#when girls found parallels *goes feral* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

realcube · 4 years ago

Text

Haikyuu girls // The Strap - NSFW headcanons

pairings: kiyoko x reader, yachi x reader, saeko x reader

summary: you and your s/o decide to add a bit of spice to your sex so y’all use a strap - the following headcanons are how I think they’ll use it/react..

tw// aged-up au!, (she/her) reader, vagina-having reader, sexual intercourse, strap-ons, WLW sex, fingering, oral (receiving and giving), swearing, exhibition

Kiyoko Shimizu

honestly, you’re both very diplomatic when it comes to deciding who gives and who receives

whenever y’all do it, the mood kinda just decides for itself

however, since both y’all were just blankly staring at the bright pink object that sat in the middle of the bed, Kiyoko figured that she’d take one for the team

also, since it was her who suggested and bought the item, she thought it would only be fair if she gave it try first

so, she guided you through the steps of putting it on while strapping it onto herself

then, once she was done, she bent you over and got to it

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

Your eyes rolled back into your head from the unholy mix of ecstasy and pain Kiyoko made you feel. Never before have you felt so full. The way she mastered the smooth plastic toy so it occasionally brushed against your g-spot left you salivating and begging for more - just how she intended. “Kiyoko~” You whined, pushing your face out of the blankets so she could hear your desperate pleas, “M- Muh, More! Please..”

A light pant left Kiyoko’s lip as she retracted one of her hand from your waist to reach down at trace sloppy circles around her clit, but she was a lot more sensitive than she thought she would be so after that small bit of stimulation, she involuntarily tossed her head back and let out a low moan.

That was part of the reason she wanted to refrain from touching herself while pounding into you but the sight of your dripping pussy being stretched out by her strap along with the high-pitch mewls you let out was more than enough to leave her with a throbbing cunt and weak knees.

Without a word, she altered her movements so that she was now thrusting into you at a rapid pace, every movement of her hip directed at the spot you pleaded to be stimulated and upon your request, Kiyoko delivered. However, not without a cost. At this point, your g-spot was getting used and abused so quickly, your body was barely able to keep up.

Lewd wails escaped your throat, your mind clouded with pleasure and euphoria yet you were still conscious enough to notice that the slight vibrating of your thighs could only mean one thing.

Despite the fact you were struggling to breath through all the erotic sensations throughout your body, let alone think - as soon as you felt your orgasm arise, the natural instinct to ask for permission managed to muster up enough energy to allow you to croak out, “May I?”

Kiyoko couldn’t help but giggle, gently caressing you waist with one hand and abandoning her needy clit to attend to your puckered hole. “You’ve been a good girl.” She mused, a low groan falling from her lips as he speed decreased slightly just to tease you. “Go on.”

Her deacceleration barely effected you as by the time those words had reached your ears, you were already halfway through your climax. Bliss shot through your body, sending shivers down your arched spine and to your legs, which was promptly followed by a pornographic moan. “Sh..Shimzu!~”

Upon hearing you finish, Kiyoko slowly pulled out the strap to provide you with some relief before taking it off, throwing it aside and attacking her pussy with her fingers - clearly, she had been left unsatisfied after being aroused by your messy, horny state.

You looked over at her and were simply unable to stifle a giggle. However, you weren’t the one laughing when you tried to stand up to walk over there and help her but then you realised you couldn’t feel your legs. “C’mere.” You commanded, seeming slightly less dominant since you were still panting from when she was railing you just a few seconds ago, “I’ll finish you off.”

Hitoka Yachi

she rarely ever gives and this was no exception

(well, by that I mean she is a bottom but when it comes to giving gifts and stuff she is extra af but that is a whole other headcanon)

in fact, she was actually the one who bought the strap

however, it was now you who inserting it into her

but you both like it that way!

bc she usually hates being on top since she’s always scared that she’ll hurt you or leave you unsatisfied

anyway, you both mutually agreed that you were the top - despite the fact that y’all only do it once every millennium-

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

You finished deciphering the instruction and managed to put the god-forsaken thing on - and the fact that you had little to no hand-to-eye coordination probably didn’t help. ( Throwback to that one time you momentarily pulled out and then when you tried to plug your fingers back in, you accidentally ended up aggressively poking Yachi’s labia.)

“Okay,” You looked up, biting your lip upon seeing Yachi in nothing but lingerie with the dim candle’s lit in the background, making her look heavenly. The character develop - you sighed, recalling the first time y’all had intercourse and she insisted the lights had to be complete off and her oversized shirt and thigh-high socks stayed on. Not that you had a problem with that - in fact, you found it quite charming - but it was just amazing to see how much more confidence she’s gained.

You shook your head in attempt to shake away all the off-topic thoughts, “Are you sure you want me to do this?” You inquired, eyes soft and exchanging a loving gaze with her. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing this.” Although, it was Yachi’s idea to invest in a strap-on but you’d rather be safe than sorry as she might’ve changed her mind since then.

Yachi nodded, her signature sweet yet awkward smile gracing her lip while she fidgeted with the lace on the edges of the red panties she wore. “Oh, yes. I’m sure! I-I’ll be sure to tell you if it’s too much though.” She stuttered, losing her train of thought at the sight of you wearing the article. A deep blush rushed to her cheeks and she tried to stifle a snicker, “Safe-word: ‘waffles’, right?”

Waffles; a parallel to the name of your dog - Pancakes - which Yachi thought was so cute and fun but you - for obvious reasons - felt uncomfortable with her, in any case, screaming your dogs name in bed. So, you changed the word to Waffles.

You hummed in agreement, sending her one last kind smile before a mischievous grin made it’s way onto your face. “Bend over.” You demanded, glancing down to look at the massive piece of shmeat erect on your vagina; you’d by lying if you said it didn’t make you at least the slightest bit uneasy - but you had to push through, for Yachi!

Saeko Tanaka

at this point, you were used to Saeko whipping out the weirdest shit and using it during intercourse

if anything, a strap-on was pretty vanilla and conventional compared to the other things Saeko has used with you

which include (but not limited to): a wooden spoon, a candle, a TV remote, an Xbox controller, a whisk, ice-cubes in the shape of people, a needle, lego brick(s), a sandal, a guitar, a broom, a lava-lamp, a ketchup bottle, a hairbrush, a straightener, multiple bottles of shampoo (since she only uses the tiny bottles that she steals from hotels), her gear stick, a D20 and a pack of instant noodles.

so obviously you were pleasantly surprised when Saeko actually went out and bought a real sex toy instead of just using one of her make-shift ones.

“Only the best for you, princess!”

oh, and this goes without saying, she’s a top

it’s not that you’re a bottom though because you are from it as you’ve attempted to top her on multiple occasions

but it just never goes your way so no matter how dominant and/or persistent you are, you always end up receiving

not that you have a problem with it but- when I say she goes hard, she goes hard

literally she’ll stop whatever she is going if you seem even remotely horny and as soon as you give her consent to go further, it’s game over for you, honey

also, she is very much an exhibitionist so she really doesn’t care if she’s being to loud while her brother/his friends are over

in short, when you saw that bright pink toy lying on her bed sheet especially for you - it didn’t take long for you to realise that you should probably pre-book a few days off from work because you won’t be able to walk for the next week-

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

“Shut up, babe.” Saeko hissed at you, a evil smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, “They’re studying downstairs.”- not that she cared, she just enjoyed seeing you frustrated. So she couldn’t help but laugh at how much of a mess you were, sweat matting your hair to your forehead, your ass cheeks red from Saeko’s unmerciful palm, your leg twitching as you approached your orgasm and your mouth full of lewd moans being forced shut as Saeko insisted that you quiet down.

Saeko leaned in to whisper suggestive threats into your ear, “If I hear another sound leave that pretty little mouth of your’s, you’ll be punished later.” The tingle of her hot breath against your skin and the implications of what she said just aroused you even more, forcing you to repress your whines..for now.

Honestly, you seriously didn’t know if you could do it as surely, Saeko wasn’t aware of how differently it hit when she used a proper toy - or perhaps she just felt that cruel today. The optimum amount of pleasure you thought she was capable of bringing you was somehow doubled due to the mix of factors: her using a real toy designed to endue pleasure, the impressive balance of attention between your clit and ass, her erotic threats and the fact she was seriously going feral back there.

You were already close but her harsh groping of your ass, licking her fingers to provide the slightest bit of lubricant before sticking 3 digits straight into your strained, dripping cunt while her other hand tightened it’s grip on the back of your neck - all that was enough to tip you over the edge.

You thought you’d be able to ask for permission or at least give a warning before you came but your throbbing clit along with Saeko’s tip violently slamming against your g-spot left you unable to do so, while you attempt sounded a bit like, “I’m gonna- I-” followed by an involuntary, loud moan.

“Don’t you dare-” Saeko snapped teasingly, but obviously unprepared for how loud your moan would actually be - so rather than covering your mouth with her hand, for her own entertainment she slammed into your g-spot once more, this time with more force - leading to you choking on your own noise.

Saeko was used to leaving you out of breath and tired, so while your lay there with your ass up, trying to catch your breath; she took this opportunity to take off the strap (but left it dangling out your pussy since she wasn’t sure if you wanted her to take it out or not) and went to get some aloe-vera for your bright red ass and dark purple bruises on your neck.

“Geez, your pretty lil’ pussy could barely handle that. Maybe we should stick to the ketchup bottles.” She joked, squirting the aloe-vera onto her hands and gently gliding her hands across your lower back.

313 notes · View notes

jajanvm-imbi · 4 years ago

Text

If Krel and Toby went to Camelot with the others (like they SHOULD have)

Krel:

He would have fallen into Camelot with his serrator cause he always has it with him so he thankfully won’t have to worry about his A5 form being exposed.

Douxie would introduce him to Arthur as “Krel from the House of Tarron” obviously but I feel like it should be mentioned

since everyone got paired up with people that were relevant to them or their character (Doux with Merlin, Jim with Deya, Claire with Morgana, Steve with Lancelot) I feel like Krel would have found himself with a team of alchemists.

like I imagine the team walking through the castle and Krel just seeing these alchemists in like their late 20s early 30s through an open door and be in complete awe of them that he would just wander into their lab and the alchemists would just be like “welp guess this kid is our new apprentice” and they just take him under their wing.

They would ask him “you dont look from around here, where you from?” (Since he’s brown and and has a latino accent) and he would be like “….Cantaloupia…….?" and they would be like "hmmmmmmmoKAY!!!”

at some point the Camelot trio Doux, Claire and Steve are just like “hey where’d Krel go?” and it would cut to like a scene where he’s like blowing something up with the alchemists with the biggest smile on his face and like “WOOO!!!!!”

They give him a set of these potion holsters full of different potions and chemicals and powders for on-the-go alchemy and he gets SO EXCITED (yes I use pinterest)

Like the Camelot trio + Toby would just be chilling in their room trying to figure out how to fix the timeline and Krel would just burst into the room like “GUYS LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!!!!!!” like the nerd he is

He and Toby get distracted with the cool stuff Krel can do with his potions while Douxie and Claire just look at them like tired parents like

Douxie and Claire: “gUYS we still have to fix the timeline and save Jim!!!

Krel: yeah but watch this! *does some alchemy*

Toby: SOCOOLSOCOOLSOCOOLSOCOOL!!!!

Douxie and Claire: *looks into the pretend camera like they’re on the Office*

He would help Arcadia Douxie set up traps all over Camelot

During the Battle of Killahead, Krel would be like Honey Lemon in Big Hero Six and come up with the perfect solution with his potions to attack the GummGumms on the spot

He would be really proud of himself and like mid battle after he successfully took down a GummGumm he would just be like "WOOHOO Check me out!” And the just gets whacked in the head again (cause this is Krel we’re talking about.)

This is completely irrelevant PONYTAIL KREL. I need it and this would be the perfect time for it

so anyway,

he would absolutely marvel at the sight of Douxie’s spellcaster guitar just like he and Aja did when they saw Jim’s armor.

Douxie: *uses his guitar in battle*

Krel: Is that your staff???? I want one!!!!!! How do I get one???

Claire: Focus Krel!!!!

I just feel like that would happen at some point anyway cause, it’s really cool?! I think we didn’t see it happen is cause there was no time for it to happen in the actual show but it would totally happen at some point

Saying goodbye to the alchemists would prolly be like, “I’m guessing you want these (the potion holsters) back, huh?” And the alchemists are just like, “umm, you can definitely keep them kid??? You’re really good at this!!! We’re glad you were our apprentice!” And Krel is just like “:D :D :D :D!!!!!!!!”

Toby:

so obviously he fell in with his warhammer cause it doesn’t go anywhere without it.

Douxie would introduce him as “Tobias of Domslaskia”, again I just feel like it should be mentioned

I want to say that he would have gotten paired up with Arthur because Jim and Arthur parallels and Arthur is the last major Camelot character that doesn’t have an Arcadian pair, but, knowing how the TOA writing team treat Toby as a character he’d prolly just be like a stable boy or the knights’ water boy or something (sucks I know)

so like they’d all be in front of Arthur for the first time while Arthur is assigning everyone to their mentor and Toby’s like “pleasebeaknightpleasebeaknightpleasbeaknight” and Arthur’s just like “You, robust one, follow sir Lancelot, he’ll take you to the washroom. You’ll be cleaning up after they finish practicing” and Toby’s like “what??? Why can’t I be a knight too???” and he just gets pulled along.

All the knights marvel at his “metal teeth” just like Krel and Aja did when they first saw his braces

Toby would be ready to throw hands with anyone who tries to put their hands on Jim. Claire and Douxie have to physically restrain him from hurling his warhammer into Arthur’s face during one of the many times he tries to kill Jim

since Toby is just assigned as a servant boy, he can easily sneak into the dungeon to see Jim. He’s the team’s connection to Jim while he’s locked in the dungeon

He would have gone with Jim after the dungeon break. Jim and Claire are saying their goodbyes and Toby’s like “Dont worry Claire, ol’ Warhammer will take care of him” and just goes with him despite everyones protests because he loves his best friend and wont let him leave on another adventure without him again. Claire went with him the New Jersey, now it’s his turn to go with Jim

Deya would be like “who’s this?” And before Jim can answer Toby just goes “His best friend in the whole wide world!!!!” And Deya would just be like “a human and a Troll? Friends? Now that’s a first.” And Jim would show her the pictures of them in Arcadia

Toby would see Arrrgh in Dwoza and immediately try to connect with him calling him Wingman, forgetting that this is GummGumm! Arrrgh then get sad because he misses Arcadia Arrrgh.

He would call of our trolls by their name and the trolls would get like so confused

Toby: yo my girl Bagdwella what’s good?!!!

Bagdwella: ????How does this human know my name???????

Toby: Draal! I’ve missed you!! *hugs him*

Draal: why is this human child touching me????

For the rest of it I just believe that it would be them catching up cause they’re best bros and yeah Jim loves Claire but he needs bro time with Toby again.

During the battle of Killahead he goes absolutely feral with his warhammer and kicks ass like the king that he is

He comforts Steve when Lancelot dies (because Steve deserves to mourn his father figure DAMMIT)

He also protests going back to the present without finding a way to save Jim from the shard with Claire because they both love best boy and are tired of seeing him suffer alone.

205 notes · View notes

sokkastyles · 4 years ago

Text

Thanks for asking! I realize I never elaborated on the Jet/Zuko parallels so here goes.

Season one Zuko/Jet are both extremists, though on opposite sides of the war. Zuko will stop at nothing to capture the Avatar. Jet will stop at nothing to rid the world of the Fire Nation. Zuko is the fallen prince, while Jet is the war orphan, both trying to restore what they’ve lost. And both have significant interactions with Katara.

Focusing on book one first, I’ve already written about how Jet manipulates Katara, which makes it worse not only because she did have romantic feelings for him, but because she was totally taken in by his whole freedom fighter thing. He also manipulates Aang and tries to manipulate Sokka, but Katara was the main one who felt betrayed by him. Katara has such a big heart and fighting spirit but at this point in the story she is fairly naive, and it shows here. She probably never considered before this episode that somebody fighting on the right side could be a bad person.

I also looked up the mouth wheat thing because I’ve seen it a lot in anime for similar “tough guy” characters and as that other post I reblogged said, it is a stand-in for cigarettes. I also found out that it’s supposed to represent a banchou, which is a juvenile delinquent gang-leader. And Jet is the leader of a bunch of feral kids, although they are ostensibly revolutionaries. Longshot, Smellerbee, and the Duke do seem like they have good intentions, and they often call Jet out on his behavior.

I also think there’s a comparison/foil with Katara’s interactions with Zuko in book one, which revolve around the necklace and his attempted kidnapping of her. Zuko tries to manipulate Katara using her mother’s necklace but is not very good at it. Not necessarily because he has any moral compunctions but because he’s just not that socially adept. He is most often the victim of his father and sister’s manipulations and the few times he tries to copy them he fails ridiculously, because he is incredibly literal-minded. He’s blunt and often fails to understand things that aren’t directly spelled out. He is not a manipulator.

I’ve also seen people compare Jet flooding the Fire Nation village to Zuko burning down Kyoshi Island, in order to make Zuko look worse, but as I’ve said before, Zuko burning down Kyoshi Island was not intentional, it was something that happened as a result of reckless firebending. That doesn’t make it any less bad, but it seems like it’s been popular recently to add this to the list of things that make Zuko “problematic,” so much so that I actually forgot that scene and was surprised when I rewatched the scene recently and discovered it wasn’t the intentional razing of the village that some people on tumblr make it out to be. Zuko’s fault there was simply not caring about the collateral damage in his pursuit of Aang. He wasn’t intentionally trying to burn down the village. Plus, if we were being honest, all the gaang would cause destruction wherever they went given how much bending they do. That’s not something the show dwells on, though, the way that superhero movies don’t dwell on New York getting destroyed for the hundredth time (unless it’s a deconstruction of the genre).

What Jet does is much more deliberate. He’s aware that what he tricks Katara and Aang into doing will cause the deaths of innocents, and dismisses Smellerbee when she tells him so, and he’s aware that the gaang will not approve of his actions enough to hide it from them. There’s also an interesting elemental parallel/foil, Jet destroys a village with water and Zuko destroys one with fire - foreshadowing that water can also be destructive? Hama, anyone? Robert Frost said it.

I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great, and would suffice.

Anyway.

Book two, the Jet/Zuko parallels/foils are much more explicit, and highlighted by the fact that they actually meet in book two. Zuko’s on redemption road, although he doesn’t know it yet. Jet explicitly states that he wants redemption, although he’s still doing the same things he was doing before. He enlists Zuko in helping him steal stuff because he thinks he’s entitled to it, and I guess you can argue about whether it was justified, since the captain was treating the refugees unfairly, but Jet mostly seems interested in stealing food for himself and his group. To be fair, Prince “ew, poor people” Zuko doesn’t exactly have egalitarian motives, either, which is why helping Jet steal food is a regression in his arc. It’s him donning the Blue Spirit identity (although without the mask) once more because he’s trying to get closer to the material life that he lost. It’s also hilarious that when Jet asks Zuko to do this, Zuko’s dumb ass is like “well, Uncle did tell me to make friends.” Sometimes I wonder who was more naive, book one Katara or book two Zuko. Iroh is like “god, I leave him alone for five minutes and he joins a gang.”

When Jet keeps pressing Zuko about joining the Freedom Fighters, Zuko says no. Again, not for any moral reasons, but because he knows that if Jet keeps pressing, he might find out who Zuko really is. Zuko is honest with Jet when he says “I don’t think you want me in your group.” Not for good reasons, again, but the claim that Zuko somehow manipulated Jet is absolutely wrong. Jet was the one who approached Zuko and made assumptions and got pushy when Zuko said no.

Jet does genuinely want and try to change, but his major temptation is finding out that Iroh is a firebender, which he finds out right after he gets pissed that Zuko rejected him so I do think that was part of his motivation for going after them, considering how pushy Jet acted with the gaang when they rebuffed him. Jet, of course, fails the test, although what happens to him certainly isn’t his fault, even if he did make mistakes. It’s a tragedy that in the end, the choice to turn his life around was taken from him, and he was betrayed by the people who he thought were the good guys. This also highlights the theme that sometimes people on the “good” side can be not nice people, which in turn paves the way for Zuko’s redemption and the wider theme that it is actions that matter the most, not which nation you are from. Separation is an illusion, folks.

Zuko’s test happens first when he attempts to steal Appa, the last time he dons the Blue Spirit mask, and then in “The Crossroads of Destiny.” Unlike Jet, Zuko doesn’t know he’s being tested, he doesn’t know he needs to change, although Iroh keeps telling him he does. The change happens in Zuko without him realizing it.

Katara tries to heal Jet, and Jet dies. Katara almost heals Zuko, and Zuko betrays her. And this time Aang is the one who almost dies, who Katara has to heal. This certainly contributes to Katara’s mistrust of Zuko later on, all three of these events tied together. And all three boys are people she has romantic tension with.

Which brings me to another reason I dislike Jet, or rather, what he is meant to be in Katara’s story. Many people have pointed out that Katara is romantically attracted to Jet, and his superficial resemblance both to the “bad boy” trope, and to Zuko. There’s a reason Zutara shippers make this comparison, although I believe its purpose in the narrative was actually to be anti Zutara and provide support for Kataang, but because the writers really didn’t know how to write Kataang properly, it ends up as the opposite.

Recently I saw a post by a popular blog that was anti Zutara that cited Jet as an example of Katara having “low standards.” And like, I can’t entirely blame the post for its misogyny (Katara is FOURTEEN) because this is what the writers want us to think. Katara’s attraction to Jet is very much playing on the “girl develops a crush on the jerk who doesn’t care about her” stereotype. This is, subtly, one of the ways that the show punishes Katara for not returning Aang’s crush. Interestingly, in this episode Aang doesn’t get jealous of Jet at all, and doesn’t even notice Katara’s attraction, but that’s because Aang in this episode is also still naive and in his early stages of his attraction to Katara, and also thinks Jet is super cool. Sokka instantly hates Jet, though. And Sokka is right, but he also has flavors of the over-protective big brother. I do remember that this episode left a sour taste in my mouth because of the (thankfully downplayed) implications that Katara is a silly girl who falls for the “wrong” types of guys because women don’t know what they want and need a man to help them “discover” their feelings. I also think this is meant to be subtextual in Katara making the hat for Jet which Aang ends up wearing, because Aang is the “good guy” who really does care about Katara, you see? Thanks show, I hate it. To be fair, I blame the writers for this, not Aang. Aang is just having fun hanging out in a treehouse and gets to wear a cool homemade hat. It’s the writers who put this weird misogynistic pressure on Katara.

It’s funny though when people compare Zuko to Jet in order to prove Zutara wrong, because when you compare the two, Zuko is the one who ends up looking better, the one who works hard to repair his damaged relationship with Katara, who genuinely did change. The one whose life she could save after he had done the work to save himself.

#zuko #katara #jet #zutara #anti-kataang #kinda

48 notes · View notes

charlies-current-obsession · 4 years ago

Text

My Les Mis 1978 Analysis

Anthony Perkins was gay until conversion therapy :(( Although he was married to a woman by 1978, he still acted in typical homo ways, which perfectly fit Javert. The drama queen body language, the way he talked— all the way brick!vert did. He was also sassy in the best way, while crossing the line of sass to hatefulness when needed (like at Fantine’s death). Also he looked a lot like the typical brick!vert.

Sidenote: Though also straight, the screenwriter’s name was John Gay, and there’s some symbolism to be found in there when you think about how much the film focused on Javert/Valjean’s relationship, compared to how much that takes place of in the brick.

As for Richard Jordan, he was a great actor. He was soft like Valjean when needed, but in Toulon he absolutely tore Javert apart and went feral in solitary. The “my sacred promise” part was excellent. The way that he promised to kill Javert when released from prison, but later changed that sacred promise to taking care of Cosette was so in character. Javert had his own sacred promise, which draws a lot of parallels. Plus, no versions of the musical have really shown how wretched Valjean was supposed to be before he met the Bishop. I think the near-killing of those two people in the barn after his escape was too much, but it emphasises what Toulon did to Valjean. The musical doesn’t touch much on how prison warped Jean, and the brick doesn’t touch much on what happened during Toulon, so the writers making stuff up was weird. But what they made up could have been cannon (except for how “close” Valjean and Javert were), and it definitely provided reasoning for Javert’s knowledge of Valjean in M-sur-M. Oh, he’s one of the only men with a moustache that doesn’t make me uncomfortable.

Angela Pleasence was Fantine. We only saw her at her worst, and the way it was done, wow! We can see from other images that she was very pretty, but with just a little makeup, that was changed, though you could tell she was beautiful before. That’s how Vicky does it, right? Beauty is moral in the brick. She also talks hysterically, like in the brick, when she’s arrested. Fits better than the musical, in my opinion.

Marius was such a simp. Over the top dramatics were perfect. The actor looked like a puppy. If that isn’t the definition of Montmercy, I don’t know what is.

Caroline Langrishe, the Cosette, always seemed to have a deadpan face. It reminds me of that one picture of the obc where Marius looks like he’s gonna kiss her but she’s turning away. Anyways, they’ll be saying all that lovey-dovey stuff just like in the book, but she doesn’t look like she knows what she’s talking about because she’s so innocent, yada yada. Yknow, it’s her first love, so she probably doesn’t. Congratulations Caroline, you made the awkwardness of Cosette/Marius’ relationship more believable than Vic! Also, her blank face adds on to how empty of a character she is. What do we know about her other than a little bit of her childhood and that she is Marius’ dream girl? Vicky’s weird misogyny didn’t let her be more than A Woman, made only to be a daughter to protect and a wife to love.

And the bishop! Claude Dauphin. He is probably the best Bishop Myriel I’ve seen. It’d be hard to mess up being the bishop, but it’s harder to actually become him. Claude nails it. He goes more in depth than the musical, but only slightly. He never breaks the saintly manners of Myriel, even when Mme Magdalore protests extremely. “You’re my brother” part was delivered perfectly, and him talking about how “every man has a spark that evil can never extinguish” is so inspiring, I swear it brought tears to my eyes. It was wack that he was awake when Valjean took the silver, but he didn’t do anything, so it’s okay. He flawlessly lied to the police about the thievery. Pure kindness in his face and voice when explaining that he had bought Jean’s soul for god. That whole scene was so perfect, Richard Jordan may have looked freaky there but his little crying and kneeling part was SO emotional there are no words for how amazing it was.

#gods...#it’s long #and partly incoherent #but whatever #les mis #les miserables #javert #Anthony Perkins #Jean Valjean #Richard Jordan #fantine #cosette #Marius pontmercy #Bishop myriel #Victor Hugo #les miserables 1978

21 notes · View notes

phoebehalliwell · 4 years ago

Note

hunger games fusion: demons rule and make witch and human kids fight for their amusement. Patty was a victor at 17, mentored by Sam, her district's only other winner (and a whitelighter who died in the arena but was resurrected before anyone could notice), and they got close, but after she was so traumatized that she broke all contact with him except for the yearly games, married Victor Bennett a regular human, and had three daughters. But Victor couldn't handle the magic and left and Patty 1/?

turned to Sam. they had Paige but gave her up in another district before demons found out about a half-whitelighter baby. then Patty died shortly after, leaving her family homeless (bc you can't live a victor's life if there is no victor) and Sam a drunken mess. Cut to years later, and 13-year-old Phoebe just got Reaped for the Games. Piper volunteers in her place. Leo is her district partner. Sam is their mentor. And in the arena she meets Paige, 11 and Reaped from a neighboring district.

okay i’m picking districts. patty comes from the warren line who are known to be very powerful witches so i’m saying she’s a career. u kno what i’m gonna saying district 4 fishing as a parallel to san francisco bc like. they got fishing there. and then we’ll also say for aging purposes whitelighter don’t have immortality (or they do but they age regardless) and we’ll also say instead of being her mentor bc since i’m saying she’s a career they definitely have a plethora of winners to choose from we’ll say sam was also a tribute from district 8 textiles in patty’s hunger games they formed an alliance and she developed feelings for him despite already being in a relationship with victor back home when he died patty used her power to freeze him giving the elders just enough time to do what they needed to do. technically he “died” but he lived on as a whitelighter aiding the side of the revolution. patty wins the hunger games and brings pride to her family but feels v disillusioned w it all bc well killing other kids was not fun and losing sam was the worst and now she’s toted around like some prize jewel and she doesn’t know if victor can’t tell or if he doesn’t care that at every single gala they have to attend she feeling like breaking down into tears or feral screams. but she can’t. so she spends the next couple decades being the perfect, delightful hunger games winner, she has three kids and totes them everywhere with smiles but god she just hates it all she hates it all so much she so much. and the hunger games are on every year and her kids are glued to the screen bc that’s how they were raised but patty can’t even stand to be in the room when the games are on tv and one night she meets sam again she didn’t even know he was alive after all of these years but like meeting him makes her feel just slightly more sane bc this was something the games couldn’t take away from her they tried but they couldn’t here he was and patty almost felt like she could breathe again sam had aged normally so he didn’t look like the kid who was killed in the hunger games so he went back to district eight to watch out for his family and his community blah blah blah they rekindle the relationship patty gets pregnant but uses and illusion spell to pretend she’s not whoever can sense the magic just assume she’s using it for vanity to appear younger bc patty decided she’s not gonna raise this child she’s seen the way her kids were raised surrounded by the games and capitol touting its glories and she just would want her daughter to go through that if she has the opportunity not to so when she gave birth to paige she gave her to sam and asked him to keep her safe, so sam took her and brought her to a close pair of family friends in district eight who he knew would keep her safe and love her as their own.

and blah blah blah patty and sam continue to fight for the revolution but one day they’re found out patty is killed by the water demon and things are still kept very hush hush but like. she was a victor and she was killed by a demon. that doesn’t just happen. people talk. so when prue is reaped she’s hyped but more importantly she’s determined she’s gonna save her family and bring back their good name and she’s good she’s really good and paige is watching from district eight and she hates watching the games but she can’t help but root for the girl from district 4 who looks like her and hope that she makes it through. but the issue with prue is she has this insane protective instinct. she had it for andy, her partner in the games, and it almost got her killed. prue could be ruthless, but she undeniably had a soft spot. she ended up sacrificing herself in the games so a boy from district eight could win. leo wasn’t sure how he’d ever be able to repay her. flash forward a couple years and piper’s still grieving for her sister and her mother and she’s become ruthless. phoebe’s fallen for a demon. paige is still minding her business in district 8. when it comes time for the reaping & piper’s drawn, phoebe tries volunteering as tribute but piper shuts her down. it’s clear from the look in her eyes that she is determined to do this. she is going to kill every single person in that arena. phoebe’s begging cole to do something about it, he’s a demon, he has to have some sway. she’s already lost patty, she’s already lost prue, she can’t she can’t lose piper too.

over in district 8, paige is reaped. paige is not a fighter, this much she knows. leo, her mentor, isn’t much of one either. but leo knows strategy. he knows the others powers, strengths, weaknesses, and he knows healing pretty well. paige is mortal, putting her at a distinct disadvantage, but if she can lay low, keep from dying for long enough, she might have a shot. and another note: avoid piper halliwell. her sister died sacrificing herself for leo, piper might be looking for revenge against district 8. so just. keep your head low. and paige does, bc like. she doesn’t wanna get murdered before the games even start. but leo doesn’t. well, okay, he didn’t intentionally get in an elevator with piper, but he was the one who struck up conversation. she glared at him like she wanted to rip his guts out, but all leo saw was the immense sadness behind her eyes. he wished he could heal her. she seemed like she needed it.

meanwhile cole really needs to decide is he’s gonna risk it all for phoebe. they say demon’s can’t love, but what he feels is pretty damn close. but is it worth the risk to go against the capitol to try to save phoebe’s sister. it’s dangerous. it’s beyond dangerous; it’s a suicide mission. he could sit back. go through the motions. pretend to save piper, but he can’t, he’s so sorry, he tried, he’ll be there as a shoulder for phoebe to cry on. that’s an option. a compelling one. a really compelling one. and he better pick fast bc the games are starting.

the games are mountain themed this year, featuring very little natural resources jagged cliff edges winding caverns with a disturbing array of creatures hidden within and very thin air, especially to those coming from sea level. paige already knows this is going to be brutal. there’s not really a space to lay low, like leo suggested, and she can see from across the dias piper is giving her murder eyes. and she knows she knows she knows leo said don’t go for the cornucopia she’s mortal running into a pack of bloodthirsty witches but there’s no way she’s gonna survive without resources so like !! the clock counts down and she’s like gotta make a decision bc right now they’re all basically on a sawed off mountain top getting off of here safe is gonna be a bitch it’s something she’s gonna have to take slow if she leaves when everyone’s going for the cornucopia she has a chances of making it out alive but the odds of her making it down the ridge with supplies and killer witches on her tail. no. leo’s right. she should just run for it. mmmm but there’s some canned food about 5 yards in she could just go for that and leave. enough time to escape, small enough to carry. the gong sounds. time to commit to the bit.

she sprints over and grabs the food, doing a quick 180 and darting back towards the cliff’s edge. she can hear brutal screams and the sound of teenagers choking on their own blood, but that’s not what gets her. it’s the fact that the kid next to her is frozen where he stands. she can’t think about it too much, that’s a luxury she doesn’t have, but she does spare a quick glance over her shoulder. the witches are fighting, sure, but every other mortal in the arena is frozen. it’s piper, it has to be piper, making sure she’s awake for the kill. paige doesn’t have time to worry about it. she begins climbing down the wall.

piper can’t figure out why the district 8 girl isn’t freezing. she tried multiple times. a telekinetic from district five knocks her to the ground but she’s blown off his hand before he can make another move. the next hit goes for the head. the district 8 boy has the power of invisibility, he’s a lost cause for now, but she can still get her revenge on the girl. piper runs over to the cliffside paige disappeared down. she can still see the raven haired girl scampering down a narrow ledge. she’s pretty far down, but piper’s been working on her aim. just in time, paige looks up, eyes wide with fear as piper throws out her hands at her. the cliffside explodes, but paige doesn’t go with it. no. she orbs. and rematerializes right back where she was, tucked in the jagged groove piper just created. piper doesn’t have time to go for another kill, she’s already had her back to the cornucopia too long. but if she could spare the time, she would climb down there herself and demand to know exactly what was going on. since when can mortal orb?

paige was Not favorable ranked to win the games. mortals never are. but after that orbing stunt, sponsors were all over her. no one had even seen a whitelighter in the games. rumor had it they were extinct. but to have one there?? well, they already died once, they could probably avoid it the second time. paige’s new orbing power didn’t give her half of the confidence the sponsors had, though. her plan was still to wait it out until the majority of the fighting was done. but there really were no resources. she would sometimes get food from the her sponsors, but the gamemakers seemed to be curbing her supply. she’d have to return to the cornucopia.

the careers had set up camp there. mainly, they’d just wait for the other kids to show up, starving and desperate for food, and pick them off one by one, but if the days were particularly dull they’d sent two off at a time to go hunting. piper always went. she almost always killed. one day, her and her hunting partner from district one (a blonde witch named billie) came back to find the other careers slaughtered and a good amount of supplies taken. double edged sword. bad, because they lost supplies. good, because that lowered the amount of tributes left. bad, because that meant billie and piper were inching closer and closer to killing each other. they didn’t go out hunting together anymore. they didn’t trust the other to have their back. they’d alternate, one witch standing guard at the mountain top while the other travelled down to hunt. paige didn’t know this. if she had, she probably would have time it out to the day piper was gone. but she didn’t.

it was hard to get a read on the situation, paige would only dare to venture a peak above her ledge every couple minutes as piper circled with a watchful eye. but the gamemakers new paige was coming. new supplies had been dropped that morning, with fresh loaves of bread, containers of soup, and canned peaches (paige’s favorite!). she just didn’t know how to get there without getting killed. she tried to talk herself through it, name every step as a method of calming down. she feared her voice would carry, though, and only risked it when the wind howled through the mountains. even still, her voice barely sat above a whisper. okay. i’ll go when piper’s the at the opposite end of her round. that’ll give me the most time. and if she tried to hit me, i’ll orb?? and once i get the supplies... then what. scaling this cliff would be a bitch. she hadn’t tried moving when she orbed, but that might end up being a learning while doing situation. okay. i’ll grab stuff, and i’ll jump. and i’ll orb safely down to the bottom. yeah. i can do that! i can do that. okay. paige took another look from her hiding place. piper was about to hit the further point of her guard. paige smiled. she almost felt like this plan could work. i’m gonna get some freakin canned peaches!! orbs swirled around the canned peaches, whisking them away. of course piper noticed. of course she noticed right where they orbed to. a tiny paige face peeking over the cliffside. oh, she was gonna kill her.

this was a horrible plan. this plan was gonna go horribly. there was no way this plan could work. but here they were, witch and demon, flying out to the arena. cole was gonna fry the area with an energy ball, hopefully disabling it long enough for phoebe to dive in and steal piper. and then they’d run. it was a horrible plan. there were a thousand ways it could go wrong. a hundred thousand. ten million. infinite possibility, infinite opportunities to fuck this up. but here they were, witch and demon, flying out to the arena.

paige grabbed her canned peaches and and thought fuck it guess this’ll have to do bc there was no was she could go toe to toe with piper’s wrath. better hope her obing power was under control. she leaped off the side of the cliff. and landed right on top of piper, knocking her to the ground. yikes! then a loud pop, like a transformer blowing, and the sky went dark. not like nighttime. like someone had turned the lights out. piper couldn’t see shit, but that wasn’t going to stop her, she reached out, clawing for anything, and found her hands around paige’s neck, gripping in pitch black. and then a voice, calling her name. piper! not prue, phoebe. piper swivelled around, but couldn’t see a thing. phoebe? paige tried to worm from piper’s grip, but piper slammed her to the ground. she could hear a pair of footsteps running closer. piper! piper, we’re getting you out of here. phoebe laid a hand on her sister’s should, and there was light. it wasn’t the arena, the power still hadn’t come back, but there was light. the shock of it loosened piper’s grip as she stared up, blue lights and witch’s orbs swirling in the air around the three girls. around the three sisters. paige stirred, barely conscious. piper, we’re getting you out of here. come on. piper paused. the girl did look a lot like prue. piper! power’s gonna come back any minute. -not without her. -what? -i mean it, phoebe! not without her. phoebe shrugged at cole. this wasn’t part of the plan, but quite frankly it was amazing they had made it this far. fuck it. why not. cole grabbed the sisters, ready to shimmer out. where to? piper looked at paige. a sister on the brink of death. she knew where she had to take her. leo.

#used all of my hunger games knowledge from 2012 for this bad boy 😝#also this au is phole heavy but like i need a deus ex machina #so imma pretend cole is a lot more soft hearted and a lil more stupid than he is in canon #tho i guess technically he's a teen in this fic #so like #there's room for a lot more simp energy #charmed #the hunger games #no i will not write more of this #but feel free to use as inspo if u feel so inclined #just like pls add credit♥#💌#margaretsminiessays

12 notes · View notes

twilight0wanderer · 4 years ago

Text

Animorphs Playlist: Rachel

I mentioned in my Marco songs post that I had lists for all the Animorphs and a couple people asked for more, so here we go.

“Woman King” by Iron and Wine

Blackbird claw, raven wing Under the red sunlight

Hundred years, hundred more Someday we may see a Woman king, sword in hand Swing at some evil and bleed

Starting off, just the title of this song screams Rachel to me, and the hits just keep coming. The whole song (heck, the whole EP) is about female power and presence. The lyrics blend the violent and peaceful, the stern and sensitive, the mundane and the exceptional, just like Rachel, who refuses to be written off as a beauty queen or a berserker or a top student or a second mother but combines all of those and more into her character.

“Playing With Fire” by Them Lost Boys ft. Lexi Forche

The air is thick with smoke and I can’t breathe All your secrets pouring in and out of me Shut your mouth, lock the door, throw away the key You can’t be messing with me. Don’t be messing with me!

This one runs on pure emotional association. The aggressive beats intercut by more contemplative sections, slow builds and sharp drops, and the repeated refrain of “Don’t be messing with me” all sonically and essentially capture Rachel.

“Magus Perde” by Jethro Tull

Tough are the soles that tread the knife's edge Break the circle, stretch the line, call upon the devil Bring the gods, the gods' own fire In the conflict revel

A running theme among many of my choices will be more thematic or emotional connections (as seen in the previous entry). I could probably articulate the connections given enough time and words, but that would be dissecting the proverbial frog. Instead I’ll just point out that besides the lyrics listed above (which are pure Rachel Warrior Princess), this song is the closing track to the album Passion Play, and in keeping with the historical origins of the concept is a meditation on life, death, and rebirth.

“Winterborn” by Cruxshadows

Discard regret That in this debt A better world is made That children of a newer day might remember and avoid our fate And in the fury of this darkest hour We will be your light You've asked me for my sacrifice And I am Winterborn

About the only good thing to come out of reading 2/3 of Ghost several years ago (Oh John Ringo, No!) was being introduced to this song. This is a song about willing sacrifice in defense of others. More than that, the verses are from the perspective of a higher power providing reassurance and comfort, while the chorus is the statement of the person sacrificing themselves. The parallels don’t just jump out at you, they club you over the head and go through your pockets for loose change, so I’ll leave it there.

“The March of Cambreadth” by Heather Alexander

Midnight mare and blood red roan Fight to Keep this Land Your Own Sound the horn and call the cry How Many of Them Can We Make Die!

This might be the least nuanced association here: when it comes to fighting, Rachel was the Goddess of War long before Kratos stepped on the scene. This song is for the part of her that revels in the fight.

“White Flag” by Joseph

I could surrender but I'd Just be pretending, no I'd Rather be dead than live a lie Burn the white flag

While this song also invokes the imagery of war, the intent is broader - refusing to let circumstances force you down, living life whatever the situation is. Rachel’s ability to live in the moment let her continue to enjoy the parts of her life outside the immediate scope of the war, whether that was appreciating teen idols, laughing at her cousin’s complete lack of chill at a school square dance, or taking time to build her relationship with Tobias. These aspects faded as the war began to encroach onto everything, but she managed to maintain her life longer than some of the others.

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo

And she said honey take me dancing But they ended up sleeping in a doorway By the bodegas and the lights on Upper Broadway Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes

This was a late addition, but as I was writing this post I realized that I have a post-war Rachel-Tobias song but nothing for their relationship during the war, and this just jumped out at me. This song, to me, captures the difference in their initial positions in life and society, and how little they let it matter to them. They can be just as happy flying together or hanging out in Tobias’ meadow or Rachel’s bedroom as they could be at a dance or the mall or another more traditional venue. It also captures a sense of her refusal to let him cut her out and their willingness to meet in the middle.

“Bird Song” covered by T-Sisters

If you hear that same sweet song again Will you know why? Anyone who sings a tune so sweet Is passing by Laugh in the sunshine Sing Cry in the dark Fly through the night

Sleep in the stars Don't you cry Dry your eyes on the wind

This is my post-war Rachel and Tobias song, although it could apply equally well to the rest of the Animorphs after her death. Initially written by Jerry Garcia in memory of Janis Joplin, I picked this particular version because I love the harmonies and it’s three women singing it. This is another emotional association, no great character examination, just mourning for a dearly loved friend.

“This War” by Sting

And you can see the coming battle You pray the drums will never cease And you may win this war that's coming But would you tolerate the peace?

This song is written as an explicit condemnation of war, but I interpret and apply it here to Rachel’s own mixed feelings about the war, her love for it, and her place in the world without it. While she’s not financially profiting, she does find herself more at home in battle (especially as the series goes on) and this song - to me - captures her fear that in giving more freedom to that part of herself she’s losing other elements of herself. I personally believe she would have had a better chance than some might expect had she survived, but we’ll never know.

“Riot” by Three Days Grace

If you feel so filthy, so dirty, so f---ed up If you feel so walked on, so painful, so p---ed off You're not the only one refusing to go down You're not the only one, so get up

This was already on my Marco list, where I said it was my song for him, Rachel, and Tobias. Whether they’re stirring s#!t with each other because they’re bored or burning down the world because at this point who cares, this is the song for my feral children.

“Yellow Flicker Beat” by Lorde

I'm a princess cut from marble, smoother than a storm And the scars that mark my body, they're silver and gold My blood is a flood of rubies, precious stones It keeps my veins hot, the fire's found a home in me

I’m sure I’m not the first person to connect this song to Rachel. Katniss is a different person, but as a song for a fighter who still can’t escape their war, it maps onto Rachel pretty well.

God is a DJ by P!nk

I've been the girl, middle finger in the air Unaffected by rumors, the truth, I don't care So open your mouth, stick out your tongue You might as well let go You can't take back what you've done

This song comes back to the joyful nonconformity of Rachel’s character. She is who she is, and she doesn’t care what you think about it or expect from her.

Marco’s List

#Animorphs #Rachel Warrior Princess #music #actually Rachel is the one I have the easiest time finding songs for #for some reason...#Censored because I don't know where Tumblr draws the line after their clean-up act a couple years ago #and I'd rather play it safe #post #Fandom #Character Songs #playlist

23 notes · View notes

sugarcomatosed · 4 years ago

Text

Ramblings for my Sekifuyu playlist bc what is self control This isn’t clear at all, I am sorry.

Accidentally, this is sort of an A Side, B Side Playlist. Full of accidental parallels because im a dingus and genius. Fun fact if you look at the dates on desktop spotify you can see that I was def listening to this while working on my huge fic.

You start with Iori, like in the game and it’s all shoujo swirls and poppy sounds (Teenage Dream, Spending All My Time). Both of which are focused on first love, and just that overwhelming excitement of being in love and first love. I picked the cover because it has more of Iori’s spunk.

Then, we take a small dive, but stay poppy with (Love Me like That), when Iori mistakenly believes Ei loves Ryoko, followed by things constantly pushing them back together (Magnetic Field) which is something the two of them constantly think about wait for the meta on that i have screenshots.

Takes All Night is just the motorcycle confession, “So it's now or never, Before you're gone for good, Seconds count, I'm coming with nothing to lose”

Given It All Sort of accidentally sets up a call and response to Two More Minutes, but is sort of that in between where Iori really owns up to all her feelings and is all in, you can call her silly but she’s in it.

Devil’s Backbone specifically is something about Tomi’s warning to stay away from Ei, and her affirmation to Ei, that it doesn’t matter if he’s an assassin. Iori’s in love with him. This is also a weird sound transition but I accidentally echoed this later with him....so...shrug emoji...

Heavy Weather is a song in his musical styles I used in the second have, but Iori’s feelings. I suppose it’s...Iori’s feelings when she asks Ei to fight the deimos with her, “come on lightning, try to strike us”.

Dream I found on my spotify recommended and I lost my mind over...it was perfect for both Ei asking her to start looping, and returning to register his Sentinel.

Then we whirl back around into Iori’s pure shoujo pop sound for her feelings when Ei goes missing between routes (Untouched). Also the instrumental break makes me go feral.

FINALLY, we start to bridge the gap with the two of them on Meet Me Halfway, which is here for Iori waiting for him after school, patiently and for him to show up again.

Last Iori song is for her feelings in Destruction, “I’m not giving up on love”.

Now that we’ve finished with Iori we start to change musically to less poppy sounds, Light of Love is another duo, verse one is for her, verse two is for him and they’re both trying to figure this feeling and each other out.

Formally this is where “B Side” begins, and the songs are a lot more muted. We’re also going backwards! What’s a sentinels playlist if I can’t fuck around with ordering. Going backwards was a pain for ordering and my brain but I liked how it sounds.

We go to Ei’s feelings in destruction, reflecting on how Iori’s changed him, and how he was so used to doing things alone, but now he’s got her. (I was an Island)

Ocean Avenue is the last official duo song, and it goes right for the lines in destruction where they talk about going to the beach. I cry....

Lover is Childlike is the accidental echo of Devil’s Backbone, where Ei is very aware that Iori is soft, naive and how that’s what makes her...her. Something about the way he reflects on her before he summons his Sentinel in his finale.

Ei at the end of his story (Superstar), where he’s finally able to tell her; yes this is the start of something and that he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her. We also get to bring up the run away lines again. This sound is more...her style his words.

Then, backwards continues to Ei struggling with his feelings and how much he cares for Iori (Two More Minutes), and despite everything he’s learned about himself and his scattered memories, he still wants her.

Ei’s music is all like...slow stripped sounds and angsty lmao. I love it but also Ei-kun please..stop angsting. We go back to Ei trying to process his meetings with Iori after memory loss with Neptune; “I want to love you but I don’t know how.”

Finally, Memory Loss! (Jet Pack Blues), Musically i like how this breaks up his melancholy but still keeps to theming. He’s completely baffled by her when they meet here, that she’s been waiting for him and that she loves him! He doesn’t know who this girl is, but she knows him.

Ei registers his sentinel and leaves her all alone (Verona), where he wants to confess...but doesn’t. Instead he’s aware that everything is going to change any day now when he loses his memory and how things could have been.

Ei’s messy feeling spiral continues as we backtrack to the park, in which he asks her to runaway with him in a moment of weakness. (Outside), it doesn’t matter if the world is ruined, he wants her.

With Analog boy we come around to Ei sort of making that call to go ahead with the Memory Back up; less direct things here but it’s got his illness and hollowness vibe.

End it off with time traveling assassin who didn’t expect things to go this way (Predator and Prey), and the assassin who was totally ready to just straight up commit a crime (Paralyzed)

....and that’s my long ass playlist write up im gonna go take a nap

#i whole ass everything i do #sugar speaks #long post #i am sorry.... i have so many brain worms #i have four sentinels playlists please send help its all my brain worms

2 notes · View notes

sometimesrosy · 5 years ago

Note

It’s heinous. It’s helped me empathize more w/ their emotional states, being away from the Ark for the 1st time. The anger/resentment/pain, not feeling loved. I appreciate their character journeys more now, too. I should’ve rewatched sooner!! It makes my heart ache/soar thinking just what Clarke did for Bellamy by telling him he was worthy and good and mattered to her. And just how much she means to him, despite all the ups/downs they’ve had. So much depth there. I’m having so many feels rn!

Oh I went to sleep between this ask and the last. To recap. We’re talking about the season 1 story of how Octavia was born and hidden under the floor and how horrifying that was as an existence for both Octavia and Bellamy.

Also consider how the surface offered Octavia freedom for the first time EVER. Even the fear of the grounders was, for her, no different from the fear of the guards. It was actually better, because she made a friend of Lincoln, friend and more. To her, the ark guards were the monsters under the bed and the grounders were an adventure, a society where she could belong, freedom, love, community, respect.

The TERROR of living like that with the fear of Octavia being discovered, and then having it happen. Octavia locked up in the skybox wasn’t that different for her, although she didn’t have Bellamy or Aurora anymore, but she also didn’t have the fear of being discovered anymore. But for Bellamy, he lost both his mother and his sister. That year between her discovery and going down to earth must have been hell for him.

The way I look at it, Octavia’s upbringing SHOULD leave her barely civilized, feral almost, and when combined with the grounders violence, and discovering how to fight as a way to gain power and agency over her life and respect, it does seem almost inevitable that she’d create a society like the only ones she understood... ones in books that Bellamy had read her. Violent. Horrific. Brutal. She doesn’t understand people, really. Just her brother probably.

And BELLAMY. I’ve been thinking about that wishing upon a star scene, and how Bellamy wouldn’t know what to wish for. This ALSO is a function of growing up with O under the floor I think. Because his entire life was constrained to keeping her hidden and he was allowed no dreams or wishes beyond that. And when they came down to earth, other than escape from punishment or survival on the earth, he had no wishes. He had no ability to want something for himself.

Because he’d never been allowed to think of what he’d want for himself. You don’t GET wishes when you’re just trying to keep from dying. It goes back to life being more than just survival, I think. And I am now thinking that Bellamy’s entire character arc is about learning how to want something for himself. GAINING a dream that he can wish on a falling star for.

Yes he wants his people to be safe, but it’s more than that. Yes he wants a home, but it’s more. He’s gotten those things, at least for part of the time. He’s worked for those and sacrificed for those for his people, but I believe that, after season 6, he’s found his dream, and that dream is Clarke.

OH I forgot. Last night I saw Tangled again, and remembered how they did that scene by scene shot of Bellarke as Rapunzel/Flynn while saving Bellamy-Flynn from Roan-Mother, and the thing is Flynn (who was an orphan growing up in an orphanage [you said the blake’s life was like growing up in modern day foster care]) said that Rapunzel was his new dream. If you take the wishing on a falling star scene where Bellamy doesn’t know what to wish for, and combine it with the Tangled parallel, and then bring it forward into s6 where the new main plot is Bellamy saving Clarke and no longer working on his old dream of keeping his family alive, then it very well could develop into his new dream being LOVING Clarke and having her love him back.

He was not allowed dreams as an orphan/brother of the girl under the floor, then his dream was a safe place for his family (Flynn’s previous dream was a private island where no one bothered him [omg the ring was B’s private island where his family was safe and no one would bother them]) NOW his dream is Clarke. OMG if Bellamy’s dual protagonist narrative arc is being the hero in a romance, rather than a bad ass fighter/leader of humanity I will plotz.

Sorry. I think I took your ask about class and oppression and led it back to Bellarke. But it’s weird, because it goes there. Am I wrong? Do y’all see that connection too? Now that we’re getting to the end of the full narrative arcs for the underlying stories, they’re starting to come together and present a picture of a larger narrative. And the larger narrative is fucking delightful.

#the 100 #the ark #the blakes #bellarke #tangled #girl under the floor #wish upon a star

32 notes · View notes

irinapaleolog · 5 years ago

Link

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had raised the hopes of Reylos, fans who longed for Rey and Kylo Ren to end up together in the end, healing the wound inflicted on the galaxy two generations earlier by Emperor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker. The marketing certainly hinted at such and, at least for less-invested viewers, the film delivered on its promise of romance: Reylo (and Bendemption) did occur, and Rey and the redeemed Ben Solo shared a passionate kiss, which is why it may be so perplexing for the general audience that Reylos hated the ending. Two weeks after the release, they're still mourning on social media, and demanding for Disney to #RealeaseTheJJCut, a reference to an edit that would have delivered the conclusion they wanted, and purportedly what director J.J. Abrams intended. So, what happened, exactly?

While romance is certainly not a new concept to Star Wars, it was never depicted from the perspective of a woman. However, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi made moves to remedy that: The camera stays with Rey when she interacts with Kylo; the lighting, music and the chemistry between the actors drew in many women. The trope being trapped was "enemies to lovers," a classic of romance literature. In The Force Awakens, Kylo is infatuated with a "lowly scavenger," despite himself and his training. In The Last Jedi, the two characters establish a connection that goes deeper than their pasts, ripe with wedding imagery from around the world, before separating again.

The comparisons with the doomed romance of Anakin and Padmé popped up. If the tragic lovers of the prequel trilogy married in the second movie and died in the third, surely the sequel would turn it around, allowing the last descendant of Anakin Skywalker to fix what he had broken and to triumph where he had failed.

It's easy for a certain segment of the audience to dismiss the power of romance, but it remains most lucrative literary genre in the world. Romance writers master the art of the promise and the delivery, which is a happy ending for the main couple. There are tragic romantic novels in which one or both of the lovers die, but that's not what Disney was promising with Episode IX. From that perspective, The Rise of Skywalker punishes the male lead by killing him the moment he chooses to save the love of his life. Abrams and his co-writer Chris Terrio were going for a parallel with Return of the Jedi, but that movie was never promoted as having romance at its core, and Darth Vader didn't have his entire life in front of him.

The Rise of Skywalker then goes out of its way to show how little Rey really cared for Ben, to the point where, after watching the final scenes, it's difficult to assess what impact he had in the plot. The film also does that to Hux and Rose, but in the case of Ben Solo it's particularly egregious because he's the last of the Skywalker bloodline. If they were going for Return of the Jedi parallels, they could have included either a funeral or a Force ghost, but the audience is denied that, which is a strange and cruel narrative choice.

Even worse, the ending broke the promise made in the promotional material. Yes, there was a kiss, but it's swiftly punished: The heroine ends up alone in a barren planet; the Byronic hero is never mentioned again. The other side of fandom might argue that Star Wars should have never catered to romance, but they would be the first to complain if a film advertised like Fast & Furious turned out to be a family comedy; false advertising elicits the same kinds of reactions in everyone.

Ben Solo's death, isolated from the romance, is also problematic because he was coded as a conflicted, groomed, abused, abandoned and brainwashed child soldier fighting to break from his programming. The ancillary material supports this, and in Marvel's The Rise of Kylo Ren, it's shown he never attempted to kill Luke Skywalker, he didn't burn the Jedi temple, and he didn't attack his fellow students. It was a set-up designed to turn his family against him and place him within the First Order. Han, Leia and Rey work for two entire movies to try and bring him back. By killing every single character that even attempts to turn around, the film confirms their worst fear -- that the only way out is death.

There'ss another horrifying message lurking in The Rise of Skywalker, however, if you are coming to the film from this perspective: that your family will disown you and forget you the moment you misbehave, replacing you with a "good child." That's exactly what happens to Kylo Ren; despite his efforts to come back as Ben Solo, neither Luke nor Leia nor Anakin help him. Ben has to imagine a conversation with his father to move forward, and in the end, his mother and his uncle replace him with Rey, who becomes their "found child" and assumes the Skywalker name.

But Kylo was filling a different role too -- the monster boyfriend, whose most famous example is Beauty and the Beast. While the original purpose of tales like Beauty and the Beast was to prepare girls for marriages in which they would be under the authority of their (potentially monstrous) husband, the tale evolved, and the monster became a focus for those that society had misunderstood or repressed. It's the grown-up version of little children, who feel powerless most of the time, preferring the Hulk over any other superhero, only with romance, darkness and danger thrown in; it's a way to explore a problematic aspect of reality through fiction. Unfortunately, instead of allowing fiction to play its role for women, the monster boyfriend trope is incredibly policed ("it's toxic!"), a criticism that doesn't extend to monster girlfriends (see Mara Jade's murderous origins and her eventual marriage to Luke Skywalker in Legends).

Many women in Star Wars fandom identified with Kylo Ren for those reasons, and the more the character was attacked on social media ("he killed his father!" "he's ugly, unworthy of being a hero!"), and the more stories about what really happened to him were published, the more affection he drew.

And while we are talking about ancillary material, The Rise of Skywalker contradicts almost every single narrative thread about Kylo published to date, which were hinting at redemption as far back as 2017. Most Reylos engaged with that material wholeheartedly. Despite the amazing talent involved in its creation, those fans view the ending of Episode IX as a slap in the face, and many women feel like they have wasted their time buying into a franchise that ultimately never cared about fulfilling its own promises about happy endings, telling a complete story, or even offering hope and compassion to the characters that needed it the most.

However, all of that might have been better received had the film been generous with the heroine, the first woman to be the primary protagonist in the Skywalker Saga. For two and a half movies, it even looked to be a story in the fairy-tale tradition, with a poor orphan discovering her inner power, defeating an unspeakable evil, forging friendships and, ultimately, finding the love of her life and becoming the leader of her people.

Instead, The Rise of Skywalker leaves Rey effectively where she started, on desert planet, taking with her someone else's droid and someone else's name. She doesn't grow, and she doesn't even confront or integrate her inner darkness. Rey, who had been wonderfully feral up to that point, becomes a creepy Stepford smiler.

That, in a nutshell, is why Reylos are angry, despite getting their space kiss. For many, The Rise of Skywalker felt like a bad punchline after a long con from Disney, and Star Wars has the bitter taste of a franchise that accidentally tapped into women's interests but had little interest in them as intelligent viewers engaging with the material.

#the rise of skywalker #reylo #kylo ren #rey

17 notes · View notes

incarnation-of-victory · 5 years ago

Text

Thoughts on/reactions to the BNHA: Heroes Rising movie since I need somewhere to gush about it (now that I’ve gotten to see it officially in theaters):

NOT SPOILER-FREE/SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

(As an FYI, I saw the film in the original Japanese with English subtitles. Not sure if I’ll ever watch it in the English dub, seeing as I didn’t watch the first movie or the anime in English dub. I don’t mind it, and I’ll watch clips of it here and there, but I don’t feel like going out of my way to watch BNHA in its entirety in English.)

In no particular order (this is long, kinda a mess, not verb tense consistent, iffy at a few points because I don’t remember some exact details, etc. Be forewarned. Split into sections for a semblance of convenience):

The Fight Scenes/Class 1-A (General Overview):

This movie is pretty action-packed! The majority of the film consisted of fight scenes—but never quite to the point that it felt tiring. Now, I’m no expert on animation or fight choreography, but I thought the battle sequences were STUNNING! I really feel like the animators put a lot of care into this film.

Speaking of fight scenes, I was pleasantly surprised to see how a lot of the less-centric 1-A students were able to get their time to shine. Uraraka got a cool Badass™ moment (kinda reminded me of her fight versus Bakugou at the Sports Festival). Sero goes all out on a villain (was it Nine?), getting thrown back, but still earning a concerned “Sero!” from Bakugou (so that’s a win). Aoyama is surprisingly a force to be reckoned with his Navel Laser. Shoji deserves the title of Honorary Big Brother to Katsuma and Mahoro (the kids) with the way he devoted himself to protecting them throughout the battles (seriously made me emotional at one point!). Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were sick as usual! Kirishima gets another Unbreakable moment—this dude’s seriously got guts!

Todoroki, while arguably one of the main protagonists of the series, admittedly didn’t feel like he got TOO much screen-time during this film (I feel like it’s because they wanted to focus on the relationship between Deku and Bakugou). That being said, his defeat of Chimera was AWESOME. It was a nice touch having him remember Endeavor’s advice as he prepares his final attack, his father’s profile dissolving into his own. Todoroki really went Plus Ultra there (almost too much, like, damn, I think you got him). There were a few times like that throughout the film, like with Bakugou vs. Mummy, where I was like, pretty sure these villains should not be alive right now, but accordingly to anime logic, they’ll be fine (plus, we can’t have the hero students be killing anyone...). Basically, everyone was really cool, and I think this movie proves how they all deserve to be at UA.

The climax battle (Deku & Bakugou vs. Nine): I kinda wish I didn’t spoil so much of HR before seeing it officially—not that it ruined my enjoyment of it, but I feel like it would have been more intense/emotional if I went into it blind. So I knew going in that Deku and Bakugou were going to share OFA (and I may or may NOT have seen clips of it online beforehand... because I have no self-control), but it was still really great seeing it on the big-screen! Didn’t cry like I thought I would, but the moment where Deku and Bakugou did their Detroit Smash together for the first time got me kinda teary-eyed, with them doing an All Might-esque one-fist-raised pose. It’s just so heartwarming to see these two work together, carrying on All Might’s legacy.

Deku + Katsuma & Mahoro (the two main, local kids of Nabu Island):

Speaking of getting emotional: THAT scene when All Might arrives post-final battle and he’s cradling an injured Deku in his arms and Deku apologizes to him for having to give away OFA because he feels like he’s failed him: OH MY GOD! Major props to Daiki Yamashita for his voice acting in that scene (as for all his scenes as Deku, of course), it was so raw and emotional! Same praise applies to Nobuhiko Okamoto for his respective scenes as Bakugou, naturally.

Also, I SUPER enjoyed Deku in this film! I mean, I’m already a huge Deku stan (perhaps this comes as a bit of a surprise, since I never shut up about Bakugou and Bakugou only), but you could really see his development in HR! He comes across as a lot more confident, steady, level-headed, and sure of himself than he used to be! It was incredible to see him fight too: his first encounter with Nine in the forest stood out to me in particular. Ever the strategist. Sure, he’s still a little bit of a push-over (he apologizes to Mahoro, who’s just a little girl, after she scolds him for not coming to “rescue” her brother fast enough—it’s a pretty funny scene), but he really feels like he’s filling out his role as All Might’s successor. Not to mention all the parallels of his relationship with Katsuma to Deku’s own relationship with All Might. Also, of course, Deku is a huge sweetheart, and it was so endearing to see him interact with the island kids. Katsuma and Mahoro might seriously have some competition when it comes to the cutest characters in this film: they really amped up the sweetness of Deku in this film. But maybe I’m biased because I’m a Deku stan so I’ll shut up now. But seriously, big mama bear vibes from Deku with the kids.

While I’m on the topic of cuteness, Oh My God, Katsuma and Mahoro were PRECIOUS! Now I understand why Horikoshi couldn’t stop drawing them—seriously, they are the total opposite of the usual annoying kids trope. Katsuma’s shyness/timidness was adorable. Mahoro’s sass and attitude was adorable. On top of that, they were very brave and protective of each other. Their brother-sister relationship was also very wholesome. But seriously, almost every time these kids were on-screen, I could hear people in the audience going “Awww” and I was like “YES! AWW IS RIGHT!”

The Bakugou section (because my adoration of him warrants an entire section of its own):

This doesn’t seem like too natural of a segue, but cuteness has now made me think about Bakugou and how he was in the film. Can I just say, I love how all the comical, raging Bakugou scenes made the audience laugh; I love that we all share the same amusement of this angry gremlin. The part where Bakugou finds out that Mahoro tricked him by making an illusion of a villain and he goes into Rage Mode to the 10th power was amazing. The edgy guitar rendition of Bakugou’s leitmotif playing in the background as they zoom into his furious face thrice as he gets increasingly incensed, with fiery flames in the background, was peak comedy. And then Deku has to hold Bakugou back as the kids escape his wrath. Even when the two tumble to the ground, Bakugou Grudge-crawls up to them with Deku clinging to his back. One of my favorite scenes in the film: it was hilarious. Oh, Bakugou. Never change.

Bakugou’s old ways aside, I do like how he seemed to warm up to the kids a little by the end of the film. His genuine smile and sort-of wave upon seeing the kids saying goodbye to them as they sail away on the ship was sweet! Earlier, when Bakugou first grabs Katsuma and carries him along to show him where the “villain” is, once they locate it, Bakugou immediately yeets Katsuma aside like an empty soda can (he was fine, of course). While, admittedly, I found that moment hilarious, I did feel the general reaction of audience also being like, jeez, Bakugou, you don’t throw kids like that, lol. I did like how, despite tossing Katsuma aside, Bakugou did grunt a quick “Go hide” to him, showing that he did care at least a little for Katsuma’s safety: more than he outwardly demonstrates, at least. I like how the whole “proper handling of kids” thing came back during the final battle when Bakugou catches Mahoro from falling when Nine tosses her aside (not totally unlike how Bakugou tossed Katsuma aside earlier.. hmm...). And Deku was the one who punched (kicked?) Nine at that moment instead (showing a little reversal of roles when it comes to saving and fighting). Seriously, Bakugou puts Mahoro down so gently on her feet too! It was so sweet! And then he proceeds to give her his whole “This is why I’m going to be the number one hero” spiel too. If my memory serves me correctly, I think Mahoro wasn’t even going to fall that far, and would have probably been fine if she just dropped to the ground, but Bakugou still went out of his way to catch her, which is great. But yeah, though obviously Bakugou is nowhere near as bad as Nine, I like how this was one of the moments which proved the difference between Bakugou and the villains, that his rescue demonstrates just the kind of hero Bakugou is eventually going to become.

Another moment like that, which I haven’t seen too many people talk about, is when Bakugou and Deku are immobilized by Nine’s 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Nine gives a speech on something along the lines of how power is great and he wants to create a world in which the strong rule over the weak, yada yada, total domination. Deku, of course, is infuriated by Nine’s evil plans, but I was also pleasantly surprised to see Bakugou tell him off too, telling him how he’s crazy for wanting to do something like that. Of course, it's been clear for a while that Bakugou is not necessarily the power-hungry, overlord type, but this moment really made a little more clear to me that Bakugou is more concerned with winning and the sense of self-fulfillment that comes with it, rather than ruling over others with his power (though I don’t doubt that Bakugou finds some enjoyment in being able to beat up villains. I mean, look at that feral smile).

Also, Bakugou melting a whole-ass mountain and hurling it at Nine. Freaking lava monster. That is all.

The Deku & Bakugou Dynamic:

Deku really wasn’t intimidated by Bakugou anymore in the film, so I appreciated those moments when Deku stood up to him and wouldn’t take his shit. One example was when Deku held Bakugou back from scolding the kids. Another moment I thought was great was when Mahoro called them about Nine’s arrival, and Bakugou answers the phone, thinking she’s crying wolf again, and starts to chew her out until Deku snatches the phone out of his hand. Bakugou just stares at him in shock, he looks so offended, haha! He can hardly get out a word of protest before just slumping in defeat, annoyed, but still letting Deku talk to Mahoro on the phone. Really like those moments where Deku takes charge like that.

Bakugou eavesdropping (as per his usual nosy self) on Katsuma and Deku’s conversation, in which Katsuma apologizes for their prank earlier, explains his story, and Deku talks about how saving and winning are both important (*hint hint, nudge nudge*). And Bakugou’s so engrossed that he doesn’t notice his popsicle melting until it drips onto the floor. And he just stares at it in vague bafflement. Yes. Good.

This was another really small moment, but it was cute, so I have to talk about it. Deku’s training outside and Bakugou runs into him on his patrol. They have their whole talk about how they’re going to surpass each other, and then, right at the end, Deku kinda just smiles at him. It’s such a fond smile, you can even hear him giving a small laugh along with it. And then Bakugou meets it with a determined stare, and he almost gives a gruff little “huh?”. It was just a funny little stare down they had there, except they’re coming at it with completely different expressions/sentiments. Bakugou almost seemed a bit confused by Deku’s happy smile; it reminded me of that moment during Deku vs. Kacchan 2, when Deku takes a moment to smile at Bakugou, impressed by his progress, and Bakugou gets pissed at him for looking so happy. Like, c’mon Bakugou, let the guy be proud of you! I think now, post-DvK2, Bakugou does understand Deku’s words/expressions a little better, but he still doesn’t seem to fully comprehend how much Deku respects and cares for him. Either that, or he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Here’s to hoping Bakugou comes to realize it at some point. Bakugou-accept-compliments/affection challenge 2020.

I think everyone’s already said what there is to say about Deku’s decision to give OFA to Bakugou, and Bakugou’s reaction to it. Even so, I have a few things to add. One, I like how Bakugou’s grown to respect Deku as a rival/fellow hero in the movie, which is especially evident once Deku gives him OFA. Deku, of course, trusts Bakugou enough to give it to him, saying how it’s alright if it’s him, really hammering in that bond they have between them (that and well... he’s really the only other option here...). Two, Bakugou’s initial reaction after Deku implies that they need to share OFA, his expression right before he reaches out his hand to take it, has some people talking. I initially thought that the reason Bakugou looked so defeated/begrudging/upset, was because him having to accept OFA/help from Deku in order to win was a blow to his pride (kind of like in the Final Exam team-up). Or that it also means that Bakugou can no longer beat Deku at his strongest (Bakugou with OFA would become the better hero by default, kind of like how Endeavor rose to Number 1 after All Might’s retirement, instead of earning it through besting him fair and square). But I’ve also seen people say it was because Bakugou was reluctant to have to put an end to Deku’s dream (not unlike the way Bakugou put an end to All Might’s career?), since Deku was forfeiting OFA. Which I can kind of believe, but then again, this is why Bakugou is so hard to pin down: we rarely get his inner narrative, so his expressions are often multi-faceted/layered. So who knows what he was thinking? Granted, I tend to actually not give Bakugou the benefit of the doubt in these situations, but I do hope it was a mixture of all these things. But I think Bakugou really did feel bad about Deku’s hero career potentially being over: he even asks him if he was sure about his decision immediately after accepting OFA. Which is a huge 180 from the beginning of the series, when Bakugou WANTED to put an end to Deku’s dream. Now that’s growth.

This is going to delve more into just Bakugou himself, but I had additional thoughts about the whole OFA transfer thing, and how All Might (tentatively?) concludes that the predecessors returned OFA to Deku, even though, supposedly, it is non-returnable. The fact that Bakugou doesn’t remember the OFA transfer might be a better thing that I thought, since, if it really was the predecessors’ decision to give it back to Deku (and not just because he conked out before the transfer was done), then that just means that Deku is the one who is really worthy of OFA, and not him. At least, that’s one way of looking at it. Which might have crushed Bakugou, even though Bakugou likely doesn’t want OFA for himself. But I almost think that explains part of Bakugou’s reaction I mentioned in the previous point. Maybe, deep down, Bakugou doesn’t think he deserves OFA? Sure, Bakugou’s made it clear that he wants to become the best hero with his own power/Quirk, but it still hurt/confused him in DvK2 that All Might chose Deku. OFA itself choosing Deku and not him might as well just confirm that Deku is truly the better hero. Of course, we can’t really know for sure why the vestiges returned OFA to Deku. Personally, I would find it kinda funny/sad if OFA just thought Deku was better. Maybe it’s destiny? Maybe Deku’s journey is just not meant to be over yet? Or maybe, Bakugou, in the OFA mindscape, actually relinquished OFA to Deku of his own accord? Either way, as much as I love Bakugou, I think the vestiges were right in going back to Deku. Not even just for plot-reasons, but that OFA really is better suited for Deku. It’s a Quirk meant to be used for the sake of other people, and Bakugou simply isn’t of that mindset (yet?). I’m sorry Bakugou, but I’d choose Deku too.

Overall, I really feel like Deku and Bakugou’s teamwork was so natural and in-sync! They seem to act like one unit, not even having to talk to each other during the final Double OFA showdown, like they’re on the same wavelength or something. This film really made me believe that these two are going to become hero partners in the future or something, they’re too good together to be ultimately separated. Or maybe that’s just me being hopeful. We’ll see.

Meme Corner:

Bakugou after finding out that Mahoro was creating an illusion of a villain:

Bakugou: *winces from the pain of breaking his arm using OFA*

Deku, not even bothered, multiple-time champion of the arms-breaking club:

also:

Bakugou to the kids: “I’m gonna show you why I’m gonna be the number one hero!”

*proceeds to get the shit beat out of him by Nine* (cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme).

Wrap-Up/Conclusion:

There’s probably a lot more to discuss (that other people will likely touch on), but this is mainly what I cared about, so I’ll leave it at that. But just as a brief summary for everything else: LOV was good as usual, were mainly only at the beginning of the film; speaking of, that opening car chase sequence was pretty neat; the brief, Endeavor vs. Dabi was cool; Endeavor hugging Todoroki after they were rescued and Todoroki Not Having any of it was funny; Nine was alright as the main villain, could use some more depth, but I guess that’s what the short spin-off manga and bonus material are for. Hawks was great too. Even though I didn’t watch the English dub, I really liked the short clip I did see of him in English. His English VA suits him well (as does the Japanese)!

I don’t feel like going into critiques, even though there certainly are things to critique in the movie. I just enjoyed this film for the joyride that it is. Main nitpick: maybe NOT drop a bunch of high-schoolers on an island without a Pro-hero presence. Maybe NOT do that. But we got the Good ol’ Hero Commission going: “Oh boy, what could POSSIBLY go wrong??? 🤷🤷🤷”

Oh, and I do think that this film is safe for anime-onlies. The only thing is that people who haven’t read the manga will see things/characters they don’t really know about it and will, thus, be left wondering a little about them, but I don’t think it’s a huge deal.

If you took the time to get to the end of all my rambling, thank you and congrats! I didn’t include screen-caps for this post because the movie’s not on digital or DVD yet (and I don’t want to use other people’s camrips because Reasons), so I might do additional analyses once that happens.

---

Link to Unofficial Part 1 of My Thoughts on HR (based on leaks, before actually seeing the film; but I do go more into depth on other points of the film, such as OFA)

#bnha heroes rising spoilers #this post was basically me going 'how many other ways can i say the word heartwarming'#tl;dr: this film made me very happy

3 notes · View notes

thedeviljudges · 7 years ago

Note

I’m lowkey obsessed with the idea of one of the kids admitting to Steve they’re scared they’re gay and they’re really frightened about it and scared he’s gonna hate them and everyone will too and they haven’t told anyone else and Steve has never told anyone he likes boys before and he’s kinda like “me too” and they’re just like “what?” And he’s like “I think I like boys so I get it okay?” And it’s makes which ever kid lol feel so much better because Steve is so cool and he gets it

uhmm okay so i attempted this and well, i hope it’s okay!!! i chose will out of them all because i feel like he’s the go-to??? also cuz it seems to make sense. i hope this is okay.

The porch is not the most ideal place for life contemplation, Steve thinks, no matter how comfortable it feels out here, staring off into the distance filled with trees, dead leaves, and the quiet hum of the wind rustling the branches above.

It is, however, where he finds Will, the shy kid taking a breather from the commotion inside. Steve has never understood what it’s like to be smothered by family, thinks he ought to enjoy such a thing after baring witness to absentee parents for a good few years of his life. He also knows that because he’s not used to it, it’s exhausting as much as it is overwhelming, and it must be the case for Byers enough to wander outside by himself.

“You okay?” Steve asks because he’s not as familiar with him as he is with the other kids, regardless of his acquaintance with Jonathan. He doesn’t expect a reply, actually figures he’ll be ignored because what does Will Byers and Steve Harrington have in common aside from the Upside Down? Aside from Nancy and Dustin who’ve all merged together in a group of understanding despite the oddities that otherwise would’ve kept them apart as individual people, no paths to be crossed and definitely no reason for interactions.

But Will shrugs his shoulders, leans his head against one of the wooden poles that lines the stairs to the cabin. “I’m okay.”

It’s a lie. Steve knows a lie when he hears one; he’s given his fair share of them when he doesn’t want people to bother him, or more importantly, when he doesn’t know how to tell the truth.

Steve’s met with a crossroads then, choosing to ignore it in favor of respecting Will’s answer or finding another line of conversation that will attempt to crack Will open – if not to admit what’s on his mind, then at least a decent chat to distract him. Steve used to be a bit of an ass, but he’s working on it. Will doesn’t have to tell him anything if he doesn’t want to.

“I don’t think I am,” he says, blurts it out without a moment’s hesitation. It feels good to say that, to not have to smile at Nancy or Hopper or Joyce or even Billy for that matter, to have to pretend that splinters of exhaustion and emotion aren’t increasing the longer he stands on his feet. Steve wants rest; he wants the Upside Down to not be a thing that he – or anyone else – has to deal with, but along the way, he’s learned far too much about everything for his brain to catch a proper break.

Will startles at his comment, glances up as Steve walks forward, sits down on the steps of the porch. He leans on the opposite side of the rails, parallel to Will. Steve doesn’t want to crowd his space, doesn’t want Will to feel like Steve’s a looming presence after all he’s been through because no matter what he’s seen – what any of them have seen – it will never be anything as horrific as the experiences that this kid has gone through.

No amount of dreams, sweaty palms, or edginess will compare, and often, Steve feels guilty that he has after effects of the most mundane bullshit he’s experienced. It shouldn’t be a comparison game, but guilt is a very strong five letter word. “All this shit makes you think,” though he keeps his eyes trained ahead, on the moss and rocks across the ground that he hadn’t noticed before, “about who you are, what’s most important.”

“Everything feels different,” Will finally chimes in. His chin is pressed to his knees, hugging himself tightly like that might make all the bad thoughts go away. It won’t; it never does because Steve’s been there – been in bed and felt restless, felt like maybe if he held himself tight enough, long enough that he’d it’d make up for the lack of warmth he often experiences.

“It does.” Steve’s voice cracks, throws his gaze to his feet and picks at the hole in his jeans. They’re stretched across his knee, an old pair worn thin from multiple washes. It’s not fascinating, but he hates how the strings that weave the material together feel like an omen or, at least, a metaphor for all the connections his life has careened together. “Don’t even feel like myself sometimes.”

There’s a hitch in Will’s breath, so sudden that Steve turns to make sure he’s okay. The kid’s eyes are wide, maybe even a little creepy as he blinks at Steve. Though, the more Steve notices, the easier it is to pinpoint that Byers isn’t looking at Steve so much as he’s looking off in the distance of a memory, of a moment that Steve wasn’t a part of. “I think I’ve always felt that way.”

Steve doesn’t want to dampen the mood more than he must, but he’d like to counter Will’s statement with either you know or you don’t. There’s a certainty in life that he’s traveled through, solid in demeanor and tone. It’s not until you go through something, he thinks, that the limits of who you are are tested.

Unfortunately, Steve thinks he understands the hesitation radiating from Will, that he’d experienced much earlier than someone like Steve who’d had the backings of moderate stability and general popularity to keep him from questioning – or really, to keep others from questioning – the position he’d definitely been given.

Will on the other hand, from the murmurings and chatter from Dustin when Steve drives him to and from the arcade, paint a different story, that some kids aren’t so lucky. In all fairness, Steve wouldn’t’ve even had to look at Will to know the truth because Jonathan was a prime example Steve only paid attention to when others found it necessary to reduce him to mud on the bottom of their shoes.

Steve, before the ordeal with Nancy, had no qualms, no reason to bat an eye to any of the so-called grievances that might’ve been bestowed upon him least he were anyone else. It’s no wonder his existential crisis has taken this long to manifest.

Steve doesn’t really know how to reply to that. Another agreement would fail them both, sat in silence until one of them found the courage to gather themselves for the group inside.

Though, the longer they sit here together, it feels a lot easier not to do that, to let them be, let Will be, let himself just be. A speck in the woods, observing rocks and mud and the blue sky only seen from the parting of branches from the limbs of trees, feels significant somehow, special and quiet. Steve hasn’t had that in a long time.

So when Will shifts his body, Steve isn’t expecting it, isn’t expecting a thrown rock to go flying forward or the tapping of shoes against the wood staircase. And most prominently, Steve doesn’t expect Will to whisper into the woods like he hadn’t spoken at all.

“I think I like boys.”

Steve’s heart flips, stops, then goes again, crazy feral at the hands of such a confession. It hits him like brinks, wonders if maybe he’d said it instead, voice weak from the screams and grunts he’d used to keep himself awake and alive.

“I hate how everyone thought it before I did,” Will says in that same small voice, a little bitter, definitely field with sadness. “They didn’t even let me-” His breath hitches, and he stops, Steve finally turning, finally moving until he’s slide closer to Will.

That’s the part of the story Steve cannot relate to no matter how much he wishes he could. Steve had a reputation, had it easy under the prospects of linear succession of high school fame. As mediocre as it felt all around, it allowed him the easiest navigation in life – now, not so much, but he’s almost out, almost away, and it’s a part of life he won’t have to experience ever again.

Will on the other hand- “Me too,” Steve says, runs his tongue across his teeth as if acid found its way into his mouth. He’d been contemplating it, would up at the notion that maybe everything he thought he knew was different. It started with Nancy, graduated into the Upside Down and the existence of monsters, and now Steve’s stuck at level three of a video game he hadn’t planned on playing – didn’t even know existed, to be quiet frank – and now that he’s there, he can’t quite reach the end of the maze.

“What?”

Once again, Will looks like a wide-eyed teddy bear, confused and in disbelief. Steve watches the emotions cross his face, one of disbelief and anger that comes next. “Are you messing with-”

“Hey,” Steve says quickly, shakes his head because he might’ve been a dick – might still be if the right person asked – but he knows better than this. Knows better than this now. “I think I like boys, so I get it, okay?”

Will’s skeptical eyes goad Steve into backtracking, into calling his bluff, demanding that the joke be over. But Steve is just as relentless, just as frustrated with himself and the situation that’s born out of realizing that girls are not his only forte.

“You’re serious.”

His teeth dig into his lip, and Steve wishes for a moment of reprieve because he hadn’t exactly come out here to make conversation about his issues and the bullshit he was dealing with. Hell, he hadn’t exactly come out here to comfort a young boy either; he’d just happened upon Will who also felt like a breath of fresh air would do him some good. But despite unknowingly walking into a bigger issue than he’d intended, Steve feels like maybe he’s all the better for it.

“They’ll hate me,” Will says, finally understanding that Steve’s serious. His shoulders drop, fingers curling around the railing.

“Then I guess they’ll hate me, too.” Steve thinks of Dustin, of what that might mean, thinks of Nancy and Jonathan, of Billy and Hopper and Joyce. Steve thinks of them first before his parents because it’s not like they wouldn’t care, but he suspects they’d be too busy to notice whatever is going on with their son. If they don’t recognize the distress he’s in from nightmares or anxiety attacks, it’s safe to assume they’d not pick up on much else.

And even then, Byers might be younger than him, and he might be like Dustin – a young kid he could call his brother – but at least Steve can save him from ridicule, can be an anchor until he’s ready to make whatever decisions he needs to. If that means talking about it- if it means existing until he’s out of this hellish town, then Steve guesses he’s got a purpose after all.

It ends with Will launching himself at Steve, a quick hug that Steve only has half a second to reciprocate because as soon as his arms are full of Byers, the kid is gone. He’s pulling himself to his feet, smiling down at Steve with big, watery eyes. “I’ll be here,” he says because he guesses that Will doesn’t want to stick around until his tears fall, the only cure to find the others so he’s not wasting away outside on a porch talking to Steve Harrington while he cries over something that is not yet set in stone.

Will smiles, shoulders relaxing as he takes a few steps up the stairs. “Thank you,” he says, and then he’s gone, Steve immediately recognizing the shakiness in his voice.

He’d like to comment, like to admit that avoiding the emotions attached to something like this is probably not the healthiest of things to do, but if he’d look in a mirror, he could say the same for himself.

Steve sits out on the porch long enough for it to grow colder, long enough for Billy to come outside for a smoke, sharing it with Steve like he’s a natural. Steve doesn’t say anything, just passes the stick back and forth until he’s smiling, until nothing makes sense, until he realizes that sharing his space with Billy isn’t so bad.

It might even be worth the risk.

#x #harringrove #not really i mean implied at the end but uh i gotta tag it as something lmao #i actually kinda like this though???#Anonymous #answered

49 notes · View notes

dateagirlwhosweird · 7 years ago

Text

Date a girl who whispers from the shadow. Date a girl who stands amidst the thick smoke of riots in the street but disappears a moment later. Date a girl that watches and waits in your peripheral vision. Date a girl who never moves unless you blink. Date a girl who is an amalgamation of multiple bodies with constantly blinking eyes and screaming mouths. Date a girl who needs to be suspended in a block of lead to keep her from escaping. Date a girl who was part of a Sex Cult and that her child will unleash the death of mankind and the universe the day of its birth on 1/03/14. Date a girl, who is literally white noise, you can only see vague movements of her on the TV. Date a girl who actively SCREAMS to minimize the noise of the outside world. Date a girl who whispers sweet apocalyptic predictions in your ear. Date a girl who hikes… Hikes very large mounds of human flesh from a mighty battle that hasn’t ended and still goes on. Date a girl who’s been alive since the Second, Third, and Fourth American War of Independence. Date a girl who fought against slavery in 1945. Date a girl who fought against racial discrimination in 250,00 BC.. Date a girl who has fearfully been staring at her reflection for over an hour. Date a girl who has no reflection, I mean… She does… But she doesn’t know where it is. Date a girl who buzzes like static. Date a girl who literally has a VCR tape for a head, and all you hear when she speaks is the screeching of rewinding film. Date a girl who has been dancing with the ghost of Frank Sinatra in that abandoned theater down the street. Date a girl who hangs-out with Dean Martin, Steve Martin, Kevin Martin, George R.R. Martin, and Todd at your local 7-11. Date a girl who can read ancient Babylonian and has spoken to their ancient Gods. Date a girl who has spoken to Babylonian Gods and knows of our future. Date a girl who has gone mad as she wrote a fanmail submission to the tumblr blog “dateagirlwhoseweird.“ Date a girl, a girl, a girl, a girl, a girl, a girl, a girl. Date a girl who wears jumper cables like it’s in style, like… wtf BECKY!? Date a girl who has been watching the Shining since last summer on repeat. Date a girl whose 100 foot tall Monstrosity of Eldritch power. Date a girl who cleans up gore and viscera after all the battles that take place in the orbiting Space Station high above our heads. Date a girl who has literally spoken to H.P. Lovecraft and is actually the inspiration for all of his writing. Date a girl who has been staring at the void. Date a girl who has traveled to the Mariana Trench and has been terrified of returning. Date a girl who recorded the girl who traveled to the Marian Trench and saw that there are things down there no-one should see. Date a girl who translates everything she reads and says into Sanskrit. Date a girl who climbs Sequoia Trees to commune with the ancient forest spirits. Date a girl who digs into the Earth’s mantle to melt her ice cream. Date a girl who has spoken to Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Karl Marx and told them to chill out. Date a girl who hangs out with Cecil from WTNV, and has tea with him and Khoshekh. Date a girl who has a dogweed tree sitting outside her tree AND IT’S MADE OF DOGS! Date a girl who has been screaming at Orion to give back her belt. Date a girl who lives underneath your floorboards and has been waiting for you to go insane and tell the police what you did to that old man. Date a girl who has been reading Edgar Allen Poe since she was a mere child. Date a girl who sniffs the grass before proclaiming to the world that she loves grass. Date a person who isn’t a girl but is in fact a guy who has way too much time on his hands and wrote a massive submission to “dateagirlwhoseweird,” truthfully he doesn’t even want to date anybody he just kinda wanted to make a joke. Date a girl because honestly all girls are actually perfect and don’t actually require labels. Date a girl who emits carbon monoxide. Date a girl who emits a neon glow whenever she feels emotion. Date a girl who has literally fought trees. Date a girl who swears that she’s seen the angel Gabriel and that the paintings that supposedly depict him are so false, he has a beard and kinda looks like a guy who hangs out at Coachella every year. Date a girl who hangs out in the putrid sewers of London in 1800’s. Date a girl whose love for Pizza has evolved to becoming Pizza. Date a girl who loves writing in Sanskrit. Date a girl who took a Western Civ 101 class over the summer and regrets it, only to learn that she’s actually been relieving history since the time of Gilgamesh. Date a girl who stands at the edge of the universe. Date a girl who lives somewhere between time and space, but snatches a kiss from you whenever she manages to penetrate your realm of existence. Date a girl who is actually your realm of existence. Date a girl who beeps in place of your alarm clock. Date a girl who rides an albino deer that has a reflection of a waterfall permanently in its cornea. Date a girl who does dissections on specimens that have been preserved since the day she was born, March 15, 2052. Date a girl who is fearful of the Ides of March. Date a girl who says “Et Tu Brute?” whenever someone does something silly. Date a girl who believes “l'appel du vide”. Date a girl who broke a knife while she was using it as it was intended. Date a girl who knows Albert Camus and is one of the major reasons for why he believes we live in an absurd universe. Date a girl who is literally a severed leg. Date a girl who sneaks through the bushes and stands there, waiting. Date a girl with a deer head and makes deer noises, but she also walks around in the woods outside your home. Date a girl who worships cthulhu and the elder gods. Date a girl who has met Nyarlethotep. Date a girl who has met Hastur. Date a girl who is one of Lovecraft’s Elder Gods. Date a girl who is feral and has been stalking the alleys of your city. Date a girl who steals the clothes off of clothes lines but returns them after she remembers that the end has yet to come. Date a girl whose end has yet to come. Date a girl who has swallowed an entire yogurt cup by the spirits that talk to her from her basement. Date a girl whose actually the monster underneath your bed. Date a girl whose the creature that lives in your walls. Date a girl who lives in that secret room in your house with the singular chair and the terrifying scratches and indentations in the walls. Date a girl who was found in a dark room crouched up against the corner eating something. Date a girl who hangs out in the subway and stares at people, fearful that they will realize the train they’ve boarded will bring them to a different dimension. Date a girl who has multiple tentacles. Date a girl who is actually a cosmic horror that searches for another dimension to call home. Date a girl who calls your brain her home. Date a girl who has survived the Russian Winter. Date a girl who killed Hitler. Date a girl who is actually a shadow person and that they stare at you from the darkness of your closet. Date a girl whose in the closet, not like that, when you sleep she comes out and stares at you. Date a girl who lives in that burnt down shack outside of town. Date a girl whose actually statue from antiquity in the British Museum. Date a girl who can cure all disease. Date a girl whose the God of Abraham. Date a girl who incites fear from the mortals that surround her. Date a girl who hangs out in ancient Greek and Roman ruins. Date a girl whose been remaking all the texts from the library of Alexandria. Date a girl who told the Egyptians to build the pyramids. Date a girl whose been living in the Brazilian Jungle. Date a girl who lives in the secret room underneath the Vatican. Date a girl whose a reptilian alien that’s been controlling our government. Date a girl who resembles a famous person you can’t quite recall. Date a girl whose been a background character in every movie and TV-show you’ve ever seen. Date a girl who spontaneously jumps into existence just to use the bathroom. Date a girl who is actually a parallel universe of version of the mods who run this blog and is actually all of them in one girl. Date a girl who wears a dress that is perpetually on fire. Date a girl who listens to the Misfits so often she herself is the Crimson Ghost. Date a girl who roots herself in the ground and has taken nutrients from the earth. Date a girl who runs around in circles around the town, she never stops. Date a girl whose been dragging her foot around the town to the point where there is now an indent in the concrete that forms a terrifying eldritch pattern. Date a girl who will sacrifice your town for the sake of humanity. Date a girl who drives a KIA, no not the car. Date a girl who has entered the [REDACTED] Room, and has returns knowing more. Date a girl who absorbs the flesh of the dead inorder to replace the past flesh she has absorbed. Date a girl who lives under the compost pile in your backyard. Date a girl who lives in the pile of dead deer that the government collects in-order to keep her satiated. Date a girl who lives in trees and allows her cardiovascular system to connect itself to the tree’s xylem and phloem to extract more nutrients. Date a girl whose home for insect-like creatures that use her body as a hike. Date a girl with a mouth resembles a leech. Date a girl who is literally a leech. Date a girl whose head resembles a speaker. Date a girl who speaks in chirps, squawks, and clicks. Date a girl who’s existence is incomprehensible.

#submission #body horror /#mouth trauma /#unreality /#animal death /#death /#long post #hall of fame

156 notes · View notes

beanmaster-pika · 8 years ago

Text

Petunias and Black Lilies

Title: Petunias and Black Lilies

Rating: T for some profanity

Characters: Xanxus, Aria

Genre: Friendship, general

Words: 5,314

Summary: Being the Donna of a largely matriarchal famiglia, Aria sometimes forgets that the rest of the world sees her as just that—a woman. But if they refuse to recognize her ability, she’ll help produce something they will recognize. (In a parallel universe, Xanxus makes the Vongola stronger without becoming the tenth boss or being frozen in ice first, mostly because of a certain someone’s meddling.)

The first time she meets him, she is twelve; the Giglio Nero is officially under the control of a steward until she comes of age (officially, mind—she’s feeling out her capacity in this world, her steward encouraging her here, cutting her off there, and providing her with endless records of mafia history to draw wisdom from), and he is the ten-year-old adopted feral of Don Vongola. The adults look down on him. The children are divided, some siding with their parents, others more cautious. Aria is of the latter.

She knows, when she meets him, that he is dangerous. Flames thrum and roar within him, untamed and wild, and his eyes are angry, proud, untrusting.

She immediately decides she loves him. She’s always been fascinated and enamoured by dangerous things: guns, knives, the men and women who will one day work beneath her; Xanxus is slightly different in that he is not hers, but not by much. She knows that when they grow up, he will either be a great asset or a terrifying enemy.

Therefore, Aria decides to get to know him and love him as a person. She prefers her lovely dangerous things as allies, thank you very much. Fortunately, Don Vongola makes things very simple for her.

“Hello, Aria,” he says kindly, kneeling down to speak with her at eye level. Being the holder of the Vongola Ring, he knows with unerring certainty that she will one day ascend to the head of the Giglio Nero and should be treated with caution. That does not, however, mean that he can’t try for an alliance. “This is Xanxus, my son.” The feral dodges the hand that moves to ruffle his hair, vestiges of a snarl at his lips. Oh, getting to know him will be so fun, Aria can already tell.

“Nice to meet you,” she says with a genuine smile, holding out a hand to shake. He eyes her suspiciously, but grudgingly takes the hand after a subtle nudge from his father.

Actually touching him, she can feel the strength of his Flames. They’re even more powerful than she thought, stronger than some grown men, and she doesn’t doubt that he’s strong enough for the Vongola ring. It really is a pity that his blood will disallow it. Nevertheless, he’ll definitely grow to hold a position of high power in the Vongola, bad blood or no, and if that doesn’t work out for him, maybe she’ll be able to entice him into the Giglio Nero. Goodness knows they need all the one person armies they can get. So she stands, regal as a queen despite her puerile appearance, and meets his eyes with dignity. There is something akin to recognition flickering through them at the treatment, and he in return gives her grudging respect, giving her hand a firm shake before releasing it.

“Nice to meet you.”

Don Vongola looks positively delighted by this development, probably because Xanxus doesn’t look like he wants to kill Aria anymore. “Well then! I suppose I’ll just leave you kids to it, then,” he beams. “An old man knows where he’s not wanted. Xanxus, accompany her, would you?” And before his son can even formulate a response, he sweeps off to speak with Don Cavallone, pleased as the cat that got the cream.

“We’re a bit young for matchmaking,” Aria comments when he’s gone, drilling straight to the heart of the matter. Xanxus stares at her, alarmed and dumbfounded.

“Matchmaking?” he blurts out. His innocence concerning politics is cute, in Aria’s opinion.

“Matchmaking,” she affirms seriously. But then she smiles, and bounces on her toes. “But never mind that. Like I said, we’re too young. What do you want to play?”

Xanxus looks like a deer in headlights. It really is adorable. “I… Whatever,” he mumbles, scuffing the ground with his shoes. Okay, so clearly not a team player. Maybe something of an introvert. Or, more probably, he’s trying to meld into his new higher station and has no idea. Tutors don’t teach this, Aria knows, and it’s a crying shame no one’s seen fit to take the initiative to help him out. Enrico, she knows, is busy building up a scathing rivalry, partly to toughen up the new kid for the famiglia, partly to protect his claim as heir; Massimo is bookish and probably hasn’t interacted with him much at all; and Federico, well, he’s at that time in his teenage years where he can’t be seen going around with a kid brother or it’ll be uncool. Maybe he’s a little bit sulky about having his spot as the youngest taken, too, but he’s a good egg, if a bit mischievous, so Aria thinks that they’ll be fine on that front. But for now, Xanxus is growing more awkward and reclusive by the second, so she needs to do something about it.

“Alright,” she says briskly, mind racing to what kind of games might be good. He’s a street kid, so he won’t mind any rough and tumble, but he also has to think of his standing in their society. He’s far behind the others due to his origins in the slums, so something a little more refined might be in order. Something to challenge him, too, with tactics and strategies and no small bit of finesse, yet still fun.

Oh, yes. She has the perfect game.

“Do you want to steal a cake?” she grins. He stares back, shocked once again. But. Well.

“You’re on,” he declares.

Aria, Xanxus is quickly realizing, is not an average girl. Oh, sure, she’s pretty enough and she giggles and titters, and she wears frilly dresses and nice shoes, but she’s got a life and mischief to her that he hasn’t seen in any of the vapid girls and young ladies he’s met while standing at the side of his father. Actually, she kind of reminds him of his stepmother, eyes going calculating as they focus on their target, mapping out ways to go about accomplishing the mission.

But that’s where she’s different, mainly. Forget niceties and politicking and underhanded social engineering, she’s ready for a fight.

Xanxus can see it. Quite clearly, in fact, and he’s surprised no one has called her out on it, not when the girls here are supposed to be pretty and giggle and wear nice, unsoiled clothes. Her hands are clenching and unclenching, her stance is loose and her muscles tensed, ready for action. There’s a fire in her eyes that Xanxus sees reflected when he stares into mirrors, but it’s different from his. Purer, somehow, he can tell; and bright and warm where his fire is darker. More angry. He doesn’t doubt that he’d win if they fought–she may be taller than him, but he can tell he’s stronger. And that’s the funny thing; she sees this, his angry fire and strength, and doesn’t shy away or hold him at arm’s length. Instead, she reaches out. Xanxus can count on his hands the number of people here who do that, and two don’t count because they’re his parents now. It’s interesting, to say the least, so he’s going to roll with it.

“That one,” he says, pointing at the large créme-colored one that Leonardo Apine is eyeing. It’s one of the biggest at the party. Aria’s lips quirk into a grin.

“Bigger is better, in this case,” she says approvingly, “but it’s also harder. Think we can do it?”

“Try me,” he growls, and he’s on the streets again, hungry, about to snatch something. He’d never gone for anything big, a roll or an apple from a negligent vendor, but no one’s paying attention here because apparently a lot of rich people are either insipid or trusting. Must be all the security guards. And besides, there aren’t any consequences here, maybe a cuff on the ear and a word of reprimand, but nothing else. No beatings. His father doesn’t like violence and Carlotta much prefers making people feel guilty, so what has he got to lose? “We’re going to have to deal with Leonardo first. He’s the only one who’s really going to focus on it. Then when my father makes his speech, we’ll get it.”

“It’s on the other side of the pavilion,” Aria recognizes, nodding, but then prods him to think harder. “But that’s a basic plan. What if something goes wrong?”

“Then we’ll deal with it,” he scowls. Her face falls, and for some reason, he feels like he’s failed. A trial, or a test, with the reward being the acceptance he’s been striving to get here, so he tries again. “If Leonardo doesn’t look away, one of us can throw pebbles at him from the bushes, and the other can go get it. He’s standing near it, so anyone else who would notice will be more focused on him because he’s a wimp and screams like a little baby.”

“And if someone accuses you of hurting him?” Aria counters bluntly. “They don’t really trust you yet, and I heard you broke his nose last week.”

Xanxus doesn’t miss a beat with the answer. “Well, that couldn’t be right. I was playing with you the whole time.”

Aria grins then, excited and approving, and he knows he’s passed. They rock-paper-scissors for who does what and then split up, Xanxus circling around into the orchard and Aria slipping into the crowd. Leonardo Apine goes ever closer to the cake, and Xanxus winds up his throwing arm, and then everything goes to hell.

“May I have your attention!” his father shouts. “Thank you all for attending!” There is a short bit of polite applause. “As you all know, my youngest son recently came to live here–not Federico, I assure you. He’s still off at boarding school, don’t worry.” Polite laughter. “No, this is different. When we found him, we were astounded.” Xanxus is cursing under his breath now, hunting down Aria in the crowd. She’s biting her lip, worried, and they have no way to communicate so he has to improvise. Taking careful aim, he tosses one of his pebbles. It hits her leg, grabbing her attention. He throws another one, and it skitters against the pavement, giving her his location. She looks over, and he meets her eyes, tense. “He has the Flame of Wrath that was seen only before in Vongola Secondo, and that was how we knew. He’s very young, but we know he’ll be powerful, so please welcome him! Xanxus, would you come up here?”

Aria deliberates for hardly half a second before mouthing ‘go.’

He feels like he’s failed again, but this time… this time, he’s failed himself.

Aria meets back up with Xanxus after Don Vongola finishes introducing his new son. It’s a pity that they couldn’t nab the cake, but that’s alright. They’re only children. They can learn from this, and grow, and besides, Aria already has a contingency plan prepared, though Xanxus doesn’t know it. Plus, no one’s died. This is a children’s game, after all. It’s alright.

Xanxus doesn’t seem to think so, though. He looks angry and frustrated, teeth gritted and fists clenched as he walks over, and now Aria’s worried because again, it’s a game.

(Granted, so is Monopoly, but that’s another story she really doesn’t want to get into right now.)

“What’s wrong?” she asks immediately, catching his hands in hers and sending pulses of her Flames through them. She’s nowhere near the effectiveness of a Rain, but the atmosphere is languid and relaxed, and she’s keeping herself calm, so maybe the Sky’s harmony will work. But his Flames fight back, they don’t want to be tamed, and Aria is forced along for the ride and finds herself facing a tidal wave of self-loathing. Um. Wow.

“We didn’t get it,” he hisses, still furious, and now Aria knows it’s at himself. “I didn’t factor in the old man. And now we’ve lost our chance.” He looks on the very verge of berating himself, too; Aria recognizes the signs from one anxious Sun in her famiglia, and this is all wrong, so her hands move from his hands to his face and slap his cheeks lightly.

“Hey,” she says, slightly reprimanding, fixing him with a stern glare. “It’s okay. This isn’t a raid on an enemy family, and we aren’t grown-ups. It’s okay to mess up. This is a game, you know? A game.” He doesn’t look at all assured, but he does look very confused, and he opens his mouth again to speak but she squishes his cheeks and cuts him off. “Besides, this is a… a whatchamacallit… a learning experience. It’s harder for us to move around because we’re important, right? And there are people who know we are. We’re constricted because of our place in society.” A different kind of constriction than his previous place, she doesn’t say, but it looks like it’s dawning on him and he’s listening now, and putting together the puzzle. She’s trying to teach him, he knows now, she can see it in the way his eyes are no longer defensive, but still slightly hostile, and curious. Good, so he’s a quick study. This will make assimilating him into society much faster.

“You’re like Carlotta,” he notes, and she’s caught off guard partially because she wasn’t expecting him to say anything, partially because it takes her a beat to recognize that Carlotta is the name of Don Vongola’s wife. So Xanxus doesn’t call her mother, but also doesn’t call her an ‘old lady.’ Interesting. “You’re making me fit in. In a real sneaky, underhanded way.”

“I guess,” Aria allows. He’s not exactly wrong. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Xanxus stares at her for a moment before saying, “The old man is always talking about how it’s important to make allies.”

And just like that, they’re friends.

They both get terrible stomachaches for devouring all of the cake after that, but Aria pesters her steward to allow her to visit the Vongola more often. Xanxus studies hard and trains harder, scowling the whole way as he pushes for becoming the ninth’s successor. He learns how to shoot a gun before she does (she never quite forgives him for that and hits the training ranges as often as she can once she’s able, but she just can’t seem to surpass him. He’s got a skill with the gun that she can’t hope to match, but she can damn well be better than a great many others) and earns his stripes after protecting the ninth from a drive-by shooting. Aria’s steward is horrified by how disappointed she is that she wasn’t there, but there’s not much he can do about it except repeatedly tell her to look after her health and welfare once she becomes the boss. It happens on her seventeenth birthday, and she and Xanxus drink like fishes in celebration. The hangovers are killer, but Aria thinks it’s worth it, because once Xanxus has been drunk under the table he apparently turns into a giggly drunk, and that’s something that she’ll treasure forever, especially since she knows that it’s not likely to happen again.

There is one thing that worries her, though.

“I’ll catch up with you soon,” he’d murmured when he was still a brooding drunk, slurring slightly. “Just you wait. I’ll be the tenth boss, and I’ll make Vongola a hundred times better than it’s ever been–and a thousand times better than the Giglio Nero.”

She knows it won’t happen. She knows it’s physically impossible for him to inherit the Ring. But that night in the bar, she’d felt sentimental, and instead of chuckling and ribbing him like she does whenever else they breach the subject of his legitimacy as heir, she leaned over, ruffled his hair, and smiled. “I’ll take you up on that challenge.” And that was that.

“No,” Aria says again, warding off Leonardo Apine’s advances, “I really can’t.”

“Just one drink,” he insists, smiling gleefully at her obvious discomfort. “After all, you’re a boss, aren’t you? It should be fine. Just a little drink between a couple of mafiosi, it’ll be fine.” He does so enjoy mocking her.

She bites back a sigh and stamps down on the urge to blow her hair out of her eyes where some of it has fallen out of her chignon. “No, I really can’t. I have a prior arrangement,” she explains.

“Well, surely they can come, too!” he crows, the delight in his eyes taking on a fever pitch, believing himself to be calling her bluff. Fool. She almost pities him.

“Is that so?” a voice rumbles, and the prior arrangement makes himself known as muscle and anger and fire.

Leonardo pales, immediately backtracking in his words as he attempts to scramble away. “X-Xanxus!” he sputters, glancing back and forth between the other and Aria and connecting the dots. Once he’s done that, he finds his options depressingly bleak. “S-So sorry! Didn’t know she was yours.” Shaking, he bows his head slightly and bids goodbye before getting the hell out of there.

“Mine?” Xanxus echoes when he’s gone, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yours,” Aria shrugs. “He assumes.” She snorts. “It’s like he can’t believe that I’m a genuine boss with independent thought and ability.” They share a grim chuckle at that, knowing that it’s exactly what the moron thinks. They’re traditional mafia, after all, and women… Well, women don’t have much place here except in the home. The Giglio Nero, though ancient, are small and unassuming, most of the donnas having husbands to parade to the outer world as the boss, and few realize exactly how much they do, and they like to keep it that way, but Aria, well. Aria doesn’t. Neither did her mother, for that matter, but then, her mother had never ordered any raids. In that, Aria’s different.

For now, though, she will put the cynical musing aside; there’s a bar to visit and a friend to catch up with, and she’s got the funniest story about Gamma to share with him and maybe some earth shattering news to deliver if they get drunk enough. They leave with no haste, but little leisure, and catch a cab to take them to the bar. The driver takes them for a couple. Aria doesn’t blame him. Xanxus is quick to correct him with a complementary angry growl, which is always amusing to no end, but it’s… subdued, a little bit. Less bite, more bark, and considering the fact that Xanxus is almost all bite, that’s worrying.

She doesn’t mention it. She has the worst feeling the reason is going to come out tonight and she’s milking the peace for all it’s worth.

During the drive, she takes off her heels and begins massaging her aching feet with a hint of Sky Flames, heaving a relieved sigh as she does so. Xanxus raises an eyebrow.

“Thought women don’t suffer in heels,” he notes.

“You clearly need to speak with Zia Carlotta more,” she snorts. “She won’t be as obvious about it as I am, but damn these things are like death traps.”

“Can’t imagine walking in them.”

“Yeah? Try fighting in them.”

They carry on like that, arguing and teasing, and Aria is struck by the thought that she’s really grateful for nights like these where she can treat Xanxus like she treats her men instead of the heir to another famiglia; his shoulders are less tense, and he looks like he might actually be enjoying himself somewhat, just. Talking. And laughing. With someone near to his own age, someone he can see as equal without compromising his strict, fanatical belief in his rights as Don Vongola’s heir, an actual friend of sorts whom he can relax around.

(She’s heard rumors about that young swordsman, naturally. Of course she has. But she’s known Xanxus since he joined the Vongola, and he’s only known him for a month, tops, and the difference should be obvious.)

The fact that she’s feeling this nostalgia and sentimentality now is even more worrying. It’s almost as if she’s wallowing in something that will never happen again.

They reach the bar without incident and immediately head to the counter. Xanxus is a regular, it seems, and drops her a recommendation before ordering his own drink. He’s got better taste in alcohol than she does, so she follows the recommendation and charms the barkeeper with a smile.

“It’s really freaky how you do that,” Xanxus mutters, sipping his drink. Aria laughs a little, her lips on the rim of her cup but not drinking yet.

“A woman has to use what she can in a world ruled by men,” she chides. He grunts an approximation of an agreement, and they chat for a while. No horrible truths are revealed, he laughs at the Gamma story, and they depart without incident. It’s enough to make an already paranoid girl nervous.

Her worry, as it turns out, is not unwarranted. Xanxus has decided on walking back, and she follows. He drops the bomb then.

“I’m not the Ninth’s real son.”

His voice is steady, but Aria can hear waves of anger within it, cascading and roaring with what she’s sure are betrayal and disbelief. She’s also having a spot of trouble on the disbelief front–she’d never expected that he’d just… tell her this. Xanxus is a proud man, as he should be, given that he was raised Vongola, and this admission of horrid truth is uncharacteristic of him, and tells Aria with startling clarity exactly how much trust he places in her. She purses her lips in a thin line and stares at his back. He turns, then, to look at her, and takes in the calmness of her demeanor despite the fact that the rational response would be at least some level of shock, and then he states flatly, “You knew.”

“You don’t seem surprised by that,” she responds, tone carefully neutral. The fury in his eyes is contained for now, and she’s earned some degree of tolerance as his childhood friend, but she knows she must tread carefully–no one has ever tamed the feral; he’s merely gotten trickier, wiser to their ways and exercising more self control. That’s what’s making him more dangerous now; he doesn’t just have his Wrath, he’s got brains to go with it and can’t be dealt with so easily by making confrontations a battle of wits. He barks out a short, humorless laugh. Almost miserable, she’d say, if she didn’t know him better.

“Thought you might,” he says. “You’re Giglio Nero. You’ve got all that shaman seer shit going on, right? Must’ve been a no brainer. Did you find it funny? Helping me better my chances at becoming the tenth boss even though you knew it wouldn’t ever happen?” His voice is rising, and with it, his rage, his self control slipping; Aria knows she needs to do something quickly but is cut off. “You knew all along, didn’t you? So why didn’t you tell me? Friends–hah!” He spits at the ground near her feet, and she grits her teeth. If she were Don Vongola, she would be trying to deal with this with placating words and contradicting force. However, she’s not Don Vongola, she’s the Donna Giglio Nero, and Xanxus’s childhood friend, and she knows that the best choice here is to fight fire with fire–placating comes later.

She takes a step forward. “We are friends,” she snaps, matching his anger with her own force. He looks angrier, but no more unreasonable, which is a good sign. Also slightly satisfying, because she practically wrote the book on dealing with Xanxus and is glad that it’s coming in handy here. “And next don or not, you’re still Vongola. Family isn’t totally by blood. And the Vongola are a pillar in our world, and they need to be strong, so by God I was going to help. The Giglio Nero isn’t up for power grabs, not while I’m the boss; and you’re one of the strongest they have.” Xanxus looks like he’s going to try to argue, but since he’s such a mess of superiority and inferiority complexes, she doubts his arguments are going to make any sense and presses forward. “Xanxus, why do you want to lead the Vongola? Answer me that, at least.”

That makes his pause and think. Good. If she can facilitate his rationality, then he’s more likely to actually listen to sound advice. After a moment, he begins, in a hoarse, halting voice, “I want- I want to make it strong. We’re weak, under the old man’s rule. Too friendly with the weaklings and sycophants. Enrico, Massimo, Federico–they’d just continue on like him. We’d fall into ruin. And I don’t want that.” The fire in his eyes is controlled now, and even more fervent; he prizes the Vongola–or his idealized image of it–above all else, and that’s showing here. “But why do you need to know that?”

Aria draws herself up to her full height–still shorter than him, but no less powerful or august in bearing. “Because we’re friends,” she reminds him. “And I need to know your intentions before I can support you here.” Xanxus looks thrown off by this, like he hadn’t expected she’d offer assistance. She can understand why, she supposes; a fight for succession is more or less declaring civil war within the famiglia, but that doesn’t change the fact that garnering outside support could be plenty useful in such a campaign. The Giglio Nero have always had cordial and fairly intimate relations with the Vongola, and as such, her support could carry a heavy weight in the political side of the fight. Most of the Families in the Vongola’s official alliance are in it for the power anyway–the ‘weaklings and sycophants’ Xanxus had spoken of so contemptuously–and they’re more than likely to just go along with whichever heir happens to be strongest or most cunning.

Of course, that’s only if Xanxus refuses to back down, and if Aria knows him, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

He’s regarding her now, cautious. “I never said anything about needing support.” “You also never give up on your unhealthy obsessions,” she fires back. “You’re planning something.”

“And why should I tell you?” he counters. “You could be colluding with the old man, maybe you have been from the start-”

Yeah, she’s gonna cut him off right there, and she does with a sound slap. He looks startled by this, given that she rarely engages in fisticuffs with him or even fights in general, but that’s good. The shock leaves his mind open. “Xanxus,” she says, enunciating clearly, “you are the greatest fool I have ever met. First of all, why on earth would he enlist an eleven-year-old’s help, and second, just why would I go against you just because some old man told me to?”

The gears are turning in his mind now that logic has penetrated the haze of anger and betrayal, so she throws in a reassurance before changing tacks. “I’ll help you however I can if necessary, but Xanxus, I don’t think this is a good idea. The ninth and his closest circle know without a doubt that you aren’t Vongola by blood no matter how much you are one at heart, and the Sky ring will reject you as ultimate proof of that. You’ll have to start a bloody massacre to get that position as decimo, one that will make lasting ripples, for you and everyone who supports you, and quite frankly…” Her hand moves to her abdomen as she delivers the final blow. “If at all possible, I’d like to avoid my baby being born into a period of war.”

If her arguments were slowing him down before, now she’s rendered him positively frozen. The fire dies out in his eyes, replaced by utter befuddlement. “Baby?” he repeats, bewildered.

“Baby,” she affirms. “I’m pregnant. I won’t tell you by whom, or the whens or wheres or hows, but there’s an Aria Jr. growing in my womb and I would be honored if you’d be her godfather.”

Xanxus is silent for a long while, absorbing that. When he speaks again, it’s slowly, as if he’s making sure he’s got his facts and inferences right. “You’re pregnant,” he says. “With a child.”

“Yes, Xanxus, because there are totally other things I can be pregnant with,” she snorts, rolling her eyes. He shoots a glare at her but continues.

“And… it’s going to be my godchild.”

“Well, only if you accept the position, but that’s the general hope, yes.”

“And… wartime isn’t a good time for it to be born.”

“Obviously. And I’ll be sending her to be raised by her father if there’s going to be a fight.”

“How-”

“Seer.”

“…Right.” He goes quiet again, contemplative. Aria waits patiently for his conclusion. “…I was going to attempt a coup on the ninth and my bro-” He cuts himself off, hesitant as he ever gets.

“Your brothers,” Aria prompts, because she has no such qualms about his current identity crisis. And was, past tense, that’s a good sign.

“…My brothers.” He stops again and studies Aria’s stomach. It’s an exercise in futility since she isn’t showing yet, but maybe he’s drawing something from it on a spiritual level. He comes to an apparent conclusion, and while no heavy load of intangible tenseness visibly removes itself from him, he looks less like he’s going to do something crazy and dangerous. “…Guess I’m not, anymore.”

And Aria is relieved. Her victory here, she realizes, is directly attributed to how close they’ve grown over the years, and the suddenness of her surprise, and maybe even a little bit to the alcohol Xanxus has consumed, but what she knows for certain is that her friend is not going to be frozen in Dying Will Ice in this timeline. Years won’t be stolen from him. He’ll live his life. And you know what? It’s going to be a damn good life.

Laughter, slightly hysterical, bubbles out of her now as she grabs him and pulls him into a hug. “It’s good to hear that, you great galumphing idiot.

Omake

“Can I name her?” Xanxus demands a few months later, eyeing Aria’s swelling belly as he pushes a stack of completed paperwork out of the way.

“What? No,” Aria says, startled. “She’s my baby, not yours.”

“But I’m going to be the godfather,” he argues. “I’ll call her Uni.”

“What kind of a name is that?” Aria demands, taken aback. She’d been expecting a proper, well-used name, like Bella, or Columbine, not, you know, something that sounded like he’d come up with it off the top of his head.

“Uni, because she’s part of the reason why the Vongola are still uni-fied.” Xanxus smirks as Aria gapes at him in disbelief.

“Get the fuck out of my office.” When she finds out who taught him how to pun she’s going to skin them alive and rip out their intestines.

(A/N: Petunias, in the language of flowers, means anger or resentment, and as you probably know, giglio nero translates to black lily. I hope you enjoyed this! *grins* Aria was surprisingly fun to write, though Xanxus stopping because of a baby does seem a little far fetched to me. Comments are appreciated!)

#pika's post #pika's writing #khr #xanxus #aria #finally done yay

6 notes · View notes