his food instead.

For a moment, you were too stunned to move. “I get it”? Did he finally get the hint? He shot a questioning look over his shoulder when you didn’t immediately leave, and that was enough to prompt you into scurrying off. You’re not sure what made him see the light, but who were you to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Despite the discomfort you just felt, you went about your shift with a skip in your step. The possibility that Jabra was going to leave you alone was downright euphoric. You felt bad for whoever was going to be his next unlucky target, but at least you were in the clear! The tips would be missed, but you would allow yourself to be selfish just this once.

The lunch rush slowly came down to a trickle as customers filtered out (of their own volition this time) and weren’t immediately replaced with more. One of the guests that left was Jabra, but you were surprised to find more money left next to his empty plate. You had already covered his bill with the money he’d given you previously, like he’d suggested.

Your fingers ghosted over the berry, then quickly slipped it into your pocket. Maybe it was an apology for his behavior? Unlikely, but not impossible.

Maybe things are going to get better for you now? You had a rough start, but it’ll be smooth sailing with Jabra having called it quits. Everything is going to be fine, great even! You’re finally going to be able to relax.

Surely that sensation of feeling like you’re always being watched will go away now that you’re no longer paranoid about Jabra.

#yandere one piece #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #one piece x you #jabra one piece #yandere #reader insert #x reader #one piece #jabra x reader

88 notes · View notes

brazenautomaton · 8 months ago

Note

hi hi ^.^

no amount of me reading Marx changes the fact that communists are wrong about everything they say, in a very predictable way

i want to complain about this. i want to say that its unfair, or overly harsh, or something like that... its hard to do that though since i basically agree XD

the thing about communism is that its an idea with very broad appeal, that many different kinds of people end up identifying with. unfortunately, as with any popular idea, a great many of the people who identify with it will have terrible opinions.

so i can understand why you feel the way you do, but i hope you're able to keep your mind open to the possibility of communists having worthwhile insights sometimes.

(disclaimer that many people would probably think of me as a communist, even though i don't necessarily identify with that term and merely have an appreciation for some ideas related to it. i just want to be clear that i'm not trying to like trick you into an ideological betrayal of your ideals or something, i just feel like you've over-corrected in response to many communists being insufferable idiots.)

okay I'm gonna say your intentions are probably pure, but every other communist can also say that, and a lot of them do, and all of them are wrong

other communists aren't crazy and wrong because they're bad people in addition to being communists. they are always wrong because communism is a belief system that cannot make accurate predictions about the world, and they have adopted that belief system to try and make predictions about the world. it is not a moral issue, communists are not wrong because they hate the rich too much instead of hating them the correct amount, communists do not become wrong when they "take it too far" -- if you look at the world the way Marx did, you are incorrect. You will explain things in terms of capital and class interests, and those explanations will be incorrect.

Marxism has a worse track record than astrology, as far as making predictions goes. Astrology has no insight to offer, not because believers in astrology are evil, not because some people take astrology too far, but because the world does not work the way astrology says it works. Whatever ideas associated with it that you appreciate are incorrect, and they're incorrect in a very very deep fundamental way, they made a bunch of very wrong assumptions before you even noticed them saying anything.

"Poor people should be able to live nicely" is not a communist insight, it's a nearly universally held position. Communism claims to be synonymous with the well-being of poor people because people who are always wrong like to fall back on "well, all I'm saying is this uncontroversially and universally agreed on thing, so if you disagree you must hate the thing everyone likes." Communism is also a set of beliefs about who the poor are, what situation they are in, what causes that situation, what will change that situation, and what will benefit those people-- and every single one of those beliefs is incorrect. They don't know what is happening or why or how or to whom or how to change anything to get the outcome they want. That's not an individual moral failing, that's what happens when you try to use communism's worldview to answer questions.

76 notes · View notes

igglemouse · 2 months ago

Text

Here I am starting my morning the best way I know, with pancakes! You can never go wrong with pancakes, buttery, soft, drizzled with syrup and...I am sure the baby agrees! I feel like with each bite I can feel her kicking with approval and Pascal is not complaining either, although he is staring at my belly in between his own bites.

"Is it possible there are two in there?" he asks, revealing the reason behind the attention he's giving my bump. He's teasing, of course, but I know what he's getting at. I'm getting pretty big!

"Nooo, just one little girl!" I assure him, rubbing my belly with a big wide grin. "At least according to the doctor!"

"Doctors can be wrong sometimes," he shrugs, making a good point there. "You never know..."

And I do laugh at that but I really really REALLY hope the doctor is right because I am definitely not prepared for twins. Not at all. The thought of it is- "No, I think we will be sticking with one right now, thank you very much!"

Hey look at that, we're a team today! Yeah, doesn't happen a lot but it feels like such a victory right now! He's in the kitchen washing dishes and scrubbing countertops and I'm pushing the vacuum around, beating the dust before it can conquer our humble home!

The best thing about knowing that I'm having a little girl? Working on her room! I spend a good chunk of my day doing just that and while it is very much a work in progress I do think it is coming together. Yes, I know, pink is sooo predictable as a color but honestly? I love pink, I'm not ashamed to say it. It's a soft color and I want to create a sweet and calming environtment for mi princesa. I can already picture her wriggling around in her crib with toys scatted about and...ahh, soon, soon!

I'm realizing that I've always wanted to be a mother. I was in such a perilous situation before moving here that the idea of bringing life into the world seemed silly but now that I'm in a more stable situation? Well, let's just say I wouldn't mind, in the future of course, doing all of this again.

There is still enough daylight left when Irene swings by for a visit and as usual her mind is buzzing with ideas about her future restaurant. It's a common topic between us so today is no different.

"I think about it a lot," she tells me with the excitement in her eyes clear. "Names, themes, dishes, whatever pops on my mind I guess."

"Investors? Have you thought about that?" I ask, as it is honestly the most crucial question. The only way this thing becomes a reality is through simoleons. In the back of my mind I think of Ray, he's successful, isn't he? But our relationship is new and it probably would not help to push that right now. Fortunately, perhaps he is not needed?

"Yes, actually!" She says perking up. "I might meet with him soon here, I don't want to get too excited but it's a start."

It definitely is and I'm so very excited about it all becoming a reality some day. "Just take things slowly," I advise her, giving her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "You don't want to rush into the wrong deal with the wrong person. It's always better to take an inch forward than risk taking ten steps back."

And after that, I'm drained. Calling it exhaustion wouldn't even cover it. I'm calling it a night because growing a tiny human is no easy business, I'm sure some of you completely understand. So, I'm going to nap and see you all tomorrow!

Elsewhere, Simón find himself at a crossroads. Finally he feels it is time to move forward with his life although he knows that deep down there will always be a part of him that clings to what he had with Frida...but the reality is he knows she has moved on and it is time for him to do the same.

Sara might not be Frida, no one could ever be because there's always only one of anyone, so she is special in her own right. Warm, compassionate, and her humor is effortless. She makes him smile when he least expects it and she stirs feelings inside of him that he thought only one woman could, so perhaps she is the one to help him finally let go of the past?

But as much as he tries to look ahead, the past clings to him like shadow. His employers keep calling, keep offering him more work, presenting temptation to slip back into a world that he thought he'd left behind...

For some, the past is simply inescapable. The weight of it must be dragged along as its tied to your neck and going without it means losing your head. As he picks up the phone he wonders if it'll always be like this, if there is a way out...

Frida Varela Index ~ Episode 7.4

#The Sims #The Sims 4 #ts4 #Sims #Sims 4 #sims legacy #my sims #generation 1 #soot #sims of our time #frida varela #pascal alcocer #irene tasis #simon barrera

25 notes · View notes

mysterious-moonstruck-musings · 9 months ago

Text

WIP Wednesday

How is everyone doing this afternoon/evening? I know, I've been a little MIA lately. I went through a bout of writer's block... or something? I don't even know what to call it. Anway, it has finally passed. Given that, I figured it was time to give you all an update on Destiny & Deliverance. More below the cut...

As of this morning, Destiny & Deliverance is written. It's done. Did I cry? Yes, I did. Not sure if any of my eagle-eyed followers have noticed, but I added another chapter to the masterlist. Chapter 29 just got too fucking long, so I decided to make it an even 30. I think it worked out better that way.

So, to be clear, I have two chapters and the epilogue written. I still need to do editing for all three parts. I didn't want to mess up my flow by stopping to edit. Editing usually comes easier to me than writing, so it shouldn't take too long for that. This means you will get the last three parts fairly close together. I hope y'all are ready (because I'm not).

I will say the ending took a slightly different turn than I was originally planning, but I think what we have ended up with adds another positive layer to Dieter and Talia's healing journey. I just hope you all are happy with it. 👀 Now, let's get to a snippet from Chapter 29, shall we?

As Dieter was rattling off the meeting details, I continued to move around the kitchen to pull out glasses and utensils. I happened to look down at his pill organizer on the counter and realized he didn’t take his medication or supplements this morning. I sighed as I picked it up and waved it at him with a disapproving look. He grimaced as he reached for the organizer, “Lo siento, mi luz. I’ll do better, I promise. Today has been so hectic already.” “Same time, every day. Take it when your alert goes off…please.” He pulled me in for a quick kiss and thanked me for the reminder. I was starting to feel like a broken record and hated nagging him, but since he started working again, he had been slipping up on things…a lot. He never complained or got upset about it. Instead, he would often thank me, do what he needed, then go back to what he had been so focused on.

Don't come at me for that, I know it sounds ominous, but it's not. I promise. Just some minor growing pains.😏 I haven't had a chance to throw together a mood board yet, so I'm dropping a few pics here as a teaser. As always, I'd love to hear your predictions.

Tag List: @rhoorl @bitchwitch1981 @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @for-a-longlongtime @hisandsnakes @chaoticfestninja @survivingandenduring @partyofone3413 @wannab-urs @cakipy-blog @titlee78 @poodlebae @guelyury @missladym1981 @maried01 @alokaerza @samiamproductions @misstokyo7love @themonadiaries-blog @madnessofadaydreamer @darkheartgatita @avastrasposts @weho2kcmo @harriedandharassed @tkchaos @girlofchaos @yghuibt @musings-of-a-rose @annieispunk @sarcasm-theotherwhitemeat @copperhalfcent @bunniboo0015 @indiegirlunited @babycatkitty

#dieter bravo #dieter bravo fic #dieter bravo x ofc #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #destiny & deliverance series #destiny & deliverance teaser

52 notes · View notes

homestuckreplay · 3 months ago

Text

Sburb Cat Necromancy DLC Unlocked

(page 441-442)

8/5/2009 wheel spin: Parent Bad :( verdict: INCORRECT

This was only a two page sequence but a LOT happened, so I gotta get into it.

Rose's house covered in snow is a BEAUTIFUL panel, lots of detail for such a low contrast color scheme. I am convinced that half the reason for Hussie making Rose live in a house Like That was so they could draw cool art of the house, and I'm not complaining. It's August and I'm sweating and looking at this gif still makes me feel like frosty nights and holidays are on the way.

WE GOT A ROSE AND GG CONVERSATION. FINALLY THE SET IS COMPLETE. I guess I don't need to write a sequel to this now, and I was laughably wrong about a couple of things - I had Rose giving GG information on Sburb when in fact it's the other way around, and I had Rose being a lot more skeptical of GG's mysterious knowledge than she actually is. [But I was totally right about them talking about pets and about GG mentioning that they're not as good at games as John and Dave, so I'll take a C on this.]

Some key facts we learn from the real Rose-GG Pesterlog: Rose's birthday is in winter, she lives in a place where it snows (possibly New England), John is the person who got her into knitting (just a few months ago), and she was knitting something for him as a gift, but didn't finish in time (the contents of the purple box on p.218). This is so cute. It felt when we met her like knitting was the most 'normal' of Rose's hobbies, and this explains why. It also shows that John knows her really well, given that he knew she'd enjoy it, despite it being nothing like her other interests. Rose has clearly thrown herself into it, completing the princess doll reconstruction, the laptop cozy, and assorted clothing items in just a few months, but she still hasn't finished John's present, probably because she struggles more when there's 'strong sentimental value' to her creation.

I think Rose is the best at banter of all four characters. Dave is not good at banter, he's responding to his own brain more than to his conversation partner sometimes, but Rose has shown the ability to bounce off all three of the others in a witty back and forth (see p.187 and 333), which is cool of her. And Rose and GG are both associated with being, honestly, smartass know-it-alls who at least believe they have more knowledge than others, although they do this in very different ways, so it makes sense they would try to outwit each other.

But it's really hard to get a read on how much they like each other. GG seems so nice and earnest even when they say things like 'you see not everybody always means the opposite of what they say the way you and dave always do' which from most people would be a jab but here feels like a patient explanation. Yet they didn't get Rose a birthday present despite working on one for John for 'years', and their 'tip' for Rose, while interesting, is explicitly something she should 'talk to john and dave about' instead of an offer for Rose and GG to do something together.

On the other hand, Rose has some expectation of a gift, and clearly puts value in GG's esoteric knowledge, given that she's far more open to believing a scientifically improbable prediction when it comes from GG. It might be that they both see the relationship differently - GG doesn't consider Rose a close friend but is still very nice to her because of their general demeanor and people skills, while Rose who is only nice to a few people interprets GG's kindness as the two of them being closer than they really are.

So, despite asking 'whats sburb??' on p.169, GG was the person who tipped Rose off to its release. This clears up some stuff on Rose's end, but only adds more suspicion and question marks to GG's whole deal. With Rose, it clears up why she was so fixated on sprite prototyping, what she meant on p.440 about this whole mess being Jaspers' fault - as he was Rose's first motivation to play Sburb - and her focus on necromancy, as this concept was specifically how the game was introduced to her. To be fair, 'childhood cat necromancy' fits her whole deal a lot more than 'immersive building simulator' does, and I like the idea that Rose - and by extension, John and Dave - got into Sburb through a secondary mechanic and not through the game's main purpose. It really makes it feel like they all stumbled backwards into this story.

It also explains why Rose is playing this game inside the mausoleum, right where Jaspers' corpse is. If she's planning to prototype him with a sprite, as the text is strongly suggesting, it makes sense to keep him by her side. 'I would describe my feelings toward the animal as lukewarm.' you absolute liar, you are braving a forest fire for the chance to see this cat again you big softie.

#homestuck #reaction #ROSE GG CONVERSATION SPOTTED IN THE WILD #shouldve waited a week on that essay! ah well #chrono

22 notes · View notes

panharmonium · 11 months ago

Note

Hi! I love your Naruto thoughts and meta posts with all my heart and I want to ask your thoughts on something that has been on my mind literally since I was 13: what do you think about the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura? I went from being a hardcore shipper when I was a teenager, to being against any romantic relationship in Naruto after finishing the anime when I was in my early twenties. Nowadays I'm very into platonic love and depictions of friendship and I think the anime's obsession with forcing the "romantic interest" curse upon the main female character robbed us of... so much. There are a few wonderful moments in the anime where Sasuke and Sakura acknowledge each other, but because she's always "the girl with the crush", her actions are so often interpret as irrational or selfish by the fandom.

Hi @riemmetric! It's great to talk to you again! Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this; RL has been making demands of me lately and it took me way longer to finish writing this up than I wanted it to (then again, I knew from the minute I read your original ask that my reply was going to get long, so I suppose I should have predicted a delay XD)

It's funny, my sister once asked me to choose between Sasuke or Sakura for an “unpopular opinion” meme, and I ended up doing Sasuke solely because I think the negative fandom opinions about Sakura are so unhinged and divorced from the actual text that I wouldn’t even know where to start. People are entitled to dislike whatever characters they want, obviously, but there are some fandom takes that are, for me, so obviously rooted in bad faith viewings/readings that there’s no urge in me to discuss them. That said, since you asked, I’m happy to go into my own thoughts on this a bit, with the disclaimer for other potential readers that I only write about fandom things for my own personal enjoyment, not as a contribution to The Discourse. If you don’t like Sakura, great! I have no interest in changing your mind. Please consider this a sincere invitation to scroll on by and go enjoy whatever parts of the fandom appeal to you.

In general terms: I love Sasuke and Sakura’s relationship as much as I love all of the relationships in Team 7. If we’re talking about them specifically as a romantic couple, then I probably fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, because I do like them together in a post-canon (to be clear: non-Boruto) setting, after time has passed and they’ve continued to develop individually and reconnect with each other, but I also wouldn’t exactly call myself an intense “shipper,” in the sense that I have no interest in pulling things out from the text and incorrectly citing them as evidence that Sasuke has hidden romantic feelings for her during the canon period. He cares about her in the canon period, just like he cares about Naruto and Kakashi. That’s not up for interpretation; it’s the text. But Sasuke during the canon time period does not demonstrate specifically romantic interest in anyone.

[A note before people who might ship Sasuke with Someone Else emerge to rail against this statement - please just scroll past and continue enjoying fandom in whatever way is most fun for you. It is cool to ship whatever fanon thing you want; I think that’s great! But earnestly citing any loving or emotional thing Sasuke does re: various characters in this story (yes, Sakura included) as indicative of specifically romantic love isn’t supported by the text. I know there are always going to be enormous subsets of any fandom who insist that it is, and I'm certainly not going to barge into anyone else's space to complain about that (because other people having fun together is harmless and none of my business), but I'm not obligated to indulge it on my own blog, either.]

Anyway, that said - the reason why I love Sakura and Sasuke’s relationship (from here on out I’ll use “relationship” in a general, non-romantic sense) is precisely because Sakura isn’t just “the girl with the crush.” Sakura has an arc when it comes to Sasuke, and its trajectory moves in the exact opposite direction of “irrational” or “selfish.” She specifically goes from “the girl with the crush” to “the girl who steels herself and tries to put her personal feelings for Sasuke aside for the greater good” to “the girl who knows she can’t put her feelings aside, but who also knows full well that Sasuke doesn’t reciprocate them, and who still wants to save him regardless, because he matters to her as a person and a friend.”

[I'm putting the rest of this under a cut to save everyone's dash, and also to emphasize once again that this is a personal post on my personal blog which I wrote in response to a question from a personal acquaintance, the full content of which no one is obligated to read. I am not sending this post to random strangers and forcing them to look at it. I'm not even putting it in the character tags. I'm typing it up on my own blog and putting it under a cut. If you already know that you don't like Sakura, but you still click the link/read the post and then feel an urge to comment and complain, I am going to copy-paste this disclaimer and remind you that I specifically recommended that you scroll past and go have fun with fandom in your own way. Thanks in advance for responsibly curating your own fandom experience!]

So, from the top:

1. the girl with the crush

Sakura is, obviously, completely obsessed with Sasuke at the beginning of Part 1. She’s also deeply clueless about him and his history (bizarre though it is, the story seems to indicate that she initially doesn’t know what happened with his family, the same way young!Obito is initially clueless about Kakashi’s father). But what I like about Sakura and Sasuke’s Part 1 relationship is how this changes over time.

The critical scene that kicks this off happens right at the beginning of the manga, when she and Sasuke are talking by that bench - she complains about Naruto and blames his behavior on him being all alone/having no family to scold him; and even says she’s jealous that he doesn’t have parents to nag him all the time. This obviously triggers an outburst from Sasuke, who tells her she has no idea what loneliness means and that she “makes him sick”/she’s “annoying” (importantly, the exact same thing Sakura said to Naruto in anger earlier that day), which in turn prompts Sakura to reassess herself and wonder whether she’s been making Naruto feel this terrible all the time, too:

From that point on, it’s a process of her putting little pieces together. She still has a MAJOR crush, and she still acts like a twelve year-old, but as we approach the end of Part I, Sakura actually has a more accurate grasp on Sasuke’s current state of mind than Naruto does. Naruto is initially excited to fight Sasuke on top of the hospital, because he feels like Sasuke’s finally acknowledging him, whereas Sakura is the one who immediately recognizes that something is wrong about this situation. She is also the one who, after this fight, is concerned that Sasuke is really unwell and might do something drastic like run off in pursuit of the power Orochimaru promised him, but when she communicates this to Naruto, he assures her that this would NEVER happen:

(Sakura isn't convinced, though, because she goes to monitor the exit out of the village anyway.)

I’m not criticizing Naruto for his response here. I ADORE hearing him say that Sasuke is too strong to need Orochimaru, with such perfect confidence - I love seeing how much respect and admiration he has for Sasuke underneath all their fighting, because that’s the whole reason he’s always baiting Sasuke and yelling at him and claiming “you're not so great!” He looks up to Sasuke; he wants to be like Sasuke; he thinks Sasuke is awesome! (It’s that Obito @ Kakashi behavior, you know?) But the fact remains that he is clueless about what’s actually going on with Sasuke in Part 1, and he remains clueless(ly optimistic) for a long time.

(Eg, when he catches up to Sasuke during the retrieval arc and Sasuke climbs out of that cursed seal coffin, Naruto waves at him and calls "Come on, let's go!" as if Sasuke has been successfully rescued and is now going to come running home. Even in Part II, when Naruto hears that Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he beams and immediately says, “So he must be on his way back to the Leaf Village!” And everyone else in the room is like, “....,” because they know better. Naruto doesn’t yet fully understand [or doesn't want to accept] the extent to which Sasuke has willingly chosen this path, and it’s not until after Jiraiya’s death/the Pain attack/the Five Kage Summit that Naruto really starts to understand Sasuke more clearly, which is something he himself admits.)

Sakura, in Part 1, has access to more information about Sasuke - she’s there for his first dissociative monologue during the bells test, she’s there for the curse mark’s placement, she’s there for his first violent transformation in the Forest of Death - she is, in fact, the unwitting catalyst for it (“Sakura…who did this to you?”), and her compassion is the reason Sasuke is later able to overcome the curse mark’s influence - so she has a more accurate/complete picture of “how he’s doing,” for lack of a better phrase, whereas Naruto, who doesn’t know about the curse mark in the first place, is still in the dark. This means that Sakura is able to accurately discern that Sasuke is struggling more than Naruto realizes, and specifically to predict that he’s going to run away.

(This dynamic is then interestingly flipped in the back half of Part II, since at any point after the Five Kage Summit, Sakura doesn’t have access to extremely relevant [if currently questionable and unproven] details that would in any other circumstance inform her behavior).

Of course, just because she has more info in Part 1 doesn’t mean she has some kind of miraculous insight into Sasuke’s every thought and feeling. There are parts of her attempt to convince Sasuke to stay in the village that are as clueless as any of Naruto’s assumptions, and they showcase the kind of magical thinking common to childhood - like when she says that if he stayed with her, she could give him happiness, she’d do anything for him, even help him get his revenge - this idea that she herself can do something to make him feel better, that she can love him powerfully enough to defeat his pain - obviously none of that is rooted in realism.

Is this part of her approach irrational and immature and inadvertently self-centered? Of course it is! But it’s no more irrational and immature and inadvertently self-centered than Naruto’s stated plan to drag Sasuke back to the village even if he has to “break every bone in [his] body!”

Hating on Sakura for her Part 1 attempt to convince Sasuke to stay in the village while simultaneously lauding Naruto for his feels like a bad faith misread of what is, to me, pretty clear narrative intention. The story doesn’t at any point intend for us to see her begging him to stay as a selfish or conniving attempt to get something she wants. She’s begging him to stay for the same underlying reason that Naruto is: she cares about him. She thinks he’s making a mistake that will only cause him more pain in the end (she’s right) and she wants to make it so he feels less pain right now (she can’t. But she doesn’t understand that/isn’t able to admit that, and she’s willing to try ANYTHING that might help).

It’s critical that this farewell scene is set in front of that same bench from their first important confrontation - she references that day and how angry he got at her, and this time she tells him that she understands his reaction. She’s learned things and she recognizes how insensitive she was being back then (“I know what happened to your clan, Sasuke”), even though she still can’t fully grasp all the complexities of the situation. She tells him that him blowing up at her back then helped her understand what loneliness actually meant (as opposed to her previous shallow understanding of it), and she challenges him about his choice right now: "So that's it, you're choosing the lonely path?" And when she tells him that she'll be very lonely if he leaves, we're immediately shown a panel of Sasuke thinking of both his friends, with the very clear implication that if he goes through with this, he will be lonely without them, too - that he's still struggling with the idea of leaving them, no matter how hard he tries to pretend:

Sakura at this point knows that Sasuke isn’t interested in her the way she is in him, but she still wants to give him happiness, however fantastical and immature her ideas sound to us (and, I’m sure, to him). “I’ll do anything, even help you get your revenge/we'll have fun every day, and...and you'll be happy! I'll make sure of it!” - of course, it’s completely childish. It’s irrational. It’s ridiculous to think that any of this would ever be effective, but no more ridiculous than Naruto’s belief that he can simply break every bone in Sasuke’s body and keep him in the Leaf by force.

Both Naruto and Sakura are children who have a deeply oversimplified understanding of Sasuke’s situation. They both still think they can fix him themselves. They both think they can save him themselves. They both think they can convince (or force) him to do what they want, what they think is in his best interests. Both of them don’t yet understand that he has to want to come back, if it’s ever going to mean anything. Their attempts to keep him in the village are immature and unrealistic, yes. What they aren’t, however, is selfish, because neither Sakura nor Naruto are doing any of this with the intention of advancing their own interests. They’re only thinking about Sasuke - how to keep Sasuke safe, how to make Sasuke happy - even when neither of them are taking an approach that will actually work.

Naruto and Sakura are children. They’re afraid of losing somebody they care about. Their attempts to prevent that from happening are desperate and messy and ultimately ineffective, but they are also genuinely felt and rooted in a true desire to rescue Sasuke from his pain, which - and this is the single most important thing that should impact our viewing of Part 1 - is something that Sasuke RECOGNIZES. He doesn’t spend that agonizingly long moment bowed over Naruto’s defeated body so we can pretend he doesn’t understand that Naruto was just trying to help him. He doesn’t take the time to murmur, “Sakura…thank you,” before laying her out carefully on a bench, just so we can discount it and pretend that he doesn’t recognize and appreciate her genuine intention to make things better for him, however clumsy that attempt might have been.

2. the greater good

If Stage 1 Sakura is "the girl with the crush," then Stage 2 Sakura is a progression to “the girl who decides to put her feelings for Sasuke aside in order to protect innocent people, including (but certainly not limited to) Naruto.” She’s driven to this decision by interactions with Shikamaru, who all too recently had to grow up fast himself (“We're not kids anymore...we can't allow a war to break out between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud because of Sasuke") and Sai, who risks his new friendship with Sakura and Team 7 in order to speak some hard truths and deliver one of my favorite lines in the whole story: “I don’t know what promise Naruto made to you, but it’s really no different than what was done to me. It’s like a curse mark.”

(INCREDIBLE. How can anybody be complaining about a season where Sai gets to say something that goes THIS HARD and Sakura LISTENS and takes DRAMATIC ACTION that actually propels the story forward in a meaningful way - )

[Okay, yeah, brief personal opinion interlude - it is just bonkers wild to me that there are people who complain about Sakura in the Five Kage Summit arc. That entire season is the greatest character arc she ever has. Literally she has never been more interesting and dynamic than in Season 10; it’s the first time she ever gets to be as deep and fascinating as the boys; what is everybody so worked up about? Oh, “she lied to Naruto that one time” - Sasuke joined infant-kidnapping baby-murdering human experimentation machine Orochimaru when he was twelve years old in order to (dare I say it????) selfishly pursue his personal goals and yet, somehow, we are still able to root for him. He abandoned his friends/allies to imprisonment and death (Suigetsu and Jūgo) or outright stabbed them in the chest himself (Karin) in order to (SELFISHLY) get what he wanted, and yet, somehow, we are still able to love him, understand him, and be on his side. Naruto is canonically not upset with Sakura about her lie after receiving context for the situation and I think we can probably take our cues from him without feeling the need to bring her up on war crimes; please calm down]

[Sorry, I just really love most of Season 10 and think it’s one of the best examples of how good this story can be when every single character gets to do something that matters (as opposed to things being all Naruto, all the time) so I get a little bit worked up over people complaining about some of the best writing Sakura ever gets. I don’t understand what certain elements of fandom want from her. People complain about her being “useless” and not doing anything that contributes to the story, but then they complain just as much when she does finally get to act decisively and have just as complex/dynamic an inner world as the boys. She’s “weak” for being unreasonably in love with Sasuke, but when she tries to be “strong” and put her love for him aside and eliminate him in order to protect Naruto and the rest of the world, she’s evil, because she should have been more understanding of his situation (despite the fact that she doesn’t KNOW anything about his situation). But then when she can’t go through with killing him after all because she cares about him too much despite the things he’s done, she’s not "compassionate" or "kind" or "a good friend," she’s “weak” again. Nothing Sakura does in S10 is more wrongheaded or rash than any of the batshit, buckwild things Naruto and Sasuke have done in the past (and will continue to do in the future), but when Naruto and Sasuke have big feelings or take bold action, it makes them interesting characters, whereas Sakura can’t breathe in anyone’s direction without being minutely scrutinized for moral impurities.]

Anyway. Back to a more measured response.

Every single piece of development Sakura has with regard to Sasuke in this season satisfies me so much. Her initial shock and disbelief at hearing that Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki? Good, appropriate. The fact that she starts to acknowledge the reality of what Sasuke’s done sooner than Naruto does? Also extremely appropriate, very in-character for both of them. Her taking Sai’s words to heart and deciding that the promise she asked Naruto to make when they were children is causing him to suffer and she has to relieve him of that burden? Juicy! AND thematically significant (promises!!!! the burden that a promise places on a person, especially when it can't be kept - we've seen that before in this story and we'll see it again). Her anguished pivot from wanting to protect Sasuke to realizing that she has a responsibility to protect the countless innocents who will die because of the war he’s trying to start? HELLO THIS IS INCREDIBLE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Her knocking out the classmates who agreed to help her so they don’t have to share in her burden (and so the only person Naruto will hate when it’s over is her)? BRUH. Her being so committed and focused on her goal of saving innocents and protecting Naruto (not just from being harmed by Sasuke/the Akatsuki, but by the possibility that Naruto will someday have to hurt Sasuke himself) that she tries to take everything on by herself and walks into a confrontation that she absolutely cannot win?? INCREDIBLE. (Literally the first time I watched this, I said, “Finally!!! It’s Sakura’s turn to go off the rails!” I laughed with my sister about how Kakashi isn’t even mad, because Naruto and Sasuke have been pulling stunts like this for years and Sakura was way overdue for her own meltdown.) And then, after Kakashi intervenes in the fight - Sakura barreling back into the battle when she realizes he’s going to take on the burden of killing Sasuke himself in order to spare her and Naruto the horror - “I can’t let Kakashi-sensei bear this burden!” I love her for that.

And then, of course, in the end - her not being able to do hurt Sasuke after all. Despite committing herself to the act, despite forcing herself to put her feelings for him aside, despite resolving to stop him from starting a war and killing innocent people, she can’t harm him. She cares about him too much. This, too, is thematically significant - think about Itachi’s “you don’t have enough hatred” - she doesn’t have enough hatred to kill someone she cares about, even if it seems like he deserves it, even if would be the right thing to do to protect others. She can’t do it, and Sasuke almost kills her for her compassion.

I love the dynamic this sets up between her and Sasuke, for a few reasons:

1) Personally, I think Sasuke respects Sakura much more for trying to kill him than he would have if she’d just tried to talk him out of his behavior or beg him to come home (a la their original confrontation in Part 1). This is the first significant interaction he’s had with Sakura in years, and the fact that she does something SO contrary to his memory of her is an important demonstration of the fact that she’s not the same girl she used to be. Sasuke spends a lot of time after his defection declaring to his old team “I’ve changed; I’m not that person anymore,” but this is one of the moments where he’s forced to acknowledge that his teammates have changed, too. Time didn’t just stop for them when he left. While he was turning into someone new, so were they. They grew up without him, and his old memories of them can’t encompass the whole picture of who they are now.

(This is a little tangential, but in general, I love the spectrum of reactions that Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi have in this sequence, and the way that all of them are ultimately messages Sasuke needs to hear. Sasuke - who we know textually regrets what he did here, who apologizes to Sakura for it later - for “everything,” in fact - needs Naruto’s aggressively optimistic open-arms policy, yes, needs that potential, that unconditional possibility of return. He also needs Sakura’s refusal to let him hurt her friends and start a war that will kill thousands of people, needs her surprisingly ruthless attempt to take him down; needs just as much her failure to do so, because it shows him that she still loves him too much to kill him even as she condemns him. And he needs Kakashi’s grim line in the sand, needs someone who very possibly won't hesitate like Sakura (despite the horrifying personal cost), someone who will try to reach him but also won't let him escape and become the next generation’s Orochimaru, who won't let him cause untold suffering to untold numbers of people just because a teacher loved him too much to stop him when he had the chance.

(And then even Kakashi chooses not to deliver a killing blow when he has the opportunity -)

(I know that in fandom people are more likely to be all, “oh, Naruto Good, everybody else Bad,” but I don’t think the narrative frames Sakura or Kakashi as “worse” than Naruto in any way. The story goes out of its way to make it clear how desperately they don’t want to hurt Sasuke and how much they care about him. And [this is just my interpretation, so obviously I won’t claim it as fact], I personally think that Sasuke - Sasuke, who, looking back, can see how lost he was then and how tortured he would have been if he’d gone through with many of his plans - would be grateful to Sakura and Kakashi for making an attempt to stop him when he couldn’t stop himself.)

2) On the other side of this, the fact that Sakura wasn’t able to deliver the killing blow means a lot. Sasuke was incapacitated under that bridge; he was completely at her mercy - but she stopped with the kunai an inch from his back. She couldn’t kill him, even though she knew that he was completely willing to kill her (because he'd attempted to Chidori-assassinate her from behind just a few minutes ago). That’s huge! Sasuke is too out of his head right now to process this or understand it, but later, it's going to matter. She stayed her hand. She spared his life. She loved him too much to hurt him, even when he’d given her every reason to take him down. She hesitated, and he almost killed her for it, but her inability to strike him ultimately gave him yet another chance to come home, another chance to get better, another chance to have a life outside of his pain. Despite everything, some part of her still hadn’t really given up on him, and that knowledge will matter later, when he’s finally able to acknowledge it.

The point of all this is to say that I really have no complaints about Sakura and Sasuke’s dynamic in their S10 confrontation. This season is the point where Sakura fully grows past her “girl with a crush” stage and into her “shinobi must make very harsh decisions” adulthood, but it never means that she doesn’t care about the person she’s trying to take down. Her ultimate inability to deliver the killing blow remains a dangling lifeline for her relationship with Sasuke, an open door that Sasuke is able to walk through at the end of the story (literally, in fact, when Sakura opens that portal for him and saves him from Kaguya’s desert prison, and figuratively, too, when Sasuke apologizes to her).

3. she only wants to save you

The last stage in their relationship is what Sakura settles into during the war arc. She started off Part 1 being just a girl with a crush, then tried to harden her heart and put her feelings for Sasuke aside in service of the greater good, but she was unable to actually follow through and kill him, and because of that, what she’s come to accept by the war arc is actually two things: that 1) Sasuke truly is willing to let her die if it furthers his goals, and 2) she wants to save him anyway.

She has no intention of pursuing Sasuke romantically. She knows full well that Sasuke isn’t interested in her. She even knows that Sasuke isn’t really on their side (there’s a great scene where Sai questions Sakura about Sasuke’s return, and she reassures him that everything is fine, and Sai sadly thinks to himself “even I can tell your smile is fake”). She’s well-aware that Sasuke didn’t try to help her when Madara stabbed her. She’s well-aware that he left her to die in the lava pit. She’s also well-aware that none of this is enough to make her stop loving him. He doesn’t have to care about her - she still cares about him. She still wants to help him. She still wants to save him.

This is not hidden, hard-to-parse character development. It’s explicitly articulated on the page:

Sakura’s not trying or wanting to make you hers! She only wants to save you.

I’m not sure if people look at this last confrontation and unquestioningly take Sasuke at his word (as if we haven’t just read 71 volumes/watched 700 episodes showing us how how painfully distorted his thinking is), or if they stop reading/watching before the end of the scene, or if they don’t understand that Sasuke saying something doesn’t make that statement an accurate representation of reality. The entire point of this scene is to show us how deeply mistaken Sasuke is about Sakura (and, by extension, the rest of Team 7). He’s locked into a false pattern of thinking. His single-minded focus on revenge and destruction has blinded him to the unconditional love his friends feel for him; he’s become so accustomed to using others and being used that he can’t understand or accept that someone would care about him without needing a reason, without needing him to love them back, without needing to receive something from him in exchange.

Sakura’s not trying or wanting to make you hers! She only wants to save you.

Sasuke matters to Sakura as more than a love interest. He always has. She does love him romantically, yes, but she doesn’t only love him romantically, and her desire to help him is not and has never been contingent on him returning her feelings, romantically or otherwise. Sasuke isn’t able to acknowledge that in this scene, but that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to just sit back and agree with his warped perspective. Kakashi is the one who’s explicitly positioned as the voice of the narrative here. We, as the audience, are supposed to recognize that Kakashi is the one telling us the truth.

[tangential thing 1: You don’t have to love Sakura's last plea to Sasuke here. It’s not my favorite, either - the best part, other than Kakashi’s speech at the end, is the moment after Kakashi collapses when Sakura’s expression changes from pained uncertainty to pure rage, when she grits her teeth together - when I first saw that, I almost leapt out of my seat like “Oh my god. She’s finally going to let him have it. It’s finally happening - ” I wanted that so badly, and I still think it would have been a more effective writing choice for Sakura’s last words to lean more into her anger at the suffering Sasuke is causing all of them (himself included!) and less into yet another of Kishimoto’s “let me have Sakura articulate what a shame it is that she can’t do as much as Naruto despite the fact that I literally just went through a major reveal sequence in the war to show that she’s caught up to the boys; I can’t make up my mind about whether I want her to progress or not” - it’s extremely frustrating (and it's something he does at the very end of the S10 Team 7 reunion, too, which is the ONLY moment of S10 that falls flat for me). But at the same time, even if there are ways this sequence could be more satisfying, it doesn’t change the fact that her plea to him is not remotely motivated by a desire to be with him romantically and not anything to condemn her for.]

[tangential thing 2: I do like how she remembers that moment when Sasuke says “Thank you.” That panel precedes her saying “If there’s even a tiny corner of your heart that thinks about me…” (which I’m sure is one of the things that people like to criticize about this scene, aka “oh she’s sooooo self-centered” etc), but that particular line of dialogue is preceded by that particular flashback panel for a reason: Sakura knows that Sasuke DOES think about her. He thinks about all of them. Sakura remembers that “thank you,” and it reminds her that despite everything Sasuke has done and said since, despite all evidence to the contrary, she knows in her bones that his expression of gratitude back then was genuine. He cared about her once. He cared about all of them. She’s trying to reach the part of him that still does, if it exists.]

[tangential thing 3: The fact that Kakashi says “she suffers from loving you,” and it triggers Sasuke to remember his own family - thinking about how much he suffered (and still suffers) from loving them - “Perhaps…those are the ties to a failed past” - the idea that it’s not worth it to have bonds if it means you suffer this much…that it’s too difficult, it’s too painful, and if Sakura and the rest of Team 7 were smarter they would just give it up (all Sasuke knows how to do now is sever potential bonds before they can hurt him; so why aren’t Sakura and the rest of his teammates doing that, why can’t they let it go, why are they making this so hard - ) << yeah, he clearly doesn't care about her/them at all.]

4. the shadow of my family

This has all been a really long way to answer the original question, but the short response to “What do you think about the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura?” is “I really care about it,” just like I really care about the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto, just like I really care about the relationship between Sasuke and Kakashi. And I don’t think the story ever asks me to choose between them.

I’m not sure whether it’s the impact of Boruto-era “canon” that gets in the way of other people approaching things this way (I don’t consider sequel material when I evaluate the original story), or if it’s Kishimoto’s frequent disinterest in/disrespect towards female characters, which yes, does sometimes make it harder, or if it's a shipping thing (bane of my existence), or some combination of factors, but for me, taking one member of Team 7 out of the equation hobbles the rest of the story. I can’t read/watch Naruto while hating one of the protagonists and loving the other three. It doesn’t work like that for me. The story wasn’t written that way, and there’s nothing in the text that would cause me to receive it that way.

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with disliking one of the main foursome (or any character, for that matter) - obviously we're all going to have different preferences, and everyone is free to enjoy or reject whatever parts of a story they want, or to like or dislike whatever characters they want. I know that some people have more fun disregarding canon and doing their own thing, which is fine. My own personal zone of enjoyment comes from receiving the story as closely to how I think it was intended to be read as I can, and personally, when I look at this particular story, what I see is that all the members of Team 7 clearly demonstrate their love for Sasuke in ways that he himself later recognizes and acknowledges. All of them are driven by their desire to save him and their unwillingness to hurt him. All of them make repeated choices to chase after him when he runs away, to trust him when he hasn't exactly earned it, to give him another chance when he doesn't appear to deserve it. ALL of them, not just Naruto, do these things multiple times throughout the story, and Sasuke owes his life (and thus his eventual recovery) to ALL of them, many times over. Kakashi disobeys Hokage-elect Danzō and breaks the law to negotiate for Sasuke's life with a foreign head of state. Sakura and Kakashi both have opportunities to kill Sasuke in the Land of Iron, and they choose to spare him instead. Kakashi stops Sasuke from killing his only friends at two different points in the story, which would have been a mistake Sasuke couldn't have recovered from. Sasuke would have died in Kaguya's desert dimension if Sakura hadn't saved him (Sakura, who knew that Sasuke wasn't even truly on her side yet, who knew he'd abandoned her for dead multiple times already that day). Kaguya's bone bullet would have killed Sasuke too, if Kakashi, with his intention to die in Sasuke's place, hadn't leapt in front of it (Kakashi, who also knew that Sasuke wasn't fully on their side yet, who also knew that Sasuke had abandoned him for dead earlier that day). Sasuke and Naruto would have BOTH died in the Final Valley if Sakura and a severely injured Kakashi hadn't chased after them to heal their injuries.

Remove any one member of Team 7, and Sasuke never makes it home. Without the combined efforts of all three of his teammates, he doesn't survive. That’s the way it should be, thematically, for a story whose first and most foundational premise was the importance of teamwork, and since Sakura was just as essential to that framework as everyone else, I’m just as invested in her relationship with Sasuke as I am in his relationship with everyone else. You can’t remove one leg from a four-legged stool without damaging the integrity of the entire structure, and for me, discounting any single member of Team 7 irreparably damages the integrity of the entire story.

TL;DR: I love all of the Team 7 relationships, including Sakura and Sasuke's, because despite what some segments of fandom seem to believe, the text of the story never gives me any reason not to.

#naruto #meta #replies #anyway that's that! hopefully that is a helpful answer #thank you for the question! i honestly don't think i would have ever gotten around to writing about this if i hadn't been directly asked #i love talking about the stories i enjoy (obviously; we all do; that's why we're here)#but i'm usually ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about responding to takes that blatantly misread the narrative to justify hating a particular character or ship #mostly because a) it's whatever. as long as people mind their own business and leave me to enjoy myself they can do what they want #and b) some opinions are so divorced from the actual text that they're not worth discussing #like. what's the point of responding to random internet posts saying that sakura was selfishly pursuing sasuke as a lover the entire time #when that is textually and provably not the case?#if you're that committed to experiencing things in direct contradiction to what the narrative is asking of us then just go ahead #is it mildly annoying to me? sure. but so are lots of things and it's better to just let stuff go #like - i initially planned to take this piece of meta all the way up through sakura and sasuke's last scene together #the one where he tells her 'maybe next time' and finally reclaims and redefines itachi's forehead tap (INCREDIBLE. THIS SCENE.)#but ultimately i changed my mind because everything i wrote for that last section was coming out too harsh #i generally prefer to talk about fandom stuff in a chill/friendly approachable way #but i kept thinking about the most obscenely & disrespectfully inaccurate read of that scene i'd ever seen #and i couldn't figure out how to talk about it in a non-scathing way #that scene and the one where naruto gives sasuke's headband back are the ONLY well-written things about the finale of naruto #they are SO perfectly constructed and i can't respond to people slandering either one without feeling an urge to kill #so i just deleted it. partially because again - this is fandom; it's not that serious; people can do what they want #but also because i know i get extra frustrated about people picking over the text and plucking out isolated bits and pieces #to contort into blatantly misinterpreted mutant shapes that 'confirm' whatever pre-existing judgments or ships they had #instead of experiencing the story as a cohesive whole & keeping in mind the greater context of what it's always been trying to communicate #people on this website say 'we all interpret things differently :)' as if it means no one can ever be wrong about what a text is saying #newsflash: not all interpretations of a text are valid. things can't in fact mean whatever you want them to mean.#the ***story*** persists and exists even if the author is dead to you #if you choose to ignore that then that's fine; it's just fandom; who cares. but i'm not going to pretend you're 'analyzing' anything.#(ok now i'm really done. you can see why i deleted this section XD)

54 notes · View notes

onepiece-polls · 2 months ago

Note

Since you were curios, I thought I'll tell you my predictions:

Side A prediction:

Reiju/Tashigi wins it all. I think Ace/Law could beat Ishho/Dadan since its an already established ship, but lose to the sapphics. Perona/Reiju wins over Enel/Gild Tesoro. I was actually conflicted on the outcome of Kureha/Brook vs Kid/Usopp vs Tsuru/Kureha. I knew Kidd/Usopp would have likely been the least appealing (as in funny. C'mon kureha is in the other two) I settled on the grannies losing to brook but they apparently are winning. Who ever wins, they lose to Perona/Reiju who lose against Reiju/Tashigi.

Side B predictions:

I love Sabosaji, but even sanji fans love torturing the blonde man, so Iva/Zeff wins (itsfunny). Nami/Hiyori features much more beloved characters than Uroge/Sadie, so it wins. Zeff/Garp gained some following since last year, so I think its more than enough to beat out Rosi/Smoker. Marco/Law, once again, features more popular characters that Granfall/Shandia chief, so it wins. And between this and Zeff/Garp I am sure the old men would thrive. I think Nami/Hiyori could beat Iva/Zeff due to the larger appeal of F/F ob this site, But I'm not sure. Either way, both ships should be able to beat Zeff/Garp since they are either funnier or cuter.

Side C predictions:

Shanks/Rosi could beat Enel/Croc. Its more wholesome, and I've seen a few fics already. Baby5/Sanji is also something that I've seen people enjoy, so it could beat Iceburg/Shanks. Ceasar/Judge has been a thing for a while, so I think it could veat Brook/Big Mom. Both are toxic, but which one is more hilarious? Tera/Sora has more appeal that Niji/Uta due to being Zosan's moms, so it clears. And I think they could beat the toxic old man yaoi. Between Shanks/Rosi and Baby5/Sanji I'll say 5/Sanji would more likely win, mostly due to their appeal from their respective backstories. And between Tera/Sora and 5/Sanji... I'm not really sure. I'll go with Zosan's moms since, once again, people love torturing sanji.

Side D predictions

Crocodragon CLEARS and its the final survivor. On a more accurate note, Coby/Sabo would make more sense than Iceburg/Drake, Croc/Rosi is an already esblashed ship so it wins over Mihawk/Kaku. Cricket/Wiper does the sane witj Mihawk/Benn. Croc/Rosi would win against them, but lose to the shier power of Crocodad.

Side E predictions:

Rosi/Bellemere is already established, it beats Cobra/Croc. Same with Yamato/Hiyori vs Speed/Tashigi. Between Boa/Uta and Boa/Alvida I think the ship with Alvida is funnier. And this time, the lesbians Reiju/Nojiko could probably well defeat Kata/Rosi. I think Rosi/Brllemere would lose to Yanato/Hiyori, its just a way bigger ship. And Rwiju/Nojiko has been a thing longer than Alvida/Boa, I've seen it more. But they would lose to Yamato/Hiyori since they are just that big.

Side F predictions:

Nami/Koala has been a thing longer than Zeff/WB. It clears. Boa/Barto is too hilarious for people to pass it on, it wins over Boa/Robin. Kuhera/Kokoro would have an advantage to Mihawk/Rosi since people fw old woman yuri on here. And I've seen kata/king way more tgan Belleremere/Makino. But I think Jata/king could be strong enough to win over them. Boa/Barto is gaining some traction so i think it beats the first mates as well.

Side G predictions:

Rosi/Buggy is much bigger than Killer/Pen, so it clears. I have seen a few people complain that the princess polycule isn't cracky at all, so I think it could lose either this round with Tatch/Sanji or the next with Rosi/Buggy. Kuina/Hiyori has been gaining a LOT of traction, it woukd easily beat Bon/Inazuma. Between the old gen shipping and Rei/Pudding... I couod see both winning, actually. But wither way, I think they would lose to Kuina/Hiyori for different reasons: for the old gen, I've seen someone complain is not that much crack, and F/F is more preferred here. And for Rei/Pudding, I could see people complaining about the age gap. Yeah. And between Kuina/Hiyori and Rosi/Buggy.... I think the lesbians could win again. I've really seen people go Very crazy about Hiyoku.

Side H predictions:

Zeff/Sora clears against Zoro/Kata. Fake frobin is too funny to let go against Shakky/Rouge but I think they wpuld lose to Zeff/Sora. I could see either WB/Dadan or the NB boys winning, but either wpuld lose agains Kiku/Perona, who wins over Bellemere/Rouge but lose to Zeff/Sora.

So we have:

Reiju/Tash vs Either Iva/Zeff or Nami/Hiyori

Sora/Tera vs Crocodragon

Yamato/Hiyori vs Boa/Barto

Hiyoku vs Zeff/Sora.

Reitash and crocodragon clear easily, so does Yamato/Hiyori with Boa/Barto. I think Hiyoku would be extremely popular at this point so it could beat Zeff/Sora.

I would have Crocodragon at 1st place, Reitash at 2nd, and either Yamato/Hiyori or Kuina/Hiyori at 3rd.

Okay, I love reading this. and since you took the time to send me this, I'll share my predictions as well:

I'm with you on the A side in every bit (I expected Brook to do better with Kureha too, but apparenlty not).

One the B side I'm with you on most, but I think Zeff/Iva could beat Nami/Hiyori (but i'm not sure either), but nevertheless I think Zeff/Garp can beat either ship and will win that side. Though I wouldn't be too surprised if Zeff/Iva won.

C side I agree with all you said. The finale might become a tight battle, but probably zosan moms win.

D side... Yeah Dragon/Croco wins. But. I do think they'll face Wyper/Cricket. I don't think CrocoRosi would win from them, honestly (I had never heard of that ship before this tournament, but that might just be my corner of the fandom). They are Calgara/Noland reincarnated, so I think they'll do good. But yeah... try to beat Luffy's biological parents, you know?

E side I agree, except I think Rosi/Bell-mère will win from Yamato/Hiyori (and so, win the final battle of that side as well). Don't underestimate their fanbase, they had a few submissions in the previous 'normal' ship war as well.

F side I think is really hard to predict. First battle already. Nami/Koala probably wins, since lesbians seem to do really well in the tournament so far, but idk, I think Zeff/Whitebeard might surprise people and they love the ship name! I agree with the other outcomes of that round and Barto/Boa probably wins the next round as well. KataKing is one of my own ships (though submitted by 2 more people) that's still in the running and so, I hope they'll beat Kureha/Kokoro, but I think it'll be hard. I do think, no matter which of those two ships wins that round, they'll both win from barto/boa as both Barto and Boa are actually just in love with Luffy.

G side: "Rosi/Buggy is much bigger than Killer/Pen" - Well on your side of tumblr maybe! On my side, however... *Follows several kilguin-loving blogs*. Ugh. I don't wanna admit you're right. But... you're probably right. Still... don't write kilguin off yet! I They will fight hard 😛 Wait, let me check AO3 real quick.... killer/penguin: 207 fics. rosi/buggy: 18 fics. You might wanna reconsider which one is "much bigger" 😛 (still, I would not at all be surprised if rosi/buggy won - they did have more submissions - like... 6 vs 0 - kilguin is my submission only 🙈) *clears throat* Anyway... I think princess polycule will win from thatch/sanji but lose from lovebug. Kuina/Hiyor wins their battle indeed, and I dreamt about RoRayShaRouge last night (though... the men were an afterthought 😂 it was very spicy), so they win their battle too, I just know it 😂 But they might indeed just not be cracky enough to beat Kuina/Hiyori. Still, I think the final winner of this side will be Rosi/Buggy (unless they were beaten by kilguin, in that case Kuina/Hiyori wins).

H side:

Zeff/Sora wins, yes. But, maybe Shakky/Rouge wins over fake frobin (I dreamt about them, remember? It gotta mean something). I think WB/Dadan will win from North Blue boys because they are 1)more crack, and 2)still have a solid basis (Ace's parents). Although, NB boys just being the Sanji-fanclub is funny too so... could go either way. (still betting my money on Ace's parents). The last one is hard, because Bell-Rouge is my IRL friend's ship. I think it has great potential. But it might lose to Kiku/Perona. I'm not really sure. Lesbians are doing really well though, so whoever wins will probably win the next round too. But at the end of the day, Zeff/Sora will be the winner of the H side.

So in the end for my predictions we have:

Reiju/Tashigi vs Zeff/Garp = ReiTash wins.

Sora/Tera vs CrocoDragon = I don't think it's an easy win, but CrocoDragon wins.

Rosi/Bell-mere vs Kureha/Kokoro (or KataKing) = oooh really hard to say. Probably Rosi/Bell-mere.

Rosi/Buggy vs Zeff/Sora = Zeff/Sora wins easily.

Seeing this outcome it's honeslty really funny because... so many parental figures who are shipped 😂

I think the end result would be:

Reiju/Tashigi

Zeff/Sora

Crocodile/Dragon

Rosi/Bell-mère

(Which would mean ReiTash won from CrocoDragon and ZeffSora won from CoraBell) However, I could be very mistaken everywhere! 😂 and that's what I love about this competition. I actually hope one of the ships I wrote off early on will make it to the finals to surprise me.

I also love that in the end, our predictions are quite different.

#op crack ship war #ask #anon #not a poll #thanks for sending me this I really enjoyed it #predictions #feel free to start discussions in reblogs or comments

13 notes · View notes

dalesramblingsblog · 5 months ago

Text

All that doom mongering about how putting the show on iPlayer would completely tank it seems a bit silly now, doesn't it?

Like c'mon, as an Australian I'm not a big fan of the Disney+ deal either, but I think this really does show how bad fans are at predicting what the "not we" will enjoy. The general public are not going to swear off a show they've watched the past seven episodes of because they didn't reveal that Ruby was the time-displaced descendant of Kim Talevera or whatever the fuck (and if you can tell me who that is without looking it up, hi, hello, we're both part of the problem on this one [slightly non-derogatory]).

If you put a good show in front of people, they will enjoy it. It's as simple as that. It's ironic that I've seen so many fans argue that Series 14 is somehow ruined because they didn't bring back Jan Grinky and that people who enjoyed the season are mindless IP consumers, when the types of obsessive fan that the season is quite explicitly critiquing in its refutation of theory-crafting as dull are far more guilty of that.

And yes, I am 120 books into a series of reviews on a bunch of out-of-print Doctor Who novels, so clearly I don't think I have a leg to stand on when complaining about obsessive fandom. But a lesson I think a lot of overly obsessive Doctor Who fans could stand to learn is to have the maturity to accept that a version of Doctor Who exclusively tailored to their own tastes would be utter shite. No exceptions, not even myself.

(Indeed we've already taught this lesson before and it has a handy name, we call it Attack of the Cybermen for short. Catchy, no?)

I'm sorry if this is overly bitter of me, and maybe making fun of Doctor Who fandom isn't the best gameplan for a blog that lives and dies off the back of Doctor Who fans, but God some folks on here need to learn to take the piss out of themselves a bit more. I've always had a very strong unease with the concept of fandom and it's quite clear from Series 14 that Davies seems to agree.

Get over yourselves, you have to be a little mad to enter into a book like The Eight Doctors and expect anything but an utter travesty of art. That's all fandom is: a moderately unhinged fanaticism. And that's OK in a vacuum, obviously, but Christ above just stop taking it all so seriously.

#doctor who #disney+#bbc iplayer #russell t davies #s40e8: empire of death

14 notes · View notes

thommi-tomate · 2 months ago

Text

People about Thomas pt3

Sepp Maier:

What impresses you about Thomas Müller?

I'm hugely impressed that he has stayed at FC Bayern for his entire career, just as I did. What more could you ask for? He's won everything there is to win with FC Bayern. Thomas is FC Bayern through and through, and that's the right thing to do. He even played in the club's youth ranks.

You celebrated success with another famous Müller in your team, is Thomas as difficult for a goalkeeper to predict as Gerd was?

Them are two completely different types: Thomas moves all over the field, our Gerd was dangerous inside the box like nobody else. Thomas also makes assists, which wasn't Gerd's specialty, to be honest. But they both have something in common: Thomas belongs to the list of the great FC Bayern players, just like Gerd or Franz Beckenbauer, or whatever they were called in our ероса.

Ron-Robert Zieler:

The first time I played against Bayern München in March 2011, we won with Hannover 96. We left the pitch with a 3-1 victory. I was given Thomas Müller's shirt, whom I'd already known for six or seven years at the time. We had played together under Bernd Stöber in the U-16 national team.

The shirt - Thomas, I hope you'll forgive me - is currently in a storage room that my wife and I have rented. We've moved so many times in the last few years, six in eight years, that we've decided to leave everything we don't need in storage until we have time to unpack everything into a permanent home once our careers are over. Then I will also - I promise - take out the Müller jersey, even though he wasn't exactly my favorite opponent. I conceded 45 goals in games against Bayern Munich. Nine of them came from him. But if there's anyone you can't be angry with for long, it's Thomas Müller.

He was already a dodderer when we met in 2004. Even then he reminded me of a Skydancer, those funny figures that move strangely when a little wind blows on them from below. Thomas is like that too. Unconventional in his movements. He is a horror for goalkeepers. From his movements, it's impossible to know which way his shot will go.

The best goals Thomas scored for me were in Brazil in 2014. In some training sessions he outplayed me; I was there in goal alongside Manuel Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller. But he was good. Maybe I gave him a bit of confidence so that he could score five such unforgettable goals on our way to the World Cup title.

All the best for the future, dear Thomas. And even if you and I never meet again on the pitch (unless the Cup draw dictates otherwise), I invite you to try to score against any other fellow goalkeeper more times than against me. Without complaining, I would let this unglamorous record of goals conceded pass.

Felix Zwayer:

I can't remember how many times I've had the honor of whistling Thomas Müller throughout his career. But it has (almost) always been a great pleasure. Thomas is a true professional, and you can tell that he is also aware of the referee's point of view. That makes for an honest and open dialogue on the pitch.

Last season I had an experience with him that I found very respectful: After losing the game in Leverkusen at the beginning of February, he came to see me despite the huge disappointment, thanked me for the way I had conducted the game and said goodbye in a very polite manner. Not everyone manages to do that in a situation like that. I was very impressed. Overall, I think I've noticed a clear evolution in the league over the years: Before, people just talked, communicated and sometimes complained. Today, the comments are much more professional and also more selective, and the conversations are held at the same level.

What always impresses me most about Thomas when I see him on the field is that he is a great motivator, he leads the way, sets an example and involves his teammates. That also shows as a referee. He is simply a great leader on and off the field.

#thomas müller #sepp maier #ron-robert zieler #felix zwayer #fc bayern münchen

10 notes · View notes

bijouxcarys · 5 months ago

Text

𝐌𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

**SPOILERS AHEAD, don't be that dick that complains about spoilers when there's a clear warning, and it's been 2 whole days since the event**

All these opinions are my own, and some may not be popular, and most will be controversial in essence. Probably. Maybe I'm just not used to people agreeing with me?

I was so excited for this PLE, and the fact that it was held in Scotland. I'm not Scottish, but I do live in Northern England, which is the closest I've ever been to a WWE PLE.

On the run-up to CATC, these were my predictions:

Cody Rhodes d. AJ Styles Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill d. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn and Shayna Baszler & Zoe Stark Sami Zayn d. Chad Gable Bayley d. Piper Niven Drew McIntyre d. Damien Priest

We'll go chronologically...

Cody Rhodes vs AJ Styles - "I Quit" Match

I'm a realist when it comes to things like this, so I knew that AJ wasn't going to win the championship. However, that doesn't deter from the fact that I wanted him to win so badly.

If you follow me or know me, you'll know my stance on Cody Rhodes... I hate him. I used to really like him, but as soon as he won the 2024 Royal Rumble, he became really tedious to me. Sure, he's a good athlete. But you have to be to make it in WWE. I truly don't understand the hype he got in Scotland, or the hype he gets in general. His "reign" is embarrassing, and so weak coming off the back of Roman Reigns' title run. I don't like the way he holds the belt, I don't like how arrogant he is. And I especially don't like the saviour complex and the "good guy" image he tries so hard to protect and project, when he was quite happy to see his fanbase verbally brutalise another (that's not even mentioning the race-themed insults...)

Anyway, the press event on the Friday solidified how annoying he is to me. The crowd surf? So unneccessary. It was like you could sense the raging hard-on he was getting from the fan's reactions to him being in their presence. There's a way to appreciate support without being a dick.

I enjoyed seeing AJ beat the crap out of Cody, despite the fact I knew that he wasn't going to win. And I actually agree with the fact he didn't win; as much as I love AJ, that title needs to be taken from Cody by someone who's a lot bigger than him. After all, the reason why Cody's win over Roman at WMXL worked was because of the long-form storytelling and the feud that slowly built between them. That, and it was time for Roman to move on to bigger and better things than Cody bloody Rhodes. Believe that.

Also yes I fucking screamed when Solo made his appearence, and then the boys, I'm--

Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoe Stark vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn - Triple Threat Tag Team Match

I have a fair amount of followers/people I'm following who love Jade and Bianca. I understand it. And I 1000% agree with anyone who says Bianca is a phenomenal athlete and has brought a lot for the WWE. I can see Jade's potential, though I'm not entirely sure she's ready to handle anything more than a Tag Team Championship just yet.

I know a lot of people disagree with the outcome of this match, and I can't say that I fully understand why it panned out the way it did. I can only guess that it was the necessity to have at least one Scottish opponent win during a PLE in Scotland.

Bianca and Jade not winning this match is a positive for them, in my opinion. It gives Jade a chance to perhaps develop her presence as a solo performer and athlete, now that Bianca has helped with her exposure to the masses. I'm interested in where they plan to take the two of them as characters and how they evolve in the future... potential enemies? Can't say for certain just yet, but their reaction to the loss was significant and will mean more than we realise as of right now.

That being said, I have the utmost respect for Alba for getting through this, considering what she's had to deal with recently. Losing your mum in such a tragic way is devestating, and I commend her for her strength and ability.

I like Alba and Isla a lot, and I'm hoping that we see more of them in the future now that they have the championship. They deserve a bit of a push.

However, I have to say that I really wanted Shayna and Zoe to win this one. They're a badass tag team, and the crowd's chant of "Shayna scares me" had me rollinggggg!

Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable

I don't have that much to say about this match. If they chose to take the title from Sami, it would just be weird. To me, anyways.

What I do find wholesome about this whole story is Otis and Maxine. How they're under the manipulative guise of a heel, and Sami sees right through it. Sami harbours no ill feelings towards Chad's subjects, and shows compassion to Otis in particular. Otis' development and personal growth is showing, and I'm so excited for what they're going to do with him in the future.

In regards to the match itself, I don't think anyone can say it was a bad match, or a boring one for that matter. People often forget just how incredible of a wrestler and athlete Sami Zayn is, and mostly remember him as the "Ucey" guy. And whilst I love comedic Sami, I adore the version of Sami we have currently. The hard-hitter, the no-bullshit fiery warrior. Gah!

All in all, in terms of the actual wrestling, this was my favourite match of the night. It was the most entertaining and most satisfying as a viewer.

Bayley vs. Piper Niven

Oh Piper...

I love both of these women to pieces, and it must have been so cool for Bayley to go out there on her birthday and have people acknowledge that.

I always enjoy Piper and Bayley when they're in the ring, together and separately. I still maintain that Bayley and Iyo's match at WMXL was the best of the whole weekend. Bayley's transformation over the last 5 years has been nothing short of entertaining and I love seeing her flourish with the championship.

Piper Niven has one of the strongest willpowers I've ever seen, and it shows in the way she conducts herself in the ring. I would have liked to see either of these win the match, however, I wouldn't have necessarily agreed if Piper did win.

Personally, I think Bayley needs to keep the title a little longer before it's taken from her, and Piper needs to be put in big matches like these for a little longer until she takes a title like that. Like I said with Cody vs. Roman, it's about the build up that makes a win credible, or satisfying.

Chelsea is growing on me, too. She's incredibly funny and talented, and I wish they pushed her a bit more. She's got a huge personality and has the potential to be a lot bigger of a star.

Drew McIntyre vs. Damien Priest

Where's the *sigh* button?

I recently started reading Drew's autobiography so watching Drew have such incredible moments over the weekend only 30 minutes from his hometown hit me a little harder than it should have. And yes, I did tear up at the simple prospect of Drew winning.... Imagine if he did?

Drew is up there in my top 5 favourite wrestlers of all time, and Damien is in The Judgement Day, which is my second favourite faction (after The Bloodline ofc), so deciding who I wanted to win was a very difficult decision. I was positive that they were going to give Drew this win, purely with it being in Scotland, and that the build up has been weighty enough for it to pay off in a win. But the fact that Hunter has chosen to take the other path... makes me nervous for what he does have up his sleeve for Drew.

I was disappointed that CM Punk decided to pop in and fuck everything up (again), but after a while I started to think about it a bit more... It wouldn't have actually made sense for Drew to win this match. And I'll tell you why.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Heavyweight Champion will go on to face Gunther at Summerslam, right? Why would Drew be needing to face Gunther? Surely the only person that it would make sense for Drew to be fighting right now is Punk! Damien has found himself in a situation where he's not involved in the feud between Drew and Punk; he isn't involved in any of that. So Damien vs. Gunther makes more sense, and it allows that space for a Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk match at Summerslam, or any other PLE.

Not only that, but Damien needs to keep a championship, otherwise Mami has a completely broken faction to return to. Between Finn and Damien's tension, and Dom's predicaments with Liv, a titleless faction is not something they need at the moment.

So, yes, I'm sad for Drew that he didn't get to have his moment in his home country, but it absolutely makes more sense for Damien to win and for the tension between Punk and Drew to intensify... Once again... long-form storytelling always pays off in the end. I'm confident Drew will get a title in the future, and keep it. He really deserves that. And I can only hope that Hunter sees that.

Hunter may not always make the best decisions, or what may seem like it at the time, but he's been in the game (hehe) long enough... I have faith in him that he knows what he's doing and he's got some good stuff lined up for us.

9 notes · View notes