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snkpolls · 5 years ago

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Snk Chapter 129 Poll Results

The chapter poll closed with 1387 responses. This month’s poll results were brought to you by /u/staraves, Crunchwrap, @momtaku, _Puppet_, @shifter-lines and Luna

Thank you to everyone for your support!

RATE THE CHAPTER

Satisfaction was up this month with 41% rating this chapter a 5. That’s a 10% increase over last month! Overall 84% rated chapter 129 as good (4) or great (5).

A really great chapter. The jeagerist are getting sliced because they are scared for their family while the alliance know that they need to prevent mass genocide. There are no villain in this (apart from Floch) just victims.

After the sluggish post-rumbling chapters, I'm glad we're picking up the pace and getting things done now!

Loved the character interactions, had good plot advancement and some beautiful panels! Best chapter this year 😁😁

So fucking good. Highlighted that violence isn’t unique to the warriors, and that the 104th squad have a capability for violence within them as well.

The chapter was definitely not worth the long ass wait

A really good action chapter! Lots of intense moments that were also complimented quite well with poetic moments that felt great payoffs for many of the characters

The chapters have been so forgettable lately and this was no different. I wanted better for Shadis and this suicide pact was not it.

So many critical character bonding moments! I love it!

The best chapter since 123, I expect something big will happen in Chapter 130 because it is the last of the volume.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

It was no surprise to us that more than 40% of the fandom selected one of the Keith Shadis options as their favorite moment with “The Rise and Fall of the S.S Shadath” (22.6%) and “SHADIS THE CHADIS” (20.5%) nabbing the top two spots. The kiddos managed 3rd and 4th place with “Falco’s transformation” (12.2%) and “Gabi sniping Floch” (10.5%).

Seeing Shadis and Magath sacrificing for a greater good was the best part of this chapter.

Loved the floch speeches

It was nice to see the Yeagerists finally get decimated.

I always wanted to see interaction between Shadis and Magath. Late is better than never.

Action packed !

WHO WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MVP?

Give it up for Shadis the Motherfucking Chadis! Keith Shadis was our overwhelming choice for chapter MVP with an even 50% the fandom selecting him. Magath (20.5%), Floch (7.2%) Falco (6.7%) and Gabi (6%) followed at a huge distance.

SHADIS THE MOTHERFUCKING CHADIS

MAGATH THE MOTHERFUCKING CHADATH

Why can't I vote for Magath *AND* Shadis for MPVs of the chapter??? It is cruel that you make me choose.

Shadis and Magath, the true MVPs of this chapter. (Gabi still sucks)

Gabi MVP for giving Flock another win to the prize: "Big Oof of the month"

Floch was the true MVP this chapter and I'm sure he's still alive.

Magath and Shadis MVP

PRESS F FOR KEITH SHADIS. WHICH OF HIS FINAL MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE?

To the write-in below, I hear you. The pollsters (*glares of staraves*) were cruel this month in forcing this choice and deleting the “All of the Above” option. But when forced to choose, it was the mutual appreciation between the two men in their final moments that was our very favorite.

WHY THE FUCK CAN I ONLY PICK ONE ANSWER+???

holy shit what a chad

his suicide is overrated.

I was so touched that he watched his students and knew what he needed to do to help them.

A TRUE CHAD TO THE END, BUT WHY DID HE SACRIFICE HIMSELF?? WHY DID THEY HAVE BOMB THE SHIP W THEMSELVES IN IT???

ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON SHADIS’ OVERALL LEGACY IN THE STORY? POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF!

Shadis' end is amazing. He came from "i'm not special" to "one of the heroes who saved the world". It's great development, confirming the rhetoric "everyone is special".

CHADIS!!! RIP

Definitely one of the most underrated character, though I'm happy seeing him getting a lot recognition on the sub. His dialogue with Carla about Eren needing to be special or not has to be one of my favorite part of SNK.

Dislike him. He sees how his recruits were forced to become Jaegerists yet slices and blows them up as if it was nothing.

He always thought of himself as a bystander but in reality he shaped and trained all the 104th kids. If they manage to save the world, it will be hugely thanks to his training.

Keith Shadis is a prime example of Isayama's dedicated effort to give meaningful characterisation to every character and tie it into the story's core themes.

He was a bittersweet hero. Definitely not just a bystander.

He was a fucking legend

I loved it. Every part of it. The fact that he always considered himself to be a bystander only to die a hero in the end was such a good arc, and believable. I'm gonna miss the Chadis. F.

I relate (not to the heroic suicide part, just the bystander stuff)

I respect him

I still can't really get why he did this tbh

He was far from perfect, which made him one of the most relatable characters in the series - so sad to see him go 😓😓

He was my favorite minor character

He was truly worthy of being called a hero at the end along with Magath. They died so their kids could live and save the world!

Him wearing his scout uniform once more going on a death mission was a touching detail

his death was absolutely beautiful, he was sure enough of himself to not need "being a hero" as his motivation and his final act of sacrifice made such a difference after all. Beautiful character arc here, I wasn't very bummed out when I first read the chapter but the more I think about it the more I grieve for him.

Honestly the train thing felt like a bit of an ass pull. I know a lot of people like having old characters back but he mostly just felt like a plot device.

I didn't like his latest development.

A bystander who became a traitor

I just didn't like the fact that he was paralleled with Magath. The only thing those two have in common is the fact that they are instructors, and Isayama milked that. Sure Shadis wasn't an angel, but at the very least he wasn't a fascist that was responsible for the Genocide that kick started this story.

I feel bad to Hange and the others didn't know that he was the one who blowing up the train to help them and the fact that he was with Magath.

I grew to like and appreciate Shadis, so this weird train explosion story and immediate suicide pact with Magath felt incredibly underwhelming, to say the least. So, he lived as a bystander and died as one thanks to no one else besides Magath knowing he was there? Cool stuff.

i guess i didnt expect such a death after he let himself get beat up for the sake of others, gonna miss him and maggath, i guess this simbolizes that the warriors and "stop" eren group is officially in charge

I hate how Shadis told the kids to join the Jaegerists for their own sake but then he turns on them.

I was ready for a long time to lose him, but it hurts nonetheless. Keith has always been the one who had a clear mind about his dream, his cause... Much more than Grisha or Eren, even when thinking that he had lost. He was a great icon in the series and he deserved his students' appreciation.

I hate that Isayama is just killing off the old guard like this 😞. Shadis genuinely cared about his students and he will be missed.

I hope he and Sasha share a potato in Heaven.

NOW IT’S THEO MAGATH’S TURN. WHICH MOMENT GAVE YOU THE MOST DOKIS?

Awwwww… Magath’s wish for the warrior kids to have a happy life was the moment that most touched our hearts with just over 50% of the fandom selecting it. His decision to stay behind (18.4%) and the mutual appreciation between him and Shadis (16.4%) round out the top three selections.

I didn’t think he was going to die... it made me sad.

I thought his character would have more to do given his role as the military commander and political "moderate". Also, should have got shot so Shadis had a pressing reason to stay back and defend him while Magath set off the explosion.

RIP Shadis. Magath, you deserved what you got, you nazi bastard

GOVE ,E MMILTIBLR OPYIONS!21!!!!!

ОТЕЦ РОДНОЙ, НА КОГО ТЫ НАС ОСТАВИЛ?!!

ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON MAGATH’S OVERALL LEGACY IN THE STORY? POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF!

I found his character to be very compelling. He has already shown many instances of caring for the Warriors and the cadets during the Liberio Attack, but to see him gradually becoming conscious of that and completely changing his mindset was incredibly satisfying. A character I greatly enjoyed to see overall!

First I didn't like him that much. But this chapter make me like him more and more and then, he died. Thanks for making me suffer isym.

Followed the orders of his country, but couldn't bear the shame of his actions. Committed sudoku as a result. Deserves some respect as a true warrior and a patriot.

He really grew on me despite being such an unlikable character not too long ago, and it's sad to see him go. I'm glad to see the development he got recently.

He really grew on me without ever noticing it. I was actually sad about his death, and left with many questions.

He says he never wanted to do what he did but he had to follow the orders. This doesn't take away his responsibility at all, and it's not even completely true: he actively planned with Willy the latest invasion of Paradis.

He was a good man glad he went out with the Chad

He was a good man in the end: he realised he was in the wrong, swallowed his Marleyan pride and showed a sincere and humble side of him to the alliance. Then he tried to compensate for his previous wrong deeds by sacrificing his life and making himself useful to his allies one last time. I can really appreciate and respect that. And if you look at that panel of Gabi and Pieck looking like the most hurt at that exploded ship, then I think that means they too must've known that he was one of the better Marleyans.

He was a good man placed in a pretty awful situation. He and the kids would have been very happy in another world.

Him and hange are a great ship

He was alright

Dood's journey from literal Nazi racist to self-sacrifcing father of two was actually pretty heartwarming?

He was an imperfect commander in an imperfect world, but he still showed that he was just as human as his warriors.

he was annoying and cool.

I didn't care for him initially, and in ONE FUCKING CHAPTER, becomes a hero. Goddamn, fam.

It was awesome to see how far he came in such a short time and made it, at least for me, from a despicable character to a decent one with a human heart. Loved it how he protected his Warrior kids, how he went and helped Falco and his final wish kind of felt for me as if he was finally, in the last moments of his life, honest with himself and what he actually wanted and wishes for.

I just really wish he had the time to say something of his wishes to the warriors.

I agree with the point that his mutual appreciation with Shadis is very important and beautiful sign of new era in eldian and marlian common history

I always wanted to see interaction between Shadis and Magath. Late is better than never.

I came to love and appreciate his character more than I ever thought.

I can't bring myself to hate him anymore. F for our MAGOAT

I did not like Magath and now I feel guilty about it because of the immediate rapport he had with Shadis.

Imagine thinking Magath is suddenly a good person because he sacrificed himself.

Isayama always tries to humanize his characters. I don't like Magath. He's a guy who stayed in the same path of sacrificing children while insulting them for their filthy blood for years despite questioning it (also the path of genocide). That's his legacy. It took him the apocalypse to actually reconsider. But I like how he died for the kids he cared for, I was hoping for exactly that. It makes "caring" substantial, at least/last.

killed hundreds of thousands of people

Looks like my old step-father, so I wasn't sad to see him go boom boom. lol

Madlad Magath

Magath has been an underrated character and gets too much hate

Magath hugging Gabi is peak Magath.

Great to see how the one person arguably most responsible for early problems in the series such as the wall breaches, was even able to admit his wrongs, atone, and do the right thing along with those he once attacked.

Him realising his errors and apologising was an outstanding character development moment. In the end, he did what he had to. Respects.

His acquired understanding of the Eldian's dilemma felt a little rushed, but nothing too bothersome. I wasn't a fan of him at first and he's still not my favorite, but his meeting with Shadis was still pretty cool to see.

Would have liked to know his backstory.

What are you doing Yeager???

THE ALLIANCE’S JOURNEY IS NOW TAKING A DETOUR AS THEY DECIDE TO TRAVEL BY BOAT TO ODIHA WHERE THEY CAN PREPARE THE PLANE, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?

Close to 70% of the fandom trusts that this detour to Odiha will be something worthwhile with 33.9% excited to see more of the SnK world and 34.3% thinking there is going to be plot significance. Only 12.5% of us were unhappy with this development.

The boat trip was unexpected. Maybe they'll talk about who they've lost and risk losing (in Liberio), as well as what they're fighting for (is it the world or their families?).

I’m having trouble figuring how fast this Rumbling will be. Will they really have enough time to sail to another country/continent, then fly all the way to another country/continent and still be able to save most of the world?

I don’t like the idea of going to Odihu. I want to hit the main points (Eren’s POV, scars wrapping, Historia’s POV) & be done.

Only few chapters left but the Alliance faces more and more delays?

I want Gabi to headshot DinoEren from Odiha

WHAT WILL BE THE STATE OF LIBERIO BY THE TIME THE ALLIANCE GETS TO IT?

We were reminded again this chapter of the speed at which the titans are travelling and how quickly they could decimate the continent of Marley. When and if the Alliance reach the mainland, more than half of respondents (56.7%) believe Liberio will be in the midst of being destroyed, nearly a third of the fandom (31%) think Liberio will be completely destroyed by the time the Alliance arrives. A tiny (tiny!) group of fandom optimists (7.8%) believe Liberio will be fine.

PANCAKED!

It depends on what Erens plan actually is... I'm holding out hope he's not actually trying to annihilate the world 🤞

It LOOKS like it's completely destroyed, but there are still survivors!

It will be mostly destroyed, but some Eldians will have risen up and escaped

The colossal titans will have trampled everything BUT Liberio. Eren wants to get the mainland Eldians on his side.

We'll see the people from Liberio arriving to Odiha. We saw the rebellion starting there, and I have the feeling they'll be fleeing south.

Eren will do some cool shit but hopefully no genocide I would hate that ending

i dont think rumbling will happen. from a story telling pov it just doesnt make sense

They'll be fine for the sole reason I just can't see Annie's Dad dying before their reunion.

About to be trampled

I find it curious how we don't even get to see a glimpse of the Rumbling happening. Isayama is usually so good at "show, don't tell", yet the last 2 chapters have just been Hange estimating the progress of the Rumbling. I wonder if Isayama has a plan for that?

The alliance won’t arrive Liberio because by the time they arrived Odiha, the Colossal Titans will have already destroyed northern part of Marley and approaching Odiha, the place where the Alliance and Eren will fight.

I'm really not sure. On one hand I can trust Hanji's geographical expertise, on the other hand, where can the final battle take place, other from a symbolic place?

ANNIE WORRIES THE CURRENT PLAN WON’T ALLOW HER TO REACH HER FATHER IN TIME. HOW WILL SHE REACT WHEN SHE LEARNS LIBERIO IS LIKELY DOOMED?

If Annie has to choose between the alliance and her father, the majority believe she’ll choose her dad. When asked how she’ll react if she learns Liberio is doomed, 51.4% believe at some point Annie will abandon the alliance to search for her father, 20.7% believe she will continue to help the alliance and 9.2% feel that her frustrations will boil over and she’ll take out her frustrations on the people she is travelling with.

god at least let Annie reunite with her dad

I’m hoping that Papa Leonhart lasts long enough to see Annie, and that’s all.

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE, HOW MUCH DID YOU ENJOY SEEING ANNIE TEAM UP WITH REINER, INSTEAD OF BEATING THE GOBSHITE OUT OF HIM?

After years of Reiner suffering abuse at Annie’s hand, she’s finally willing to let the Paradisians take care of the daily whack-a-Reiner session. And the overwhelming majority of you seem to appreciate this character development.

WHAT WAS THE BEST ANNIE AND REINER BATTLE MOMENT?

The teamup of the Armored Titan and the Female Titan was a highlight of this chapter, leading to many great moments, with Reiner protecting Annie as the voted favorite (44.1%). Coming in second was both of them being saved by Connie (26.1%), and the two Titans protecting the Azumabito snagged third place (11.1%).

Loved how Reiner protected Annie.

love how connie looks cool

i legit was afraid that the asian lady was gonna die while reiner and annie protected them, that was well drawn/written

IF PARALLELS BETWEEN FLOCH AND ERWIN EXIST, WHAT IS THE MESSAGE THEY ARE TRYING TO CONVEY?

Many in the fandom have pointed out potential similarities between the characters of Floch and Erwin, but whether they are valid similarities and what exactly is the textual purpose of them is hotly debated. The majority of respondents believe that one way or another, the parallels cast doubt on any similarities between the two, with almost half (44.6%) pointing to Floch’s bastardisation of Erwin and 23.7% believing that he is trying to imitate the former commander, but that there is no message behind it. A quarter of respondents (25%) believe that the parallels are indeed drawing similarities between the two characters, and 6.7% of you aren’t too convinced the parallels even exist.

Erwin seriously impacted floch but thats about it I dont think he is conciously stealing he is just using the words that made him march to hell and back.

Erwin was way more than "sasageyo" line and his lost army the comparison between him and Flock is lame.

Floch and Erwin are complete opposites are we even reading the same manga??

Erwin was fighting for HUMANITY. Floch has information that Erwin never knew and is fighting for the renewal of the Eldian Empire. I don't think it is reasonable to compare them in parallel based on this logic.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FALCO’S JAW TITAN?

Falco’s Titan makes its debut! It sure is something to behold – I guess Falco’s always wanted to fly. Wonder if he can now? The popular opinion at 46.6% is that he’s a weird looking guy but that we’ll probably grow to love his design. 33.6% already love it! 16.2% of you don’t know what the hell this thing is supposed to be right now, and a few of you were just scared. That must mean it’s doing its job! Little Falco may have lost control but his transformation helped turn the tide of battle, now that’s a real feather in his cap.

Love Falco’s Titan

We finally have Xenomorphs in AOT

Falco's titan is weird but unique.

Titan Falco’s mouth has a mouth. Wtf

his titans face made me annoyed. and the fur too.

Wait, did Falco just shift into a rooster? Just kidding, I love it. It's the only saving grace in this chapter. I hope it has a deeper meaning, too, other than just looking cool and being an element of surprise.

Unpopular opinion but Falcos jaws is overdesigned

Falco’s Jaw Titan, can’t wait for it to be animated

XENOMORPH TITAN

FALCO'S TITAN IS BEASTLY, HAS TALONS, FUR, A BEAK, AND JUST OVERALL LOOKS DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT AND PERHAPS EVEN LARGER THAN THE OTHER 4 JAW TITANS WE HAVE SEEN. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS?

This titan has more forms than a Dragon Ball character. The Galliard brothers' forms were incredibly similar and the others weren’t far off base. But Falco’s looks to be on a whole new level, why could this be? The most popular view is that Isayama’s just flexing his creative muscles, and about a third of respondents think it’s Falco’s animal characteristics coming out.

He likes birds

A bit of Zeke’s spinal fluid and Yams being punny.

All of the above, and also because we've been hinted about a flying titan, which is obviously going to be this bird.

Falco always wanted to fly away like a bird

I think it’s because of Zeke but I’m also wondering if Jaw titans are more beastial than other titans in general

He say bird be free and now he bird uwu

does Zeke even know that Falco is the Jaw Titan?

Falco name, but also a Berserk reference

It matches Falcos true bird-like character and fighting for freedom

Funny how it was speculated Falco getting the Beast Titan and turning into an eagle titan, and now his Jaw Titan looks like a Birdman.

PATHS has subconsciously made falco's fursona a reality.

THE JAW TITAN NOW HAS 5 TOTAL DESIGNS, MORE THAN ANY OTHER TITAN. WHICH ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE?

Hopping across the battlefield and from Shifter to Shifter, the Jaw Titan has come in the most forms out of all of the Nine Titans, but which one is the most popular? To probably no one’s surprise, Porco’s glorious lion-like form which made its debut in one of the most majestic Titan panels known to man took the top spot (69.5%). The hype of the recent chapter was enough to propel Falco’s bird-like form into second place (15.2%), with the presumably original Jaw Titan revealed in Ymir’s backstory coming in third (7.6%), narrowly followed by the OG (but technically not the actual OG) Ymir’s Jaw, and finally with the winner’s older brother coming in last (1.2%). Cheer up Marcel, you’ll probably get another flashback for your death soon.

The Jaw titan was one of my favourite designs but it's only now I'm realising it's definitely Porco's Jaw that was what I liked. Falco's might grow on me yet.

Why do Jaw titans have inner teeth the way they are? Shouldn't their purpose be the outer jaw/jaw muscles to crush?

I thought Falco's jaw titan was really badass and cool

All the Jaw Titans are actually great but I *had* to choose my girl Ymir's titan. Terrifying yet cuddly, and a lesbian disaster to boot. We stan <3

WHO DO WE NEED TO START TAKING GUNS AWAY FROM?

This year’s chapters have caused many to realise that Gabi and Floch are two characters who just won’t stop shooting people, whether they be titans, prisoners, engineers or flying bird nests, so we decided to put the two head to head, once and for all deciding whose gun is getting confiscated. While it was close, the majority have decided that Floch is the one who needs his favorite toy taken away (58.6%) and not Gabi (41.4%).

Floch, I hate you >:( you are a bad person

Fuck Gabi, Floch is amazing.

Floch's failures make me laugh.

ARE YOU HAPPY IT WAS GABI WHO GOT THE SHOT AT FLOCH?

This was one of our closer results this month but since it was a Gabi-centric question that is unsurprising. While previous polls have indicated hopes that Jean would be the one to take down Floch, it was Gabi this chapter who landed the first shot and the majority of respondents (30.8%) were delighted with that. The next largest percentage (27.7%) didn’t care who the shooter was, they just want Floch dead. The third most popular choice (23.1%) expressed disappointment that it wasn’t Jean. On the other end of the spectrum, 10.8% wish for Floch to live forever and 7.5% wanted it to be anyone besides Gabi.

Can't believe Gabi did it again. Shot a Yeager and now the main Yeagerist, lol.

I wanted Jean to kill off Floch forreal, but I am happy with what we've got.

Gabi baby i'm so proud i never hated u lmao.

I'm sad for a bit because I expected huge hairbowl chapter. Hope it will be in the next chapter, Jean vs Floch dialogues are always interesting.

Floch deserved something worse than having the hope of saving the day stripped from him before getting shot by Gabi. I'm not mad that Gabi got the honour to shoot Floch, but I wanted it to be someone more satisfying.

Too many MVPs this chapter, but ultimately Gabs got my vote caused I cheered when I saw it was her who shot fucking Floch. Go Gabi!

AFTER GETTING SHOT BY GABI, WHAT’S NEXT FOR FLOCH?

It’s been a popular view for a while now that Floch will die soon, and in this chapter he gave his final stand at the harbor. Only 8.2% think it actually resulted in his death, with the most popular view being that he swam to the boat and clung on to cause even more mischief. A final final stand, if you will.

Floch is on/in the plane right now. He will ambush them soon.

I wish floch is confirmed dead

Floch should live

Floch will have a role in the coming chapters

Floch seemed really pathetic this chapter, but next chapter I feel he's going to kill at least one person, maybe a few, so that's scary.

It’s kind of dumb that we are conditioned to expect that Floch is still alive

I don't see the point of Floch killing someone next chapter when it could've been done in this one (with more weight to the battle) so I have no idea what's his role now.

I expect Floch to stay on the island and die there, with the Yeagerist movement coming to an end. Shadis left some of his students these wise words of when to fight back, and the time is nigh.

If Floch is still alive and he's on the alliance ship, then someone (who isn't a Titan shifter or an Ackerman) is going to die in the next chapter.

THIS CHAPTER GAVE US ANOTHER ICONIC PANEL, THIS TIME HIGHLIGHTING THE NECESSITY TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT. WHICH DYNAMIC FROM THIS PANEL IS YOUR FAVORITE?

Former friends as well as foes helping each other stumble off the battlefield makes for a great and emotional panel. Just over half of you were most happy with Mikasa and Annie front and center (52.2%) after being famous rivals. Reiner’s bros helping him was also very popular (31.2%).

MIKAANI RIGHTS!!1!11!1! - hajime isayama, 2020

mikasa helping annie was cool because they have like the biggest rivalry against each other so it's cool to see them help each other

I loved seeing all the characters backing each other up.

I'm not sure why the poll makers are pointing the group panel as something positive. Don't you know these people tried to kill each other just last week in their world?

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MAGATH AND SHADIS’ SACRIFICIAL SUICIDE PACT?

Let’s pour one out for CHADIS and MAGOAT, may they rest in PATHS. The duo’s sacrifice came out of nowhere but didn’t hurt any less, and 53.9% of you thought it was a fitting conclusion for both. 14.6% were just happy that they got to meet at all, fleeting as it was. 9.6% thought it was a great ending for Magath but were despondent over Shadis’ fate, and 9.2% vice versa. 8.6% thought the sudden loss of both was completely unnecessary. In any case, the star-crossed bromance was too explosive to last – may they continue to yell at Jaegers from the great beyond.

*ugly cries for Shadis and Magath*

I’m happy they were able to meet and I like the dynamic and parallels between them. They met a sad end but just like Porco they got to go out on their own terms. They’ll be greatly missed and appreciated.

Loved how both he and Shadis went out in a blaze of glory while reflecting on how proud they were of their students. Especially Magath realizing he wished for them to live normal lives.

That was a curveball I didn't expect at all and I was in denial when I read it and a few minutes afterwards. I was so hoping both of them would get to continue helping their protegees out with experience and all that. But I'm glad they got to meet. It felt like both of them needed that.

I would have preferred them to blow up the ship without them in it and then deciding to have a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid kind of ending, but utlimately, it works. They were dead either way, sinking that ship was gonna take more than a few thunder spears, they needed to ensure the Yeagerists couldn't catch up, and so, it works.

if either of them were injured and needed help to set up the explosion/defend the one setting it up, this would make a better sacrifice for both.

Shagath would've brought world peace. That's why they had to go

I understand the sacrifice and that maybe no one else had the guts to do the same, but Magath is such a capable leader and it feels like he perhaps wasted himself at the end there a little?

Both characters went out in a blaze of glory, Shadis helped derail the reinforcements and Magath was able to get Falco to safety before he did too much damage. Shadis saw this as a way to repay the debt of all those he lost while he was commander of the survey corp and Magath saw this as his way of sacrifice for what he has done to every Warrior.

It was satisfying to see Shadis do this, but I think Magath's change of heart happened too quickly for it to be satisfying for him

It wasn't a great ending and Chadis didn't have to die there

It wasn't necessary but not a bad ending for them.

It's Beyond the Wall from Game of Thrones again. Let's have a character absent for some time jump in, save the alliance by blowing up a train and die immediately. I hated that episode and I have mixed feelings about noone getting shot and having Shadis sacrificing himself.

It's certainly a meaningful way to die, but I regret all old characters are dying. If none of them will remain then who will lend their experience to new generations? IDK what is the message here, but surely resolutions for old characters are way more satisfying than for 104th and some other newer members of the cast (with exception of the children, they're handled the best).

It’s a good and sad conclusion for both, but I feel like we still need Magath cause he is the only Marlayan that is working with Eldians

It’s an ending on par with Erwin’s. They sacrificed themselves so the next generation can live to give their lives meaning, and to repay for the mountain of bodies they left behind. I hope the Kings shall meet in the afterlife

Kinda cheesy imo and also kind of rushing the end for shadis I feel

Like I said above, the sacrifice was rushed. It's a potentially great sendoff for both characters which is lessened by the breakneck pace the series is going.

sorry but it was really cheese, i hated the fact that shadis told the reclutes to join the jaegaergist but then he killed them on train

Not that fitting for Shadis but Isayama is definitely aiming for all the leaders alive here

Magath is probably one of the only people who could have been able to bring some sort of cooperation between Eldia and Marley, but I was satisfied with his sacrifice and how they met, its like they both gave closure to each others arcane

I like Shadis and didn’t care for Magarth yet I was still wondering why. I get it’s a shounen-esque story but even in Naruto the older generations played a role. Here they’re only good for sacrificing themselves (Pieck could have done it and survived the explosion)

I haven't finished a chapter in SnK in a long while that made me FEEL as much as this one did. And it's all thanks to the duo of Magath and Shadis. Honestly even though I can say I was never the biggest Magath fan, he really started to grow on me in the past 3 chapters. I never thought I would actually feel the burden of his sacrifice in my chest. He has my respect. I'll really miss him.

Keith and Magath are feasting together in Valhalla now.

NOW THAT MAGATH IS GONE, MANY HAVE POINTED OUT THIS MAY LIMIT THE HOPE OF PARADIS HAVING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE WORLD. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?

Magath’s death wasn’t just emotional, but could have a big impact on the ending. Respondents were pretty split on this question, but the most popular view was that Paradis will still pull through and find a path to peace. The next most popular view at about 30% is that Paradis never had a chance even with Magath. 18.5% think Paradis’ hopes for peace did indeed blow up along with Magath.

Fuck who is gonna vouch for the PARÁDISIans now?1

Would’ve liked to see him survive to become a Paradis advocate

Magath was the most important person in Marley and the only person who could help to make some kind of peace between Paradis and the world. And now he just... decided to commit sacrifical suicide? C'mon!!! He was too important. Now I don't keep big hopes for peaceful ending anymore.

Who tf is going to reason with Marley nowthat Magath is gone. Paradis is even more fucked, not that they had any chance of having diplomatic relations with the world before....

I say that without Magath diplomacy is doomed, but they will probably use the Kiyomi card and Onyonkopon card along with the "humans for the rights of eldians showed some ch ago" card

With him dead, it seems that Paradis doesn't have anyone with sufficient standing throughout the rest of the world to prevent them from wiping out Paradis for sufficient time

He screwed up, he needed to stay alive to spare Paradis if the Alliance won, the honorary marleyns can't do that.

MOST INSPIRING QUOTE?

It wouldn’t be shounen without inspiring quotes, and we don’t have a shortage of them this chapter! A strong majority of you, clocking in at 42.6%, thought General Magath’s line about wishing “those kids could’ve lived a normal life” was most inspiring. Almost exactly tied (though the percentages might be deceiving, red has one less vote than blue), are Floch’s line about the fate of Paradis if Eren is stopped, and the Jean/Mikasa duo-quote about hesitation. Trailing a few points behind is Shadis’ “I’m proud of you” moment, and in last place was Floch’s “Eldia will be saved by me!”.

DO YOU THINK CERTAIN CHARACTERS HAD TOO MUCH PLOT ARMOR THIS CHAPTER?

With a big battle going on, did the appropriate amount of characters survive? The vast majority (46%) don’t care about numbers alive as long as the battle is well written. 22% believe the alliance does have too much plot armor, and 15.3% retort with the idea that everyone has plot armor. About 10% think Floch should have died by now and has taken all the plot armor. 7% don’t think anyone has plot armor, it’s a cruel cruel world indeed.

Feel like most of the plot armour people are feeling about this chapter is simply because none of the soldiers are taught how to wield the gun 3DM gear.

Too much unnecessary plot armor for the alliance .

The plot armor was beyond stupid with the Yeagerists turning into Stormtroopers

the plot armor is to thicc in this chapter,at least some of Kiyomi's men should have died.

DESCRIBE THIS CHAPTER IN 1 WORD.

Here are the top 5 descriptions of the chapter chosen by you, the fandom. You can find the average score for the groups between brackets. The average score for the chapter this month was 4.21 for comparison.

Amazing [4.84]

Great [4.62]

Awesome [4.67]

Epic [4.81]

Intense (shared 4th place) [4.5]

Honorable mention: Chadis

Also shout-out to the folks who were compiling a recipe. Seems to be lacking some carbs though. What cookbook were you guys reading this month?

BEANS

Paprika

goat

Nutty

Yummy

ISAYAMA RECENTLY SAID IN AN INTERVIEW THAT THERE IS ONLY 5% OF THE STORY TO GO. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?

We’ve known for a while that we’re in the final arc, but now we have confirmation we’re really reallyyyyyyy close to the end. About 42% of readers expected it to end right about then anyways, while 28.8% think it’ll end up going longer, as Isayama’s extended past his percentages in the past. 19.4% are worried how the story will be wrapped up in that time.

A little worried, but I trust in Isayama.

AAAAAAAAAAAAH

AOT has been in my life since 2013 and is pretty much the last bit of my childhood still going. Of course I'm sad it's ending, but I'd rather it end than go on forever like the walking dead and so on.

As long as the ending is written well it doesn’t matter to me

Since I'm extremely new to SnK, I can't say anything about Isayama's writing habits and all that, but speaking as a fellow writer, I could see that he might underestimate the story that's left, though not by much. I'm also kind of worried that it might be a bit too soon but then again, SnK always has long chapters, so it might work out just fine.

The truth is sad to know that it is over, since I took a lot of love, but I know that the end will be amazing

I just want him to stick the landing, the amount of chapters left is not important.

I need Isayama to make more chapters so we can keep getting Podcast episodes of You Hear Big Girls

I can't believe how close we are to the end. I just know it's gonna get crazier from here on.

I expected this, but the closer we get the more clear it is that he needs to take more time to properly resolve arcs than he seems to want to.

I feel like we're gonna get a rushed ending and loose ends either ignored or tied up as throwaways

I feel that the story is going to end in an abrupt yet succinct way.

I have faith in Isayama no matter what he plans to do with the story.

But WHERE does Historia fit into that 5%

honestly a little more than expected

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ONCE SNK ENDS HELP ME

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER?

Absolutely dominating this question is the desire to see Eren’s POV (as usual), with 40.9% of the vote. Trailing quite behind at just under 16% is Historia, then.. uh. death and destruction, apparently. After that it gets pretty close, with Floch’s last stand trailing less than half a percentage point behind Zeke (who trails behind death and destruction). After Floch’s last stand, we have the desire to see an epic, carefree adventure on the ocean, followed lastly by Hizuru’s base.

Somethings up. We still haven't seen Eren's point of view, and there's dedinately a reason for it.

Nice! Now give me family bonding on the ship plz Isayama

Next chapters gonna be pretty cool imo, but the community will call it another "aLlIaNcE fIlLeR cHaPtEr"

Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren Eren

Enjoyed seeing Floch finally getting hurt, his luck needed to end. I'm sure he's alive and in the ship, and I'm totally sure he'll take away someone's life in the next chapter. But please, Yams... Floch must die.

HISTORIA AND EREN POV

HISTORIA WHEN

I'm pretty sure the next chapter will take place on the ship, so I expect some good dialogue

I hope the boat setting will give enough time to address the untouched issues Isayama has been evading with those two groups interacting, mainly Levi and Annie. Or the Warriors acknowledging the massive sacrifices the Paradisean side is doing and stick up for them in a situation where they are successful.

when are we going to see História? She has been pregnant for too long.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?

Reddit once again T-poses on all the rest of the platforms, coming in at just over 40% of the responses. Twitter follows it with 16.5%, and is in turn followed by people who don’t discuss the series at all. Behind that is Discord with 10.3%, and Tumblr with 8.4%. It’s astonishing to me how much the demographics of this poll have changed. Tumblr used to compete with Reddit, and now it’s so low on the list that it’s the last one with a section big enough for Google Forms to include the percentage number on it. The responses with no visible percentages are, in this order: Real Life (90 votes), Instagram (28), Facebook (19), Youtube (16), 4chan (9), the Wiki (3), Snapchat (3), and Steam (2).

Snapchat had 3 people. That’s 0.2% of the vote. That’s one more than Steam and tied with the Wiki. I’m in perpetual disbelief that it gets any votes at all, and I remain convinced that it’s some sort of conspiracy of people who forgo discussing the series on any of the major platforms just to discuss it on snapchat with each other, specifically so they can screw with me when it comes time to write the poll blurbs. Or they’re just lying… much to think about……..

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

I just loved that the old 104th group despite what happened between them, how the people, the world, the history tore them apart is fighting together once again and protect each other like a big family

Calling it now, Zeke got vaporised in Eren's transformation.Still mad years later that freckle Ymir died the way she did and I choose to be mad because I was born into this world.

While it was an intense chapter that was exciting and sad I think it’ll move the story to the next stage in a really good way.

While the last few chapters were still really good, this one brought back the same unbridled hype I had when reading 116-123. We may debate cringevengers vs yeagerists, but I think we can all agree that this manga is still a fucking masterpiece.

Why does Isayama always crush all the good feelings you have during a chapter at the very end? The panel with all of them supporting each other was so powerful and heartwarming, not to mention seeing them all fighting together before and trying to reach the ship, and then Isayama just goes and kills Shadis and Magath. Freaking curveball at the end. RIP

I love gabi, BEST GIRL!!!

I love the alliance chapters and I'm not sorry at all!

Isayama as usual

Isayama, please, let Hange and Armin do something important before the ending, or their deaths

Isn’t 126 shit Tier writing but aren’t great either.Feels forced.

It felt a bit messy/clumsy at my first read, but at every reread it felt better, and I think the messy feel (compared to the smooth RtS arc) was deliberate.

Karl Fritz chapter soon

What a goddam pleasure to see yeagerists getting shot down, and what an extreme joy to see Floch's fans being overwhelmed by common sense from other fans

Where is Eren? We want Eren!

This was a good chapter. I really enjoyed it

Nearly all alliance members increased their kill count, except Levi, Yelena and Onyankopon. Gabi just shot Floch but we all know he isn't dead. They all sliced, decapitated, dismembered, crushed, shot people they once called comrades for some vague goal that might be completely meaningless, since, no one discussed any terms once Eren is stopped. And with Magath dead, they never will.

Kinda sad on how Armin's characters has been treated so far. Served as stair to Connie twice and now Isayama put him to sleep in the middle of the fight without any contribution at all... I'm a Armin stan and i'm bothered. Hope he gets some real shit soon.

After the Alliance noping out of Paradis, I wonder when they will return their homeland, and I think Floch is alive, but instead of sneaking onto the ship he will gather the Yeagerists to strengthen his control on Paradis, crowning himself as the King of New Eldian Empire. And more civil wars are on the way so stay tuned…

more mikasa pweeze

My old man once said "Alan Moore can't do endings," and I'm getting that vibe here, too--with everything that's come before, is there even a way to bring this story to a close that isn't too drawn out with answers to questions that didn't need asking, or a sudden cluttered mess wrapping as many subplots as it can in only two or three chapters at the expense of quality and feeling?

Need more shirtless Reiner

No matter what others may say, that was a great chapter. I loved the battle between the alliance and jeagerists. Few years ago, during the battle in Shiganshina they probably didn't even think about figting on one side with Reiner and Annie. I remember how they were trying to kill him and look where they are now. However, I get a feeling that after Magath's death there will be no hope for peace between Paradis and the rest of the world. I get a feeling that we may get full rumbling after all =/

no, its G O A T E D

Not a fan of the recent chapters. Feel like the story is telling me to root for the alliance, but I don't care about their goal and I'm with Eren 100%. I wish there were more characters in support of Eren and the rumbling. Floch and the yaegerists are great, but it's annoying that they are being painted as the evil bad-guys when their goals are noble. It's sad to see the main characters who've fought for their friends, families, and homes the entire series just completely disregard all of that and become willing to sacrifice it all for the rest of the world who hate them and want them dead.

Off topic: reiner is a snacc

One more month of no one having a solution to the actual problem other than agreeing that it’s a problem :/

The Survey Corps proved, once again, that they are not to be underestimated. They work seamlessly together and they respect one another.

The wait is torturous, but there's really no better way to be moving things along right now.

Theo Magath deserves a golden star for being amazing man till the end.

Why didn't the Yeagerists just Thunderspear the plane?

I’m sure I’m in the minority but the Titan fights are my least favorite parts of the story. So this chapter being largely comprised of them made it kind of meh to me. I feel like the plot is simultaneously going too fast and not fast enough. Chapters like this one make me very worried about how this will all end

floche: NNNOOO DON'T STEAL THE BOAT YOU'RE GONNA RUIN EVERYTHING HHHH

gabi: hehehe floche go boom

Hange's group are a bunch of hypocrites and traitors , hopefully they all die in the most grossume ways by Eren's hands .

I love Floch and the Yeagerists , they fought to the last breath for Eren , their home and people .

Keith is an idiot and died like an idiot .

I'm happy that Magath finally died hopefully the rest of the alliance are next .

i can't understand people defending Floch. You're siding with yeagerists ? Okay, but take Samuel, Daz or Louise as exemple, everyone except Floch. Floch was written to show the drift of patriotism. That is his goddam meaning. That what Isayama has been writing since Floch's reappearance. The same way Hanji embodies Survey Corps' values or Jean embodies the necessity to do the right thing. That are the writing purpose. Please, respect Isayama's work.

I love Attack on titan ❤️

I luv Floch

I MISS HISTORIA

I need Ackermans

Loved it, I'm enjoying all the time were getting with the alliance but I'm anxious to see what's going on with Zeke, Eren, & Historia.

overall pretty great! Gabi really needs to have her aimbot checked though :/

YAMS I’M STILL WAITING FOR PIECK TO ACKNOWLEDGE PORCO’S DEATH IN SOME WAY.

Where the fuck is Armin in that shot of everyone?

Floch is a great leader and the Jaegerists are not in the wrong.

I like koalas

you know my thoughts

Where's Eren

Where's Levi?

Wheres boriiiiis

i dont have any hope anymore i cant imagine them dead its too much for me damn u isayama

I genuinely loved it. I can't wait to see how it all ends.

I personally didn’t like it since it was the 6th alliance POV chapter in a row, and possibly the next two chapters will also be an alliance POV. I’m tired of the alliance and I don’t support their cause, so it’s kind of boring to read another alliance chapter after 6 months of alliance POVs.

I hate everything, why did Isayama had to take Magath away

I really liked that Isayama was still consistent with shifters not being able to control their titan the first couple times.

I really thought Armin was gonna help fight during the battle with his messed up zombie jaw, but instead he just kind of passed out and disappeared for most of the chapter. We're heading towards the end of the manga and I need to see more Armin scenes, I'm really rooting for him to be a key figure in talking to Eren/the general ending as a whole but as of now he's still just kind of useless.

I feel like that this chapter is foreshadowing the titan war. Remember in chapter 100 when the guy ( I can’t remember his name) said if Eren starts the rumbling, he will cause the titan war to start again. That might explain why Falco randomly attacked Pieck.

I remember Pixis telling Eren how he thinks about a story between mankind coming together against a powerful enemy, and Eren said it was rather optimist thinking that he doesn’t believe would truly work. He also mentions that they are hardly working together because difference in morals are to strong, they are not truly fighting together. But in the instance where Magath and Shadis were able to put aside their differences just so that their students may have a better future, shows that humanity can still exist, but unfortunately mainly when brought upon an unavoidable death which leads me to believe what will become of the alliance if they are forced into this position.

I hate the alliance so fuck it

I have no idea how this is gonna end.

I hope floch stays dead hes such a menace

I hope there’s a nice discussion next chapter

I hope this shit is over and we can have a better written material

Thought there was a bit too much plot armor ... especially with Gabi saving the day endlessly

I really hope we get back to focusing on multiple story lines in a single chapter, instead of following a single group. I wish we saw Shadis on his way to derail the train. I hope we get to see a group of Yeagerists in Shiganshina finding Zeke. Just give us a shot of the farm Historia is at. I'm really starting to miss the other story lines.

Ch130 Bert talk let's GOOOOOOOOO

Consistently good quality as expected from Isayama. I have faith he will continue releasing kino and stick the landing with the ending.

Cool, portrays the desperation of both the alliance and the Yeagerists

Could be better

Does the gang even KNOW that Shadis went boom along with Magath!?

I just hope Isayama gives Levi a death befitting a hero like he did with Shadis. I get AoT is not Levi’s story anymore but seeing him not being able to do anything really hurts. Even his own soldiers (besides the alliance) don’t respect him anymore, he doesn’t have anywhere to come back to. He probably won’t be able to kill Zeke (he never gets what he wants) but please let him die knowing he gave meaning to his comrades’ lives.

I wish Mikasa would be able to hate Eren at last. Still not happening 🤔

i wish we could have seen armin more— just my personal preference. i adore the man.

I wish we had the warriors' thoughts on Bertholdt but it wasn't the right moment at all. Maybe next chapter? I'd like them to mourn their comrade and friend. Hell annie and reiner spent lot of time with him reiner even had nightmares about him being removed from his titan. It feels so unsatisfying and frustrating. So great great chapter but please give a break to the warriors.

Great chapter. I was scared for our girl Pieck tho but glad to see her in action.

I wonder how Eren will react finding out how many have died in his name or against his cause. Shadis, Daz, so many Survey Corps peeps...

Good, but can we please get moving this plot along to eren/historia/zeke?

Goodbye, Shadis McChadis. You deserved a 200/10 exit, but you got a 7/10 instead. X'(

I don't care aobut anything else just show me eren

I don't care who you are just don't touch the Meme Queen! Goddamn Falco almost killed her.

I don't know

Levi being tied on Pieck and carried like a baby made me laugh so much

Glad that we're done with the port battle now

Levi is smol

Levi most likely left the alliance.

Levi so small

Levi still exists

Levi was cute

Leviiiiiiiiii

WELL SWEET MOTHER TERESA ON THE HOOD OF A MERCEDES-BENZ! YOU LOOK LIKE A BALD FUCKIN' EAGLE!

things make sense. The story is building as it goes, and Yams can’t go back an change it around. Eren POV is coming

Pieck didn't even try to stop Falco other than "noo don't go you're so young ahah" and that was pathetic. Having him die there would have been extremely effective and it would have been a great way to address the "random child inheritance" situation previously described

Please let the bastard really be dead.

PogChamp

Poor Annie. Dat powercreep.

Press F for Chadis

quite happy that floch seemingly survived, his speech kinda made me sympathetic towards him, shadis and magath were brilliant..rip

Really well drawn and very powerful ending.

So now everyone has left Paradis... do we have any other characters that can group up with Historia apart from Nicolo and the Brauses?

So sad the Bertalk has to be delayed but at least there's no option now. If the whole traitor parallel happens right after Jean finally gets to vent over Marco and they dont mention him once then... shit writing, everything is a coincidence and nothing is a parallel in this manga. Let Reiner be angry 2k20

Some good moments, sure, but PLEASE for the love of god can we cut to the chase now???

FLOCH GOAT. FUCK TRAITORS. SOMEONE BETTER GET FLOCH'S GLOCK.

Stop using our Eternal Commander Erwin for your fascist shit, Floch

Someone probably says that the chapter was rushed. However, I think Isayama has his plan, and he will put those flashbacks which you guys need soon, so don't worry about that :) I also want to know what happened to Historia and her baby while the league of SC and the Warriors was fighting in Marley. She plays an important role in the whole SnK plot, and before someone fortet her, we need our queen to come back.

Still cant take the alliance serious. They all acting out of character. Just hoping they will betray each other and the scouts will be on Erens side. Dont get why the alliance want to save people outside and for that Goal they slaughtering all their own people. That is also wrong like the genocid. It does not Matter, because killing is killing

Strong ending but I prefer dialogues over action. Also we saw nothing of Levi, he's being dragged around until he can meet up with Zeke, really convienient...

Surprisingly good

Every chapter that goes by without presenting a twist to this endgame makes me more and more anxious.

Annie looks very shocked to see people supporting her. Gabi can’t stop getting traumatised

ANY CHAPTER WHERE FLOCK GETS FUCKED IS A GOOD CHAPTER

armin suffered too much

I started to dislike AMJC. I understood why they opposed Eren (despite not thinking it through) but now they’re killing their own people to protect their “comrades” (who will cause trouble later because they want to kill Eren but Armin and Mikasa don’t). This for a small chance of maybe stopping Eren. If this had happened before he started his path of destruction I think I could understand, but now there’s no going back. Eren sealed the SoY’s fates in the eyes of the world. Hange and co had to realize the SoY would now be exterminated instead of enslaved because of the horror Eren unleashed, showing the world what just one SoY was capable of

I don't really have negative thoughts on the chapter other than Gabi shooting Floch, but if he survives then i'm fine. I just think the chapter was somewhat uninspired, the scenes between Magath and Shadis didn't hit the emotions they were supposed to with me.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE VOLUME ON THIS BUS IS ASTRONOMICAL

The dynamic between the Yaegerists and Alliance forces was really interesting and depressing to see. Floch's speech humanized them and they proved to be really dangerous by decimating Reiner and Annie.

The chapter was great, a lot of action, a lot of close calls. I really thought a lot of the characters like Annie, Reiner and Pieck were in trouble. I at least thought Pieck was going to die since she was in the jaws of Falco but she's fine so that's good. I wish Shadis didn't die so soon, but I guess Isayama is trying hard to wrap up loose ends before the end so I understand.

i dont want a sad ending.

was a nice chapter, it feels even better because it came after the extra long waiting time

I still don't like that AMCJ betrayed Paradis. All of their fights before with the Warriors were in vain and meaningless like this. Is this why so many of the SC died? Erwin and Bertholdt too. I don't hate them, but can't understand. Also, RIP the Yeagerists, it was a brutal massacre. F Chadis and Chadgath.

I still don’t see how they stop the rumbling so it’s likely they don’t do it but eren chooses to, talking could be underwhelming but if it’s future eren knowing this could lead to something that we don’t know yet and is the horrible thing grisha mentioned the rumbling or worse?

I think in this chapter alliance crossed the line and now they full of determination to end their job

I think it lacked armin or he was too deficient at the time.

Teenage go brrr and alliance has plot armor but thats expected they have roles to play like getting killed by eren

Thanks for the shout-out for our 'cockroach' fill-in last chap, it made our week!

The Alliance feels increasingly supported by the script.

The alliance needs to be dealt a blow or have some internal conflict other cab playground insults around stew.

The battle between the alliance and Floch & the Yeagerists is totally unfair .

The alliance had 4 titan shifters , 1 Ackerman , 3 skilled soldier and 1 skilled warrior in the battlefield .

Floch & The Yeagerists are not skilled soldiers but they proved their bravery and fought for Eren , their people and home to the last second .

This chapater was just a set up for what's to come so judging it harshly would be unfair

this chapter was emotional on all levels and we had some information about the rumbling. The alliance worked very well and Keith was a hero. He was a hero in the shadows and I am happy that he was able to meet Magath because it allowed us as readers to see these two commanders from a different angle. Keith and Magath had a lot in common and could have been friends under other circumstances. Their sacrifice was an excellent end to this penultimate battle. Now is the time for the last final battle!

#snk polls #snk poll #snk poll results #snk 129 #snk chapter 129

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flowerpowell · 5 years ago

Text

Until You Hate Me (Liam x MC)

PART TWO - INTRODUCTION

A/N: This is a sort of filler chapter I think, at first it was supposed to be longer (with actual action in it lol) but it didnt work and so it is what it is. I hope it’s still enjoyable. Characters belong to Pixelberry of course.

Rating: G

Word count: 1591

Tagging: @gardeningourmet @delightfullypinkglitter @brightpinkpeppercorn @hopefulmoonobject @blackcatkita @cora-nova @client-327 @desiree-0816 @jared2612 @princess-geek @emichelle @ao719 @badchoicesposts @sunandlemons @cordoniantrash @kinggliam @needalittlerain @flyawayboo @nazariortega @jlpplays1 @kimmiedoo5 @annekebbphotography @ladyangel70 @eadanga @kingliam2019 @nz1091 @emceesynonymroll @texaskitten30 @mskaneko @custaroonie @drakesensworld @janezillow @ritachacha @lodberg @msjr0119 ♥

(let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!)

Riley glanced at the watch again and sighed. Regina had asked her to meet her before the jet was supposed to take off but she was either late or forgot about their meeting at all. After five more minutes of sighing and checking the hour, the Queen finally showed up.

“You told me not to be late and yet you’re coming late?” Riley asked not caring if what she said was perhaps a bit too rude when talking to a monarch.

Regina narrowed her eyes before answering calmly. “A Queen is never late.”

“Are you quoting Princess Diaries now?”

“I have no idea what is that.”

“Ugh, nevermind. Let’s talk business. Two hundred thousand dollars for being an awful suitor, or whatever is that called. Anything else I need to know?”

“From what I see, you’re off to a great start,” Regina noticed and Riley rolled her eyes. “Liam will try to teach you everything that the girls from noble families learn throughout their lives. It’s impossible for him to succeed anyway but I just want to make sure you’ll make it even less possible. Is that clear?”

“As clear as the sky,” Riley nodded and Regina looked up. It was cloudy. She sighed.

“You can do whatever you please to make him fail the ‘challenge’ but never embarrass the crown.”

“And what if make him hate me in less than six weeks? Do I still get two hundred?” Riley inquired. It didn’t seem so difficult to do and she was sure she’d succeed in less than six weeks.

“Of course.Whether you do it in one day, a week or six, it’s up to you. Just do it before the coronation. But don’t flatter yourself too much. Liam is very stubborn and never gives up, unfortunately. Unlike his brother,” she sighed.

“Oh, it’s cool. I’ve pissed off more people in my life than I befriended. I’m gonna nail it.”

Regina raised her eyebrowns and looked at Riley sceptically. “Well, then. I guess we have a deal,” she extended her hand and Riley shook it.

“Your Majesty!” A man in a funny uniform bowed slightly before approaching them. “We’re taking off in a minute.”

“Of course. We’ll be right back,” Regina said politely and turned to Riley once the man disappeared. “Oh and Riley. Don’t even think about falling in love with Liam or making him fall for you. I’ll destroy you if anything like this happens.”

Riley swallowed hard before composing herself. “Don’t worry about it, Regi—, Your Majesty. I’m mentally and physically unable to fall in love.” Believe me, I tried.

“Good. Let’s get you to work then.”

---------------

Riley looked around the Royal jet, taking everything in. She felt Regina’s eyes on her as she was slowly approaching Liam. She tried to look nonchalant, as if being in a Royal jet was something she did on daily basis but she was failing miserably.

Mental note for myself: work on my facial expressions.

“Liam,” Regina said loudly when they reached Liam’s seat. He turned around at the sound of her voice and quickly got up when he saw Riley beside his stepmother. “This is Riley, the waitress from the bar you brought me to yesterday. She kindly agreed to go to Cordonia with us to help you with you challenge. Riley, this Liam, my stepson and the future King of Cordonia.”

Liam smiled warmly at Riley before taking her hand and kissing it lightly. She chuckled in response and Regina rolled her eyes.

“I’ll be somewhere there,” she motioned seats at the end of the jet and walked away.

“I am so happy you agreed to do this, I’m sure it must have been an odd thing to be asked for,” Liam started, leading her to her seat.

“Umm, yeah, I mean,” she stuttered before clearing her throat, “spending a few weeks in a Royal Palace will be like all-inclusive vacay that I didn’t have to pay for. Looots of fun!” She winked at him and Liam’s eyes widened a little. Gosh, I hate myself already.

“Yes, that’s... a nice comparison! Although we will have some work to do,” he laughed nervously while Riley put her feet on his seat.

“Yeah, sure.” She shrugged. “Do you have free champagne or something here?”

“We do, just a moment,” Liam got up and went to grab a bottle and two glasses. On his way back, he stopped by Regina’s seat.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” She asked sweetly.

“Are you sure it’s the same person we met yesterday?” He asked quietly, glancing at Riley who was now testing the seats by jumping on them.

“Of course. Why, something happened?”

“No, nothing. Hmm...” He walked away not seeing Regina’s triumphant smirk.

“Is something wrong with the seats, lady Riley?”

“Hmm, what? No, nothing, I was just checking their quality. It’s not bad though my couch from Walmart is much more comfortable.” She turned to him and took the bottle from his hands. Without bothering to pour the alcohol into the glass, she took a few sips straight from the bottle. I hope I’m not exaggerating.

“I’ll make sure to pass this suggestion to the people responsible for the seats here,” he smiled politely and sat down in front of Riley.

She returned the smile and sat down as well, typing a short message to Regina.

“Help, tell me more about Liam, what he likes and what he hates. ASAP.”

Luckily, the answer came shortly.

“No one truly knows what he likes, he’s too reserved. I would say he loves Cordonia, of course, our apples, baklava. He’s a romantic so family, a loving wife and children are his biggest dream. He hates fake people and people who can harm his friends and family.”

Riley sighed. That did not help her at all. And the fact that they shared favorite dessert and fruit was making it even harder. I swear if I have to pretend I hate baklava I’d rather be broke and kicked out of my apartment.

“Is everything alright?” Liam asked noticing her disconcertment.

“Yes! Absolutely. I just thought maybe you could tell me a little bit about yourself and all. I have to spend a few weeks with you after all!”

“Of course. Is there anything in particular you’d like to learn about me?”

“The basics, I guess. How do you feel about becoming a King, what am I even doing here, what’s your biggest dream and so on. The usual.”

Liam chuckled. “I don’t believe these things are the ‘usual’. But to answer your questions, I’m feeling nervous about becoming a King. I never really thought about it until my brother abdicated. And then my father died and everything became very real.”

“I’m sorry,” she wanted to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but stopped herself instantly.

“I don’t know how much Regina told you...” he looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Not much,” she lied, biting her lip.

“When I realized I was going to be a King, I knew I had to sacrifice many things. But there was one I didn’t want to sacrifice.”

“Love?”

“Exactly. It may sound foolish but I’ve always wanted to marry for love. And since the coronation is so soon... I just wanted to give it a try. Regina claims that you can’t simply teach anyone how to be a Queen because it’s a skill only noble ladies are born with but I don’t agree. My mother was a commoner too and I’m sure she was a wonderful Queen. This is why you’re here in a way,” he smiled at her sheepishly. “Regina... She gave me a chance to teach a lady outside the court, that is you, all about the manners and the Royal Protocol so I could prove her wrong. If I succeed I can marry whoever I want and whenever I want because I’ll prove that it is possible to learn these skills.”

“And if not?”

Liam took a deep breath before sighing. “Then I’ll have to marry Madeleine, my stepmother’s favorite suitor.”

“So marrying for love is your dream, right?”

“Yes. A loving wife and a few kids,” he smiled to himself involuntairly at the thought and Riley couldn’t help but smile too.

“And you? Do you want to get married, have kids?” he asked curiously after a moment.

“Me? Oh no! I don’t like kids, eww!” I hope Mrs Dulay can’t hear me now. “I want to have cats though.” He doesn’t have to know I’m allergic to them

“Cats.” Liam repeated.

“Cats. Like, ten of them or more.”

“Ten cats. Okay. But what if you were a Queen? You’d need an heir or someone to appoint.”

“I’d appoint one of my cats. Cats are the best. Cats should rule, I’m sure they’re destined to do so,” she explained and Liam’s eyes went wide.

“So no kids for you, only cats and a cat would be the Royal Heir.”

“Yes, exactly.”

He nodded and quickly turned his attention back at his phone. In a few hours they would land in Cordonia. He knew he couldn’t back out now, especially that it was his only chance but something was telling him that it was a mistake. And that it would be the longest six weeks in his life.

#the royal romance #the royal heir #king liam #king liam x mc #liam x mc #choices #choices trr #trr #trr liam #the royal romance liam #liam x riley #king liam x riley #playchoices #blanca still doesnt know how to tag 2019

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laurazepamwrites · 5 years ago

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The Chemicals between us ~Ch.6

Within the vast sun scorched Arabian desert stood the glittering city of Oasis. A monument to human achievement, intelligence and ingenuity from many areas of study, founded by scientists and academics and governed by the ministers, each with their own field of expertise. It was here Satya Vaswani, Vishkars most decorated Architect, was currently based. She had been here for two months now, being deployed by Sanjay Korpal as a representative of Viskar and to promote their ideals to the ministers. At first she was confused as to why she had been sent. He was Viskars chief negotiator and this was the most advanced city in the world, to be sent in his place made no sense to her. He had explained of course, that he had equally important business to attend in Monaco and who better to send to Oasis then Viskars own prodigy. She had asked as to the nature of his meeting with Monaco and with whom but he was secretive. Simple telling her it was of great importance to Viskar and the world. She knew best not to push the matter, she was an Architect, a tool to creating a better world, Sanjay was the hand that used the tool. It was not her place to question so she had obeyed and had come to Oasis and presented Viskars interests to the ministers. They had listened to her share Viskars vision and interest to work alongside Oasis as a beacon for mankind in the wake of the Omnic crisis and watched her as she weaved intricate designs of hard-light using the traditional dance of her homeland. The ministers thanked her for her time and would finalize their decision with her superiors, for despite her skills she was just the tool afterall. They had not been inhospitable towards her and invited her to stay in Oasis as an honored guest until her duty called, staying in the world renowned Gilded tower hotel, attending lectures and seminars in the state-of-the-art University and dining with the elite of Oasis in the world class elBuffi restaurant. It was a welcome respite after the complications and confusion in Rio de janeiro and she did enjoy being here, especially the Abu Hassoun gardens.

It was early evening and the heat of the day was ebbing to a comfortable warmth, the sky soft shades of dusky oranges, yellows and pinks. It was her favourite time of day here, the air was cooler, the sweet earthy smells of the Olive and Almond trees drifted through the air and birds sang as they swooped in to roost for the night. Lanterns hung lazilly between terraces swaying so lightly in a gentle breeze. It was beautiful, but most of all it was quiet. She loved the city, but it was still a city, a city with a multitude of sounds, lights and movement. She found it overwhelming and at its worse like she was drowning and in need of a sanctuary. She had found one on a small veranda within the garden surrounded with sweet smelling climbing flowers, soft lighted lanterns and the sound of water from a nearby fountain. She closed her eyes, focusing on the gentle sound of the water and the soft breeze on her skin and breathed steadily, her senses calming. She remained as she was for a few moments, focusing, breathing slowly in rhythm until the sound of footsteps approaching intruded her meditation. She made a slight face, annoyed with the disturbance yet kept her eyes closed and returned to focusing on the water rather than the footsteps growing louder. They shall pass her and she would be alone again soon she reminded herself

‘Quite the alluring evening, wouldn't you agree Miss Vaswani?’ A feminine voice asked her.

Satya’s brow furrowed in slight confusion, not expecting to be addressed. Opening her eyes she looked up and blinked in surprise.

‘Oh! I apologize Madam Minister. I was not expecting company.’

The woman smiled slightly at her then turned her gaze towards the large body of water surrounding the city, the setting sun shimmering across its surface like liquid gold.

‘Then I must be the one to apologize, It was not my intention to disturb you. I have been informed that is it your last night with us and wished to say goodbye.’ The woman spoke, still watching the view.

‘That is most gracious of you Madam Minister, and I thank you for yours and the cities hospitality. It has been most welcome.’ Satya folded her hands in her lap politely, waiting for the woman to continue speaking. She had not spoken directly to the Minister of Genetics, nor had she asked Satya any questions during her presentation. She had simply watched her, her hands steepled and her strange eyes watching intently.

‘We have appreciated your presence and what you represented Miss Vaswani. Vishkar shares our ideals. Could you imagine a world structured on the foundation of order and discipline, where ingenuity leads mankind into a greater future then what we have now?’

‘That is Vishkars hope for the world Madam Minister.’

Moira peered at her, politeness bid Satya to make eye contact but this woman made her slightly uncomfortable. She had an air of superiority about her, but there was something else that Satya could just not put her finger on. This woman made her feel..small. Judged. Inferior. What felt more unsettling is that Moira seemed to know this, and revelled in it.

Moira made a satisfied ‘

sound and folded her hands behind her back. Her strange gaze once again returning to the water. ‘A pity the masses do not agree. Rio was an unfortunate business for your Corporation. To be bested by common riff raff led by some jumped up revolutionary?’ She chuckled darkly ‘How embarrassing for Sanjay.’

‘I...It was...It did not…’ Satya struggled to find the words and squeezed her hands tightly together in her lap. She swallowed and took a breath, ‘It was not-’

‘You have no need to explain Miss Vaswani.’ Moira interrupted. ‘As an architect it was not for you to control the people. I believe the fault lay with Sanjay, Viskars mistake was offering too much and using force too late. The masses do not know what is best for them and must be shown the way Miss Vaswani, through any means necessary. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good and order will be born from chaos. When you next see Mr Korpal please remind him of this, and tell him you have my vote for a partnership.’

‘..I...thank you, Madam Minister. Sanjay and Vishkar will be most pleased..’

‘As they should. I shall bid you good evening Miss Vaswani, I'm sure you have a long journey tomorrow.’ Moira nodded her head curtly and began to walk away, leaving Satya alone once again.

‘Oh, one more thing Miss Vaswani.’ Moira called over her shoulder.

‘Yes?’

‘You have great talent and skill. The perfect instrument to building a new world. But be prepared to make some difficult choices for a better path. Do this and you shall rise from the ashes with the best of humanity.’ And with that she left, not waiting for a reply. Satya sat in silence, staring at the place where Moira once stood. ‘

She thought to herself, she felt unsettled, goosebumps prickling on her skin despite the warmth of the evening air. She took a deep breath in, closing her eyes and once again focusing on the sound of water.

-------------------------------------------------------

Junkrat had been at the Gibraltar base for nearly three weeks now and he was ready to tear out the hair he had grown back. He was

He was agitated and despite being more settled with the routine of being in the workshop and the distraction of Hana and Lucio there was still the incessant anxiety in the back of his mind which truly reared its ugly head and turned into something more ferocious and cruel when he was alone at night. God, he was desperate to blow something up, to feel control over destruction and chaos. It was too damn fucking quiet here, he kept busy during the day, tinkering with something, making blueprints for bombs he couldn't make and repairing whatever needed fixing at the watchpoint. But the nights where the worst, he usually woke up sweating and panting from a vivid nightmare, shaking and so desperate to feel the sudden blast of heat and raw energy which he could create by simply pushing a button. One night he’d gone as far to ‘accidently’ rig a service bot to detonate with a teeny tiny explosion until Torbjorn caught him. He’d gotten a good whack with the hammer and spent the night sulking in holding with a headache which was only made worse by a stern lecture from Morrison. He knew he was asking for trouble and taking a risk but the quietness here, it was deafening. He spent his life jumping at every sound, always alert. If you didnt you wound up waking with a knife to your throat or ambushed for whatever supplies you. He had seen it happen more than he cared to think of. Since the exile, which was all Roadhogs fault, he had been on the move. Not staying in one place too long to have to get used to its noises, but here, at this base It was so god damn still it unsettled him and finding a new outlet for his jittery energy was difficult to find. One particularly restless night he climbed onto the roof of one of the many buildings to smoke a rare cigarette and watch the stars only to be severely creeped out when he noticed the Omnic Zenyatta silently hovering near the cliffs. He had avoided that particular spot since. He hated that bot, even more than the Bastion unit with its dumb bird. This one could talk, and spoke like it had

It was only a few days in when Junkrat had threatened to ‘update’ its circuits to something more explosive. The thing even had the audacity to

him back, making Junkrat take a ‘warning’ step towards it. That was the day he learnt what a sleep dart felt like. Pretty good actually, it was probably the best ten minutes nap he ever had but he didn't tell Ana that. He was starting to act out more and pushing his boundaries so slightly, he was just so bored and so desperate for a release for his ravaged emotions that bubbled furiously inside, like a fuse burning. The comparison made him giggle as he worked on some random bit of tech he suspected had no great purpose and was just to keep him busy. Torbjorn glanced towards him.

‘If that thing explodes boy I swear-!’

‘

! Chance would be a fine fucking thing..’ He muttered under his breath

‘What’s that?’

‘Nothing, nothing.’ He grinned to himself.

Torbjorn grumbled in reply and finished screwing a bolt into place on one of Reinhardts great gauntlets. Wiping his brow on his forearm he gave a huff before turning back to the sulking Junker.

‘Look boy, I know you're frustrated. Hell, you're making it obvious. That little stunt you pulled with the service droid damn nearly had Morrison lock you in a cell permanently-’

‘Brig thought it was funny.’

‘My daughter thinks making one of her million cats chasing a laser is funny. Lets not toot our own horn here.’ Torbjorn retorted back at him as he picked up a wrench and returned to his work. ‘My point is boy, we know this is hard on ya. Ain't easy on us. Overwatch suffered a lot in the last few years before it fell to pieces and this anti vigilante lark is no easier. I'm too old for this shit. I should be with my wife and kids but unfortunately one of them insists on being here. We all want to be home, living normal lives...well..whatever normal was for you anyway. Ya know the Doc was head of surgery at some fancy hospital? Now she's here waiting to patch us up with next to no supplies. So think about that before you end up getting blown up or impaled or-’

‘Whacked with a hammer?’

Torbjorn ignored him. ‘No one wants to be here, not really. Think Morrison wants to be here? After everything? Think the other kids want to fight terrorists and corrupted Omnics?’

‘Least they get to do shit. I've been stuck on this rock for weeks. I've travelled I have! Now i'm literally a rat in a cage.’

‘And It's gonna be a much smaller cage if you keep making trouble boy! And not everyone goes on missions. You don't hear Mei complaining do ya?’

Junkrat laughed, ‘Oh not if its complaining about me!’

‘Stop pissing her off then.’

‘Tell her to stop pissing me off! Acting so uptight and goody two shoes!’ He mocked her voice, ‘You can't be in here! You can't do that! You're being a jerk! Don't threatened my dumb bot ice maker!’

‘Ahh give the girl a break, she's been through alot.’

‘Yeah? Like what?’

‘Not my place to say boy. Now, make yerself useful and finish your work. I need to go to a briefing soon and if you keep your head down maybe I can convince Morrison to get you more involved.’

‘Aww starting to care about me old man?’

‘If caring means getting another hammer to the head then yes.’

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As evening drew in across the base the senior members of Overwatch sat at the large briefing table. A holographic map of Bryansk and the area surrounding it in front of them, along with a video call of Zarya and Genji who were waiting patiently.

‘Zarya. What did you find out in the town?’ Asked Morrison.

Zarya looked to be in a small room, presumably from a safe house they had required on their mission, a large object was hidden under a winter coat upon her bed. Its size suggesting her huge graviton gun, she saluted before speaking. ‘Commander, the locals can confirm Reinhardts source. The Compound appears to be active again, the government apparently sold it to an building firm to renovate new homes but is a cover up of course.’

Morrison gave a small grunt in recognition. ‘Go on.’

‘I have been scouting the area for some time Commander.’ Reported Genji. ‘I see trucks enter then one or two days later they leave with an unmarked cargo. Three days ago an aircraft flew in bearing Talons insignia. From what I could see two men left the craft with an armed guard, they stayed a few hours then left again.’

‘Did you identify them?’ Asked Ana.

‘Negative Captain. I was unable to get close enough.’

‘What are we dealing with?’ asked Morrison.

‘A huge heavy duty steel gate and fencing surrounding the entire compound with barbed wire and automated turrets. Patrols of guards along the perimeter and surrounding area within a mile. Getting closer was no easy feat. All guards are armed and I have seen two Mechs, a model I have not seen before.’

‘Talon have the means to make their own.’ Said Winston.

‘How many guards?’

‘At Least thirty, human and Omnic but who can say how many are inside.’

Morrison grunted in response and frowned in thought. To his side Ana leaned forward, folding her hands on the table. ‘So..how do we tackle this?’ She asked the room.

‘You got a pattern on the guards rounds Genji?’ McCree asked.

‘The gates and fence are manned constantly’ The Ninja replied ‘But the perimeter checks are done at least every 4 hours which may give us a window of opportunity.’

‘And how will this be handled? Covertly or erm..with force?’ Enquired Winston.

‘McCree laughed. ‘Aint no mission ever go quietly, you know that.’

‘Wishful thinking..’

‘Fact of the matter is whatever is being stored in there needs to be destroyed.’ Said Morrison as he turned his attention back to the screen. ‘ Thank you, you have both done good work. Remain where you are and keep vigilant until we contact you.’ Zayra saluted to the Commander and Genji nodded in acknowledgement as the screen cut out and disappeared. Morrison leant back in his chair and folded his arms and gave a low hum in though. ‘Perhaps a first wave quietly takes out the perimeter guard, we can try to bypass the security systems but this may require force if Athena cannot bypass it. Once in we confirm what's inside, get as much information as possible then level the place before reinforcements arrive.’

‘This sounds like a big operation Commander..we don't have the manpower like we used to. We are vastly outnumbered..’ Said Reinhardt

‘So we hit hard and hit fast. We’ll have the element of surprise on our side.’ He responded and turned to Torbjorn.

‘What will you need to level that building?’

‘Oh is this me being nominated to go?’

‘You're our engineer. Engineer something to bring it down Lindholm.’

‘That's not my specialty Jack..’

Morrison waited for him to continue but Torbjorn just looked at him like he knew something he didn't. And then it clicked.

‘No. Absolutely out of the question.’

‘Oh c’mon Jack..utilize what little we have!’

‘He’s a liability!’

‘You wanted a way to destroy the place and I give you one, we can't have everything done by the rules anymore Commander.’

‘Give him half the chance he’ll bail on us with anything that's not tied down-!’

‘I agree with Torbjorn.’ Ana’s voice cut in.

Morrison stared at her incredulously. ‘You honestly think-?’

‘I think this will be a good opportunity to show faith on both sides, Jack. It's clear we need Fawkes particular talents here and in return he can put that relentless energy to good use.’

‘He's a loose cannon Amari, they both are!’

‘Rutledge more or less has kept to himself and has shown no signs of aggression towards anyone here, and despite being

more extrovert Fawkes has not done too much harm or damage around the base. Nowhere near as much as expected.’

Morrison shook his head, ‘He’s no agent, no training, probably doesn't even know the meaning of the word stealth..and above all else he needs a damn psych evaluation!’

‘That's not my field before you ask.’ Angela muttered under her breath.

Ana made a sound of annoyance. ‘Ealayk allaena Jack! We have no choice but to use whatever assets we have now.’

Winston shuffled awkwardly and cleared his throat. ‘I’m afraid I have to side with Commander Morrison. It's too early to even consider using him on the field. Besides, It gives Talon the opportunity to capture him.’

‘He lasted weeks being followed and was holding up pretty well until we got involved and I think his ‘career’ speaks for himself. I say take him.’ Said McCree.

‘His career is full of collateral damage and who knows how much blood on his hands.’ Jack said darkly. Ana narrowed her eyes at him.

‘And how much blood is on our hands? On yours?’ She leant forward and fixed him with a steel gaze. ‘Just how many people died when the headquarters exploded?’

The room was still, its occupants waiting on bated breath as Commander and Captain stared each other down. A muscle twitched in Jacks jaw as he fought against the wave of shame made worse by Anas intense gaze. He looked down and conceded and Ana sat back, her lips thin and slightly curled in contempt. Her voice was steady but none could deny the ice behind it. ‘All in favour of Fawkes joining the Bryansk mission?’

Torbjorn and McCree both raised their hands soon followed by Reinhardt, no other hands followed.

‘Then it's settled. Fawkes is in. Me and Jack will plan the mission and everyone going will be notified in briefing, but I think it best if I tell Fawkes in private to prepare him.’ She looked around at her comrades. ‘Thank you all, dismissed.’

There was a quiet shuffling of chairs and movement as everyone but Ana and Jack left the tense room, neither said a word until they heard the soft thud of the doors closing.

Jack was the first to speak ‘Was that necessary?’

Ana sighed and shook her head slightly. ‘ That was..poorly timed and yes, badly worded. I am sorry.’

‘So am I Ana..’ His tone made her lean toward him and clasp his arm. Her voice was warmer. ‘I know my friend.’ She gave him a reassuring squeeze. ‘I know.’

‘You’re angry. I get it. We lost good men and women...and it's my fault.’

‘My point was Jack..none of us are clean. Take me for example, my husband won't take my calls and my daughter can barely look at me..’

‘I can barely look at myself Ana.’

‘One day you will. This road you're on Jack..you're not alone. We came back together, and we will see this out together. One day we will forgive ourselves.’

He placed his hand atop hers and they smiled at each other. ‘Besides’ Said Ana, ‘My eyepatch is much scarier to look at then your scars.’ Jack chuckled and stood up to leave. ‘Only when you take it off Amari, only when you take it off. I’m going to get some coffee, want some? We may be here awhile.’

She smiled up at him ‘Tea if you don't mind Jack.’

‘Sure..and Ana? Thanks.’

‘Anytime my friend.’

And as he disappeared from view the smile slowly faded from her face.

#meihem #overwatch #jamison fawkes #fanfic #mei ling zhou #junkrat

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soccialcreature · 5 years ago

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Why you (I) did not like Rise of Skywalker

I’i wish i cud just tell ppl that i simply did not vibe with rise of skywalker but everyone just says “oh, youre just a hater” or “youre so cynical” so im going to put into words Exactly what i didnt like about tros so ppl cant say that i just hate it for fun? i guess? or to b cool? idk. under the break so that i dont annoy casual scrollers. and of course u can like it if u want i rly do not care.

The stakes were too high

If our characters failed, then we would see essentially the destruction of the entire galaxy. Or at least, that’s what they made it seem like. Because of this, you knew that the characters were going to succeed, but it was lowkey really stressful, and NOT in the fun, tension-y way. I felt like I was just sitting there thinking “get this done already!” And I just felt annoyed (again, not in the fun way) at every setback.

I know this is lowkey how every story works, so I’ll give an example of a piece of media that DOESNT do that and it’s going to be clone wars because I’m always thinking about clone wars and im such a clone wars hoe im sorry.

In The Clone Wars, the stakes were much lower. It was always something like, keep this planet from Separatist control, or win this battle, or make this political step. And sometimes, our characters failed. Deathwatch burned down the village, or they just lost a battle to the Separatists and had to retreat, but it was never such a crushing defeat that there was no hope afterward. Watching the show, you didn’t know if they were going to win or not, and you wanted to see what was going to happen and HOW it was going to happen. It made it really fun to watch. Another example is the Mandalorian. Low stakes, but we still care (do not TOUCH baby Yoda or I will LOSE IT).

We didn’t get any time to get to know our characters

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. There was so much going on in the movie and so much that needed to happen to reach the climax that there was no time for character development. This is where the “I wish there was more sitting and talking” comes in. The characters stayed stagnant the whole time. Their views on things didn’t change, and they learned nothing. This was one of the biggest issues with Force Awakens, too (which I liked a lot! Who didn't?), that the characters were essentially being dragged around by the plot with no agency of their own. It was just them moving on to the next plot point and then the next, etc. What’s supposed to happen is that the characters are put in a situation and then they get something out of it that they didn’t expect to. Instead, we didn’t have time for any of that and just moved on to the next plot point.

Again, I’m gonna use the prequels as an anti-example. The whole trilogy was about Anakin’s character arc and his fall to the dark side. What came with that was his relationship with Obi-wan, and Obi-wan’s character arc, etc. The clones in TCW are also perfect examples of good characters.

No themes or morals

Frankly, it was just kind of a bummer. For a happy ending, I walked out of the theater feeling pretty defeated. It may have been because Ben died, but I’ve never really been a fan of Kylo Ren. I know this is so so contradictory because I’m a prequel hoe and the prequels had the most depressing ending ever and no one was happy, but I mean let's be real. It kind of had to for the original trilogy to happen. And it showed a lot about being human and love and anger and corruption etc etc. The issue with this trilogy’s ending, though, is that there was really no reason for it to be sad. It didn’t show anything, and there were no underlying themes of the film at all.

I’ve really had enough of Palpy

Sorry, but we did not need to bring him back. There was no reason for him to come back. It just ruined Anakin’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi and honestly, this is the worst of Palpatine. What made him interesting was watching the way he would manipulate Anakin and the rest of the senators and the Jedi as a secret Sith Lord. And I didn’t need to see him do the exact same thing that he did to Luke in Return of the Jedi to Rey. Villains where the description is just “the most powerful being in the galaxy: impossible to defeat” don’t really interest me.

I’d rather be at home watching Clone Wars

I know this is essentially what happened with people who grew up watching the original trilogy and why they didn’t like the prequels, and it’s really not fair for me to judge this piece of Star Wars media based of off how it holds up to this other part that I’ve held so dear for so long, but hey. I think that’s perfectly valid. It’s fine if you don’t like the prequels because they’re not as good as the originals. That’s just how it happens. Sorry sequels, it’s really not your fault. It’s my fault for watching TCW and the prequels first. Don’t get me wrong, the prequels had their issues. There were some annoying characters, bad dialogue, weird choices for who the movies would focus on (Obi-wan should not have been such a side character in Phantom Menace), but the goal and ideas of the prequels were really good. I didn’t get any of that in Rise of Skywalker.

In conclusion, you can totally like the movie if you want. I really wish I did like it. And I didn’t hate it, really. There were a lot of cool parts like the scene of Luke training Leia to become a Jedi which I think was super fun. And Kylo Ren/Ben Solo at the end using a blue lightsaber was cool and again, fun. But ya. I doubt you read this if you liked TROS but. People should let people like what they like, and also let people not like something just because they don’t like it. We shouldn’t make people have to justify or argue everything, but I’m just doing it because my family’s been calling me a hater because I immediately went home and turned on Clone Wars. And also I’m majoring in Screenwriting at college next year so I feel like I should sort of know how to write good stories and characters. Or at least try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Thanks! <3

#tros #tros spoilers #star wars #the rise of skywalker #the clone wars

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low-budget-korra · 6 years ago

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Lets talk about Korra

Today I will speak of her, which in my opinion is one of the greatest characters everr : Avatar Korra.

At first we see a 17 year old girl who probably had her first contact with a lot of things. First contact with a big city, first crush, first handful of responsibilities, first threat...

It is worth mentioning that since day one, Korra has embraced the role of Avatar with all strength and love. She felt proud of her position and willing to do her job as the Avatar

(look at this precious little thing)

Remember that she spent her entire life locked in a training center, without contact with the rest of the world, so her knowledge of everything beyond the gates where she lived was new.

Right in the beginning we see her dealing with some Equalists Protestants, which she does not take seriously. And only when she witnesses the power of the leader of this movement, she begins to take the threat very seriously and also, to fear this man more than everything in her life until then.

What does Amon represents for Korra?

I think this question can be easily answered by Korra's simple argument of love being the Avatar. And at least in the beginning of the book one they hinted that her life was just about that, Being the Avatar.

We are not introduced to any friends of Korra, except for Naga, or past boyfriend / girlfriend. Nothing. We only know that this girl is the Avatar. And I would not be surprised if that was the only way she saw herself.

Maybe that's why fight in pro-bending was so important. Not only as a means of socialization, after all it was thanks to the pro-bending that she met her friends, but also as a training and more important, search for identity. I think part of the journey of Korra in the first two books is a lot about that: search for identity.

Then, answering the question, Amon is the only person who can destroy that image, which can destroy Korra. He can destroy it without even needing to kill it. And that's exactly what he does.

In episode 4, we have, in my opinion, the darkest episode of the entire Avatar series. To be honest, I'm sure that if TLOK were a live action series for example, we may have a scene of sexual assault or an explicit threat of this there , because of the power struggle there between those two characters, no, power abyss and the way Amon touch her, her face, without her consent . Some people felt some kind of sexual tension there, no wonder there are people who shiped Amorra (Korra and Amon) back in the day.

That scene is powerful because Amon did not have to sexually touch Korra to violate her. At least, this whole situation served for her to open up with Tenzin over her fears and consequently learn how to deal with them, because I'm sure Korra did not get over what happened there so fast.

Still about Power Dispute we have another character who exemplifies this: Tarrlok. Tarrlok is a rising politician who uses Korra as a pawn in his goal to seize the power of Republic City. Amon also uses the same trick, after all, the moment he defeats the Avatar, the city would be his.

So we have this young woman who will stop right in the middle of a political power dispute.

Tarrlok also serves as a comparative. While Amon wants to dominate and destroy the avatar figure, not caring about who she is, Tarrlok wants to dominate and use Korra. And this makes me think that, that metal box was made exclusively for her. Like if that shit was for Amon, he didnt know Amon was a bender so an simples cell would be good. I think Tarrlok knew that Korra may ruin his plans so he had that as his plan B.

In the end Korra lost the physical battle but won the ethical battle against both. But at what price? Amon was able to remove the bends of the Avatar. And without them, how could she be the Avatar?

I also strongly believe that one of the final scenes of the season, when Korra is facing a cliff, I believe she might be thinking about taking her life. After all, everything she was, everything she'd trained so hard for, had been destroyed in minutes.

She, with the help of Aang and the other avatars, recovered her bends and with the help of everyone, including her then boyfriend Mako, she "moved on."

In the next one, I used to hate the first half of book 2, but then I came to see with different eyes.

In that first half, Korra is unbearable. Everything she learned in Book 1 how to be more mature, less spoiled and all, was thrown in the trash and she was the same "child" of the book one only worse.

Until I stopped and realized that I was also unbearable and childish like this when I had my bad phases of anxiety and depression, as defense mechanism and keep people away. Returning to Korra, and if this way of acting of her was nothing more than this defense mechanism?

Whether or not she was betrayed by her own Uncle. Imagine, shortly after having your life turned upside down, when you are recovering, trying to recover your image as Avatar and suddenly your own uncle betrays you? Yeah.

"Oh, but she should not have stayed on his side against her father"

Yes, but remember that our, still young avatar, has fallen into the trap of believing and trusting someone just because that person says everything she want it to hear.

In the end, Korra again goes through a traumatic moment when she has her connection with past lives destroyed. We see how it affected her when she apologizes to Tenzin, through tears. And Tenzin, as the excellent master he is, tries to motivate her to face Vaatu again (now merged with Unalaq, her uncle) and so she is able to beat him and secure another 10 thousand years of Light to the world.

In the final moments, we see the (somewhat innocent) decision to reconnect the world of spirits and the world of men. And we also see Korra and Mako permanently end their turbulent relationship, which I will speak more ahead.

Book 3 begins in a more mature, we see all the characters being presented in a more mature way and it seems that Korra, now, has overcome everything that has passed. We have the relationship between Korra and Asami deepening as well, and I will also comment further on.

In Book 3, called "Change" we have a great sacrifice from Korra. Her life goes down a notch when she decides to save the new airbenders from Zaheer and the Red Lotus, the strongest villain she's ever faced.

Zaheer, unlike the other villains, who had not explicitly intended to kill Korra, had as goal just to kill the Avatar. And he almost succeeded.

Not only that, Korra was physically and psychologically defeated. She won the battle but not the war, we can say so.

So book 4 begins and we only come across Korra in the final minutes and she is unrecognizable. We see that, once proud and courageous avatar, in someone depressed and cowed.

I think it's visible that Korra is afraid of being the Avatar again, Toph even tells her that during the season. And I think it's totally plausible.

Korra's fight against PTSD is one of the most honest and realistic things I've ever seen. Do you think that after a violent battle and almost die, even winning in the end, the hero returns home and everything is okay? I think not.

Not only what happened in the end of book 3 , but i believe that she also has having flashs or thoughts about all her fights and all the traumatic shit that she passed

Another thing I think is worth quoting is that Korra took 3 years to feel safer and re-embrace her duties as Avatar. It was not 3 weeks or 3 months, it was 3 years. And anyone who suffers from some mental illness knows very well the stigma that is, the fight that is, because everyone wants you to be well in 6 months when the truth is that many times you spend years fighting against this. And this is a pressure that falls on you.

Imagine, seeing all your friends moving forward while you continue "stock in the same place"?

Only after Korra confronts Zaheer, I think that was a way to show her coping with the trauma, she improves to the point of returning to be the great Avatar we know. The once "monster Zaheer" who almost kill her now is some dude in chains who fail at his plans and created an big problem and needed Korra to solve it

One of the quotes that struck with me most was in that filler episode thats a summary of all what happened in the show , and in the part narrated by Korra she says "I was so naive" and the way Janet delivered that line..., with some pain and I know the sadness but at the same time, stronger and more mature ... I think it means a lot.

here in tumblr I think, I saw a phrase that until today marks me that is :

"The Last Airbender is a story of a boy who becomes a god. The Legend of Korra is the story of a goddess who becomes a girl "

This is strong!

And I get very angry when someone comes to downgrade my baby Korra because she is such an incredible heroine and her journey is also incredible.

The story of how life can be hard and unfair, how it can hurt and paralyze, but there is always a reason to move on. We should always move on.

Korra is definitely not weak, quite the opposite, she is one of the if not the strongest heroine I have ever seen. Korra inspires overcoming.

Now l will let to talk about the relationships tomorrow. I promise

#the legend of korra #korrasami #avatar korra #mako #the last airbender #aang #asami #tenzin #lets talk about

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drsilverfish · 6 years ago

Text

DrSilverfish Meta Masterpost S8

Hellatus historical meta masterpost housekeeping!

I was new to Tumblr in S8 and finding my feet (stylistically as much as anything) as well as live-watching SPN for the first time (usually by shitty overseas live-stream) so, a lot of the early stuff is shippy rambling rather than decent meta.

I was also much more hopeful that the Destiel subtext might be canon fore-shadowing back in “Season Gr8″ (as we dubbed it at the time).

Some of this is worth reading, particularly I’d say, from about No 21) “Dean, Nazis and the Closet” onwards, i.e. from commentary on 8x13 Everybody Hates Hitler to the end of the season.

It’s really interesting looking back. There was a lot of disappointment in the Destiel fandom here on Tumblr after 8x17 and the crypt scene in Goodbye Stranger, where it felt as if an “I love you” from Dean to Castiel was, somehow, missing. This was later (to a reasonable fact-checked standard) confirmed to have indeed been a removed line (by Jensen, who didn’t think it was right for Dean):

http://fandomdebunker.tumblr.com/post/64507789422/the-rumor-that-jensen-confirmed-the-i-love-you

Looking back, I think he was probably right, but it felt disappointing then, at a time when the queer subtext seemed to be lapping at the shores of breaking waves into main-text.

For Destiel fans, and queer subtext followers, there was, nevertheless, a lot to love about S8: the “purity” of Purgatory and Dean’s search for his angel; Benny’s “thirst” for Dean; Charlie introducing Dean to LARP-ing; Aaron Bass as Dean’s “gay thing”; Naomi forcing Castiel to kill innumerable Dean-clones in Heaven (evidence that Heaven saw Cas’ feelings for Dean as, in particular, transgressive); and another lovely Cas-centric episode from Edlund, The Great Escapist (8x21), when Cas cleverly hid from the angels by zapping between multiple Biggersons diners, trapping his angelic pursuers in “quantuum superposition” (lol).

From Dean’s hallucinations of Cas, and his self-memory-wipe of the fact Cas deliberately let go of his hand at the portal exit from Purgatory, to their tender exchange about Cas’ suicidal ideation in 8x08 Hunter Heroici, to the romantic subtext of Metatron’s angel-fall spell ingredients (see meta below) S8 was (despite poor Cas’ torture by Heaven and his deep depression) a season of reconciliation for Dean and Cas, after the previous season’s (S7) upheavals: Cas’ apparent lake-death; the long separation; Dean’s rage and grief; Emmanuel’s mind-wipe; Cas’ “mental break” (Cas taking on Sam’s cage-match scars as atonement); and the whole Leviathan fall-out from the Godstiel arc.

S8 remains, despite its disappointments, one of my favourite seasons.

Season 8

1) Is Supernatural “Queer-Baiting” or is it Erotically Homosocial?

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35297767675/is-supernatural-queer-baiting-or-is-it

2) Mulder and Scully vs Cas and Dean - Love, Narrative, and Being ‘”Out”

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35370673077/mulder-and-scully-vs-cas-and-dean-love

3) What if Sam had a Plan on that Bridge?

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35474455496/what-if-sam-had-a-plan-on-that-bridge

4) Dean’s Daddy Issues (8x05 Blood Brother and 8x06 Southern Comfort)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35701230407/deans-daddy-issues

5) The Course of True Love Never did Run Smooth (8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35756472429/the-course-of-true-love-never-did-run-smooth

6) So Castiel is a “God-Forsaken Thing” that Dean “Cares About”? (8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35835317081/so-castiel-is-a-godforsaken-thing-that-dean

7) “I Wasn’t Weak, I Was Stronger than You - I Pulled Away”: Castiel Getting it Wrong (8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/35842147281/i-wasnt-weak-i-was-stronger-than-you-i-pulled

8) More Than a Boner - The Bathroom Scene Revisited (8x07)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36022592701/more-than-a-boner-the-bathroom-scene

9) Why Sam Didn’t Look for Dean: Some Speculation

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36098761529/why-sam-didnt-look-for-dean-some-speculation

10) Dean/ Cas: A Fine Romance. How Should that Slow On-Screen Build-Up Continue?

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36172853047/dean-cas-a-fine-romance-how-should-that-slow

11) Dean/Cas, a Fine Romance... How Should THAT Kiss Unfold On-Screen?

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36249617858/dean-cas-a-fine-romance-how-should-that-kiss

12) 8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin - Dean’s Forgiveness of Castiel

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36384800654/picture-credit-to

13) The Textual Threads of Dean Winchester’s Beautiful, Ambivalent, Sexuality

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36540877041/the-textual-threads-of-dean-winchesters

14) 8x08 Hunter Heroici - What if Dean and Cas were Damon and Elena?

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/36884331511/what-if-dean-and-cas-were-damon-and-elena)

15) Dean and Cas: The Sky is Going to Rain Crimson for Those Two

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/37361902553/dean-and-cas-the-sky-is-going-to-rain-crimson-for

16) In Which S4 Illuminates S8 (Mini-Meta)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/40124370749/in-which-season-4-illuminates-season-8-mini-meta

17) 8x10 Torn and Frayed - The Choice of Sam and Dean

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/40735606424/the-choice-of-sam-and-dean-spoilers-for-8x10

18) 8x10 Torn and Frayed - Let’s Take a Moment for Sam

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/40781379927/lets-take-a-moment-for-sam-spoilers-for-8x10

19) 8x11 LARP and the Real Girl - Charlie’s Relationship With Dean

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/41381955006/charlies-relationship-with-dean-spoilers-for

20) A Friend for Sam - Musings on Character Development

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42219949786/a-friend-for-sam-musings-on-character

21) 8x13 Everybody Hates Hitler - Dean, Nazis and the Closet

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42574075453/dean-nazis-and-the-closet-further-thoughts-on

22) 8x13 Everybody Hates Hitler - The Golem as a Parallel Device

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42745942537/the-golem-as-a-parallel-device-supernatural-8x13

23) Dean’s Sexuality and Audience Interpretation

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42790117441/deans-sexuality-and-audience-interpretation

24) The Sexual Politics of Audience Desire (Supernatural and Fan-Fiction)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42867211604/the-sexual-politics-of-audience-desire

25) 8x13 Everybody Hates Hitler - More Discussion on Dean, Nazis and the Closet (and some additional discussion on the closet in this episode with @mekbuda and @lookatthefreaking hipsters [now both deactivated])

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/42990052635/destiels-delight-dean-nazis-and-the-closet

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/48276862638/aaron-bass-schr%C3%B6dingers-gay

26) Dean as Nurturer: Mini Character Meta

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/43032313116/dean-as-nurturer-mini-character-meta

27) Pick-Ups and Hook-Ups: Aaron, Ellie, Benny - Dean’s Supernatural Sexy-Times Meta (8x14 Trial and Error)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/43156477155/pick-ups-and-hook-ups-aaron-ellie-benny-deans

28) Commentary on Dean and “Mytharc”

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/43184426552/a-discussion-re-emergent-complexity-laura-prudom

29) I Touch Myself: Musical Narrative Voice and Polysemy (8x14 Trial and Error)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/43252438290/i-touch-myself-musical-narrative-voice-and

30) “I’m Just Curious as to Which One You Consider Yourself, Mostly?” Dean Thinks it Through with Portia (8x15 Man’s Best Friend With Benefits)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/43855179447/im-just-curious-as-to-which-one-you-consider

31) Mytharc vs Heart-Arc: Dean as Medieval Romantic Hero

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/44110505167/mytharc-vs-heart-arc-dean-as-medieval

and with additional commentary:

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/64143278936/get-the-saltenjoy-the-show-mytharc-vs

32) 8x17 Goodbye Stranger Dialogue Review

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/45888461261/supernatural-8x17-dialogue-review-spoilers

33) Personal Queer Reflections on Shipping Dean and Cas, post 8x17

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/45935841020/personal-queer-reflections-on-shipping-dean-and

34) Bisexuality, Power Inequalities and the Difficulties of Representation - Destiel in 8x17 Goodbye Stranger

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/46012398416/bisexuality-power-inequalities-and-the

35) “I’d Rather Have You, Cursed or Not”: Subtext, Mon Amour

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/46543190453/id-rather-have-you-cursed-or-not-subtext-mon

36) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - To Hell and Back - Taxi Driver, Cab Fare and Charon’s Boat (18x19 Taxi Driver)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/47145558835/swing-low-sweet-chariot-to-hell-and-back-taxi

37) Four Times Sam Was Challenged on not Searching for Dean

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/47233826179/four-times-sam-was-challenged-on-not-searching-for

38) Killing Kitsune to Caressing Castiel: Dean’s Journey from his own Side of Monster

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/48219811386/killing-kitsune-to-caressing-castiel-deans

39) Pac-Man Fever Calls Back Yellow Fever (8x20)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/48827322213/pac-man-fever-calls-back-yellow-fever-overcoming

40) Edlund’s Love Letter to Fan-Fiction in The Great Escapist (8x21)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/49413040878/edlunds-love-letter-to-fan-fiction-8x21

41) “Why Do People Always Think We’re Gay?” (8x21)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/49415068274/why-do-people-always-think-were-gay-8x21

42) Sam’s Mistaken Quest for “Purity” (8x21)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/49468662684/flipse-it-doesnt-matter-anymore-because

43) In Purgatory, The Heart is Purified for Heaven

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/49963611742/in-purgatory-the-heart-is-purified-for-heaven

44) “Of the Blessings Set Before You: Make Your Choice and Be Content” (8x23 Sacrifice)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50567052832/of-the-blessings-set-before-you-make-your-choice

45) Metatron’s Spell: The Ingredients (8x23)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50579065447/metatrons-spell-the-ingredients-spn-8x23-the

46) Naomi is a Bitch, Abaddon is a Whore - Can We Not? (8x23)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50599390401/naomi-is-a-bitch-abbadon-is-a-whore-can-we

47) Queer Angel Love in Metatron’s Spell (A Few Further Thoughts on 8x23)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50604693898/gay-angel-love-in-metatrons-spell-a-few-further

48) The Bar Scene in 8x23 - Detailed Analysis of LGBTQ “Lib” and “Lol” Moments

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50661253249/the-bar-scene-in-8x23-spoilers-detailed

49) Supernatural Soap: Does Adding a Gay Writer Matter? (Berens Joins the Show)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/58286938085/supernatural-soap-does-adding-a-gay-writer

50) The Gospel of Mary Winchester Still Needs to Be Written

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/60227577254/image-credit-fanpop-mary-winchester-burned-on

51) Actual Crypt Scene vs Gag Reel Crypt Scene (8x17): That Which is Disavowed

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/60477660660/weird-little-angel-x-this-is-a-nice

#Supernatural #Meta masterpost #S8 Meta masterpost #season gr8 #SPN meta #Meta

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inyournightmares97 · 6 years ago

Text

My Youth (Chapter 6)

Broken and miserable, Park Jinyoung returns to his hometown to learn that no matter how hard he falls, there are still people who think he’s a hero.

Warnings: Mentions of suicide/depression, death, angst, slow build, maybe some language.(Please don’t ask when I’ll update. Wait until the series is finished to read if you’re impatient.)

Word Count: 5.7k+

(Can’t put links to the other parts here, please check my Masterlist/the reblog for the Prologue and Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

“-Mom, I’m busy,” Jinyoung muttered into the phone. He had been sitting in a crucial meeting with the Finance Director of GOT Tech and representatives of the Financial Regulatory Board. Receiving approval for his company to go public was one of the most critical and risky steps in Jinyoung’s career.

His mother, however, had been calling him constantly for the last twenty minutes.

Mrs. Park sounded upset. “I’m sorry, Jinyoung, dear. I just needed to reach you-”

“Mom, I’m in an extremely important meeting right now. Do you know how it looks when the Managing Director of GOT Group keeps getting calls from his mother during business meetings? What do you want from me?” Jinyoung demanded in a frustrated whisper, running his fingers through his hair. He tried not to let his agitation show on his face; the other high-profile attendees of the meeting could still see him through the glass wall of the conference room.

“Jinyoung, there’s been a terrible tragedy in town,” his mother began nervously. “I don’t… I don’t know how to tell you this, but i suppose there’s no easy way to talk about a death. Remember I told you that I’ve been going to the hospital every day to meet-”

Jinyoung felt a burst of irritation. The clock was ticking. The Board members were waiting for him impatiently and he could see the disapproval on their faces. “Mom, did you call me to tell me that someone died?”

“Well… yes, but-”

“Mom, I have been preparing for this presentation for months. The future of my company depends on this meeting. This is absolutely the worst time you could have chosen to tell me something like this,” Jinyoung muttered through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Please don’t mess up my focus right now. We can talk about this later. Do you need anything from me urgently?”

Mrs. Park hesitated. “You always seem to be busy these days. I just thought… if we could maybe help out with the funeral expenses or the hospital bills…”

Jinyoung closed his eyes. “Mom, you can just call my secretary for that. She’ll send you whatever amount you need. Send them flowers from me or something, okay? I have to go now.”

“Take care, Jinyoung, dear-”

“Bye, Mom.”

Jinyoung hung up and sighed, pressing his fingers to his temple. His personal secretary had followed him out of the room and was watching him nervously. He hadn’t even asked his mother who it was that had passed away. Was it somebody he knew? Maybe it was best that he didn’t think about it too much for now.

“Take my Mom’s call and ask her who died, send them money for the funeral and all those formalities,” Jinyoung told his secretary shortly. She nodded and made a note of it on her phone quickly while Jinyoung cleared his mind.

Focus. The presentation. The numbers.

Jinyoung took a deep, calming breath and plastered a rehearsed smile on his face before he turned to enter the conference room once more.

“I’m so sorry to keep you gentlemen waiting,” Jinyoung greeted all the well-dressed men with a bright smile. “I hope you can forgive me. Mothers seem to have a knack for calling at the most inconvenient times, don’t they?”

The men chuckled politely. “That’s perfectly fine, Mr. Park.”

“May I begin the presentation?”

“Please, do.”

--------

Jinyoung believed that to achieve something great, you needed to make certain sacrifices.

He had always known that the path he was embarking upon was not an easy one. Establishing your own business meant that you didn't get off work at 5 pm sharp, you couldn’t spend your weekends at a countryside cabin or getting drinks with your friends. You needed to keep working until things got done. You needed to compete in the market. You needed to be strong enough to pick up after your losses and clever enough to make friends in the right places. People were depending on you.

Jinyoung hadn’t merely chosen a career, he had chosen a life.

A very lonely life.

Whenever his mother would call him and try to have a casual chat, Jinyoung would find himself irritated. Who cared whether Mrs. Lee from the grocery store was giving a discount on strawberry bread? What did it matter if Mr. Cha had been trying to sell his little farmland? There was important work to be done. Jinyoung needed to talk to the advertising agents to make sure his products were being launched properly, he needed to negotiate discounts with suppliers to ensure he could meet the planned pricing goals. There were employees relying on him. There were investors who had trusted him with their money. There were quarterly goals that had to be met.

Every second of Jinyoung’s time was precious. Why couldn’t everyone understand that? Why couldn’t his mother stop thinking that her tiny little world in this tiny little town was everything, and understand the importance of what her son was doing?

There are a limited number of hours every man has at his disposal. We each make a conscious choice regarding how to spend each one.

It was only now, standing in front of your mother’s grave, that Jinyoung came a terrifying realization.

He had made the wrong choices.

------

“It was heart failure,” Mrs. Park whispered.

Jinyoung’s hands clutched the cup of tea firmly. It was hot and uncomfortable, but not more than the sick feeling in his stomach. Every word his mother spoke made him feel more pathetic.

What had he been doing all those months while your mother was in hospital and when she’d died? Preparing for his company to go public? Sitting in meetings and sucking up to corporate officials? Only to be fired and thrown out of the company. Only to have missed the death of somebody who had trusted him and cared for him.

“But she couldn’t have been that old…” Jinyoung muttered.

Mrs. Park shook her head softly. “She’d always had a weak heart, Jinyoung. Her health was fragile and after her husband passed away she had no choice but to work to support her daughter. All those long hours and late nights for years… they took their toll in the end. She had her first stroke three years ago. She was in hospital for a few weeks and then she had the second one; the one that took her life.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes, remembering your mother in his mind’s eye.

“She always looked tired. And worried.”

“She was.” Mrs. Park reached out and placed a hand over her son’s nervously. “I’m sorry, Jinyoung. I should have told you about it sooner. But you were always so busy in Seoul, always doing important things. It never seemed like the right time to tell you about something so devastating. It’s my fault.”

Jinyoung let out a small scoff. “Don’t take the blame on yourself. That doesn’t help me.”

Mrs. Park looked upset. “Jinyoung-”

She was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door. Jinyoung closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temple while he listened to his father go to the door and yell at the person on the other side. The reporters had already found his home address. They had started arriving one-by-one since this morning. Each of them desperately wanted an interview with Park Jinyoung, the man who had lost his empire overnight. They wanted to know what he had to say about his dismissal from his own company.

Mr. Park re-entered the living room and sighed. “They’re getting more persistent. I think I should call the local police before they start trying to shove their way into our house.”

Jinyoung nodded and stood up. “I’ll go down to the police station myself and ask them to send someone to deal with this harrassment. Mom, you’ve told everyone we know to deny any reporters who request them for an interview, right?”

“Yes, but is it really a good idea for you to be going outside now-”

“I think I’ll lose my mind if I stay indoors,” Jinyoung muttered. He grabbed the black hoodie that was slung over the back of the sofa and glanced at his parents. They were both looking at him with wide, worried eyes.

Jinyoung felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over him; why should they have to deal with so much because of his mistakes? Why was he always the one taking and yet never giving?

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “I’ll try and be back for dinner.”

------

Jinyoung’s legs carried him naturally towards the elementary school.

Perhaps it was a subconscious urge to see you, even though he had no idea what he would say if you really appeared before him. Anything Jinyoung could have said to help should have been said three years ago. Words like I’m sorry seemed like an insensitive joke at this point; too little and far too late.

Jinyoung sat silently on the bench by the schoolyard with his face covered by his dark hoodie, and wondered how his life had brought him to this point.

Left with nothing with shame.

“Ahjussi!”

By the time Jinyoung looked up, there was already a tiny figure running straight towards him at full speed. He flinched and braced himself for the impact; only to have the small boy stop centimetres away from him and throw his arms around him happily. Jinyoung stiffened.

“What-”

“Ahjussi, you are Park Jinyoung!” Ki-woo cried delightedly. The boy was beaming. Jinyoung noticed for the first time that one of his front teeth was missing, but it was still one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen. “Miss told me yesterday! Why did you lie and say you weren't? I can’t believe the King of the Playground walked me home after school and I didn’t even know!”

Jinyoung couldn’t resist a small smile. The sight of the little boy bouncing on his feet warmed him for a moment and he patted Ki-woo on the head. “If somebody asked Clark Kent if he was Superman, he wouldn’t say yes, now would he?”

Ki-woo’s eyes widened in understanding. “Wow. That’s so true! You’re so cool!”

“You’ll have to keep my secret.”

“Of course I will! Ahjussi, can you tell me how you did it? How did you manage to climb the oak tree?” Ki-woo demanded, grabbing Jinyoung’s arm and tugging on it eagerly. “You have to tell me, you just have to! Were you really tall?”

Jinyoung blinked. “Tall? Not particularly…”

“Then how? How did you do it?”

Jinyoung opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off by a loud yell. He had been so preoccupied with Ki-woo that he hadn’t noticed the much larger man that was making his way across the school yard. Jackson Wang had a huge smile on his face and without greeting, he threw his arms around Jinyoung in a fierce hug.

“Park Jinyoung! Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!” Jackson cried happily. He pulled back and noticed the blank look on Jinyoung’s face. With a frown, he pointed to himself eagerly. “Remember me? Jackson! Jackson Wang! You used to pass me all the answers in History class!”

Jinyoung swallowed. “Uh…”

“Mr. Wang, you’re friends with Park Jinyoung?” Ki-woo asked, his mouth gaping open.

Jackson blinked and looked down at the boy sheepishly. “Ah, Ki-woo. I didn’t see you down there. Didn’t your teacher tell you to wait inside until someone came to pick you up? Go back indoors now.”

Ki-woo pouted. “But-”

“Nope. Back inside. Now.”

Jackson waited until Ki-woo began to slouch back towards the school building and then turned back to Jinyoung. “Man, you’re pretty much the celebrity around these parts now, eh? We had a couple of reporters come by the school this morning, asking for anyone who used to know you. You have nothing to worry about! I scared them off. These babies aren’t here for nothing,” Jackson beamed and flexed his bare bicep.

Jinyoung didn’t really know how to respond. “Nice.”

Jackson narrowed his eyes. “You do remember me, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course-”

“We should get drinks sometime and catch up now that you’re back in town! Man, I really owe you. You did me a solid one that Christmas before you left, remember? I’ll buy you a couple of beers at the pub. What’s your phone number?” Jackson demanded.

“I don’t really have a phone right now…”

“Don’t have a phone?” Jackson looked confused. “Weird but okay. I guess I can always ask Miss First Grade to get in touch with you. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me you were back in town!” he cried, slapping Jinyoung’s arm playfully. “Hold on… you’re here to see her, aren’t you?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Not exactly…”

Jackson chuckled knowingly. “No worries, man. I’ve got your back. I need to go inside and take care of the kids now, so I’ll tell her to come out and meet you here, yeah? Let me know if any more of those reporters come around. I’ll take handle them for you!”

Jinyoung forced a smile. “Thanks-”

“No problem, man. It’s what friends are for. We’ll catch up soon!”

“Sure.”

Jinyoung watched Jackson half-run back to the school building, letting out a sigh of relief. Each person he came across in this town seemed to remember something about him and the one who possessed the most dangerous knowledge was Jackson Wang. In addition to having been the resident supplier of inappropriate magazines and the one who’d convinced Jinyoung to try his first cigarette behind the park back in high school, Jackson simply knew a little too much about everybody.

Jinyoung sat down on the bench and took a deep breath. He just realized that Jackson had said he would send you out to meet him. Why hadn’t he told him not to? He wasn’t prepared to face you. Idiot.

It was a few minutes before you emerged from the school building and walked towards Jinyoung. There was a pleasant smile on your face as you approached, and it made Jinyoung’s stomach turn. How could you smile at him like that? How could you be so calm about everything?

“Jinyoung,” you greeted him, confused. “Should you be roaming around out here? There are reporters buzzing all around town.”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Uh. Yeah, I know. Jackson said he drove them away...”

You rolled your eyes. “That idiot Jackson Wang? He was fully prepared to seize his five minutes of fame by telling them how you used to help him cheat in History class. I had to step in and force him to deny the request for an interview,” you muttered. Jinyoung’s eyes widened and you gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I sent a message to the principal of the middle school and the high school. Nobody’s going to give any interviews about you.”

Jinyoung felt small.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Did they find your house?”

“Yeah. They’ve been knocking the door all day. It’s really starting to bother Mom and Dad.”

Your expression was sympathetic. “Should I call the police?”

“Don’t worry. I was going to go down to the station myself and ask them to send someone to get rid of the reporters,” Jinyoung reassured you. He felt his heartbeat thump wildly as he looked at your gently smiling face. Should he say it? Should he talk about the elephant in the room? Even though he hadn’t prepared what to say?

“About… about last night…”

You blinked. “Yeah?”

He sighed. “About your mother. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I know that’s no excuse, but I should have been there and-”

You cut him off with a forced smile. “Jinyoung. It’s okay. It’s not like you could have done anything for her even if you were here, you’re not a doctor. Everyone did the best they could.”

Jinyoung swallowed. “I might not have been able to help her. But… I should have been there for you.”

The smile dropped from your face. What could you say? Jinyoung’s eyes were filled with shame but it wasn’t the right time for him to be offering condolences. That time had long passed.

But you still remembered his words from last night as he’d hugged you. I don’t feel as alone when I’m here. Jinyoung had been through so much. How could you say anything to such a broken man except for it’s okay? How could you offer him anything but comfort when he had nobody but you?

How could you not be the bigger person when he was suffering?

“It’s fine, Jinyoung,” you promised him softly. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“How can I not-”

“Seriously. Please. It’s in the past and nobody was to blame. It happened around the time your company was going public, so I can only imagine how chaotic your life and work must have been back then. I don’t resent you.”

Jinyoung looked up at you in disbelief. “How can you not?”

“I just… don’t. It’s fine.”

“Do you really mean that? Do you really mean that?” he demanded.

“I do,” you insisted firmly. You glanced at your watch and sighed. “Wow, it’s getting late. We have a PTA fundraiser at school tonight so I need to start setting up. Oh! Did you bring my bicycle by any chance?” you asked him hopefully.

Jinyoung shook his head. “Uh, no. The reporters were in front of my house so I slipped out through the back…”

“Can you drop it by the school later? I’m going to staying back pretty late because I have to wrap up after the event is over. It might even take till midnight and the buses stop running at 9 so I need a way to get home. It’s not too much trouble, is it?”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll drop it off here later.”

You gave him a small smile as you turned to go back indoors. “Bye, Jinyoung.”

“Bye.”

---------------------------

The PTA fundraiser left you drained of energy.

You would much rather have dealt with a hundred kids at once than with a handful of parents. At least kids could be made to see reason, they could be convinced with a little bit of logic (however flawed). Adults, on the other hand, believed that they knew best and that things had to be done exactly the way they wanted. Adults were unreasonable. Adults liked to throw around their authority.

You had never wanted to get into bed so badly.

You stayed back late to clean up after the fundraiser was over. It wasn’t required of you, but it was something that you somehow ended up volunteering to do. All the other teachers had families to go home to and kids to take care of. You only had an empty apartment.

Asking them to stay back instead of you felt selfish.

You slung your bag over your shoulder and trudged out into the parking lot to see that the bicycle racks were empty. Shit. Had Jinyoung forgotten to leave the bicycle behind for you? Where was he?

You pulled out your cell phone and then sighed. Damn Park Jinyoung. He didn’t even have a stupid phone. It was far past the time that Mr. and Mrs. Park would have gone to bed and you didn't want to wake them by calling them. But your apartment was too far to walk and you would have to pass by the pub; you had no interest in meeting the town’s drunkards alone in those narrow alleys at midnight.

You sighed and dialled another number.

“Jackson, hey. I’m so sorry, I know you just left a little while ago, but…”

-------------------

It was 1am when you heard a loud banging on your front door.

You had just finished taking a shower and were getting ready to slip into bed when the noise began. Your heartbeat racing, you grabbed hold of a kitchen knife quickly and then slowly approached your door.

“Who’s there?” you yelled out, voice shaking.

The voice that replied was muffled. “Jinyoung!”

Jinyoung? At this time of night?

You opened the door carefully. The first thing that hit you was the awful smell; Jinyoung stank of sweat and cheap beer. His eyes were red and his face flushed as he looked at you almost wildly.

“Are you okay?” he demanded, grabbing your shoulders to look at you properly. His hands were trembling and he seemed unaware of how loud his voice was. “Are you all right? I was looking for you everywhere!”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Wow, you’re drunk.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry- I’m so, so, sorry-”

“How about you come inside before you bring my neighbours running over with all of your noise?” you snapped. You had little patience for drunks, and knowing that Jinyoung had been out getting drunk instead of returning your bicycle did not please you. “Where have you been?”

Jinyoung stared at you helplessly, his arms waving around as he spoke. “I-I was just going to get one drink, I swear. But it led to another and I totally forgot about your bike and I was so scared that you might have walked home because I know that path passes by the pub and it’s not safe-”

“Relax,” you told Jinyoung as you guided him gently towards your couch. “I didn't walk. I called Jackson, he drove me home.”

“Jackson? Wang? Why? Are you guys close?” he asked, plopping down heavily on the couch.

You shrugged. “He’s a good friend.”

Jinyoung paused for a moment and then hung his head quietly.

“We used to be good friends.”

You looked down at Jinyoung properly. He was a wreck. His dark hair was a tangled mess and the light blue dress shirt he was wearing was wrinkled with a beer stain on it. There were even large sweat stains under his arms; he’d probably cycled all the way here in a panic.

And he’s one of the Most Eligible Bachelors under 40. If only the magazine had seen him like this.

“We’re still friends,” you told him lightly. “Although it wouldn’t do any harm to return my bicycle when I ask for it. Do you want a glass of water?”

Jinyoung blinked at you dazedly. “Do you have beer?”

“Absolutely not. Haven’t you had enough?”

His lower lip pouted slightly as he stared down at the floor. “I’ve been drinking all evening but I haven’t reached the point where I feel good or forget about my problems yet. In fact, I keep thinking about them even more. How about a cigarette?”

“You will not smoke in my house,” you told him with a firm glare.

To your surprise, Jinyoung suddenly smiled. It was only a gentle curve of his lips but you spotted it and frowned at him with your arms folded across your chest. “Are you feeling proud of yourself right now? Do you think your behaviour is something to laugh about?” you demanded.

Jinyoung looked up at you softly. “No.”

“Then why are you-”

“Because this is the first time you’ve given me that look since I came back,” Jinyoung admitted quietly. His voice trembled. “This is the first time you got angry at me. You don’t seem to get angry at me anymore.”

You didn’t understand. “Why would you want me to be angry at you-”

“Because you have to be angry with someone before you can forgive them. You have to first admit that they hurt you or that they did something wrong, and only then can you begin to repair your relationship,” Jinyoung whispered. He looked up at you and you could see the tears brimming in his eyes. “So tell me honestly. Have you forgiven me already?”

You swallowed. “I was never mad at you to begin with-”

“You’re lying.”

You clenched your fists as your heartbeat thudded. “I’m not lying. You’re drunk. You should drink some water and you can sleep on the couch-”

Jinyoung looked up at you, his eyes bloodshot yet surprisingly clear. “You are lying. Either you’re lying or you’re not the same girl I remember.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because the girl I knew wouldn’t have pretended to forgive a friend to spare his feelings. She would have grabbed me by the shirt, looked me in the eye, and said Park Jinyoung, you’re an absolute bastard for leaving me here when I was having a hard time. She wouldn’t have spared my feelings. She would have expected me to be there for her because that’s what friends do. They count on each other.”

You closed your eyes. How had Jinyoung seen right through you? Even after 10 years, how could he see through you like you were made of glass?

“I’m not angry,” you tried to tell him slowly, even though you weren’t sure who you were convincing anymore. “Because I never expected you to be there. You were busy and I had no expectations-”

Jinyoung scoffed. “You’re lying again.”

“I’m not-”

“You are. Friendship is when you help someone, because you trust that they would do the same for you. What you’re doing for me isn’t friendship. You don’t trust me anymore. If you have no expectations from me, then that’s charity!” Jinyoung spat out. Tears were brimming in his eyes and his voice was choked. “Is that what I am to you? Charity?”

You clenched your fists and let out a small, humourless laugh. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“What?”

“Where the fuck do you get off accusing me of treating you like charity? After what you did?” you snapped.

Jinyoung stared at you blankly. “Tell me.”

Your throat closed up. You didn’t want to talk about it. You didn’t want to drag yourself back to what had been the lowest point of your life, especially not in front of Jinyoung. You didn’t know who he was to you anymore. How could you open up to him?

“I can’t,” you muttered. “I don’t want to talk about it, Jinyoung.”

“Please,” Jinyoung whispered. “Please. At least tell me I was a terrible friend for not being there. Tell me I was a terrible friend for not even knowing about your mother.”

You took a deep breath and sat down, your knees feeling weak. You had never imagined that you would have to sit next to Jinyoung and say these words to him while he was drunk. Yet, as his dark eyes pierced into yours, he looked more sober than ever.

“It was my fault she died,” you whispered, shakily. “I know how hard my Mom worked to raise me. I know how much she struggled after my Dad passed away. The doctor told me her heart attack was probably caused by stress- years of it. She was growing old but she’d never even gone for a health check-up because we couldn’t afford it.”

Jinyoung stared at you silently.

“I needed someone to say this to back then,” you admitted quietly. “I needed someone who would listen to me and who wouldn’t try to convince me that it wasn’t my fault or that I didn't do anything wrong. That’s what everyone kept doing. They kept trying to comfort me but I just wanted someone who would listen. I wanted you,” you mumbled.

Jinyoung only nodded. His hands reached out to take both of yours. He grasped them tightly.

“I knew you were busy, but I always had this hope that maybe you would come to the funeral,” you whispered. “I thought… surely, whatever I did to make you cut me off, it wasn’t so bad that you wouldn't even turn up to my mother’s funeral. But the truth was that I couldn’t grieve properly because the hospital was hounding me about the bills, I…”

You took a deep breath. You hated thinking about those moments. You had felt so helpless and alone, backed into a corner. “I don’t think it even sank in that my mother was dead until a few days later,” you mumbled. “ I spent the first day wondering how the hell I was going to pay the hospital bills instead of thinking about her. Your mother tried comforting me, she told me it would all be fine and that she would call you for help.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes; tears were clinging to his eyelashes.

“She did,” he mumbled.

You felt the walls around you come crashing down as you looked at the broken man in front of you. You remembered how badly you’d wanted to see him then, how much you’d craved his comfort. You remembered how furious you had been when you realized that Jinyoung had abandoned you.

“I thought you would call,” you mumbled. “I didn’t want to disturb you but at the same time I trusted that you wouldn’t leave me alone at a time like that.”

Jinyoung’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry.”

“It would have been better if you hadn't done anything at all,” you mumbled. “Maybe then I could have forgotten about it in the mess that I was going through. But you didn’t. I got a call from your secretary the night before the funeral.”

Jinyoung lowered his head. His hands were trembling even as they held yours and you could hear his soft sniffle. “Shit,” he muttered, his voice thick with tears. “Shit, I can’t believe-”

“I thought you’d finally called. But it wasn’t you. I had to hear some strange woman tell me over the phone that Park Jinyoung is sorry he can’t make it to the funeral but he sends his condolences,” you choked out. You smiled humorlessly. “As if I was some distance acquaintance you barely knew. You sent me your condolences through your secretary.”

“I didn’t- I didn’t know it was you…”

“And then she told me that if I would just email her a copy of the hospital and funeral bills then all the expenses would be taken care of,” you mumbled. “She said that she could send me as much as I needed, no limit. I was so embarrassed. I wanted-I wanted to tell her that you could go fuck yourself and that I didn’t want your condolences and your money. I wanted to refuse so badly, but…”

You hung your head in shame. “But I couldn’t,” you whispered. “I couldn’t say that to her because it was true. I had no other way of paying those bills. So I sent her the details and I let you pay for them. Whether you know it or not, you paid for all my mother’s hospital bills and funeral while I sat here and wondered how I had become such a worthless daughter.”

Jinyoung’s hands clasped yours so tightly that it hurt. His shoulders were shaking and you could see the sobs racking his chest. “I didn’t mean to-” he sobbed. Jinyoung’s tears landed on your clasped hands. “I didn’t mean to, I swear…”

You slowly removed your hands from his. “I have the accounts,” you muttered. “I’ve been saving up to pay you back. It might take me a few more years but-”

Jinyoung flinched. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s not open to discussion, Jinyoung.”

“Don’t say you’ll pay me back, please-”

“I will pay you back,” you said firmly. You took a deep breath. “You know why? Because I might be able to forgive you for not being there when I needed you. But I will never, never forget how cheap I felt the moment I ended that phone call. So don’t talk to me about charity; I know how it feels to be on the other end of it.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes. He felt light-headed and blank as he thought about everything you’d said. No wonder you didn’t consider him a friend. No wonder you couldn't bring yourself to be honest with him. No wonder there was something fake and forced about your every smile.

Jinyoung hadn’t just messed up.

He had destroyed something precious to him without even realizing it.

“It’s late,” you mumbled after a brief silence. “You should go to sleep. Here, just; make yourself comfortable on the couch and I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows.”

Jinyoung swallowed. “I-I can’t…”

“You’re not going anywhere at this time of night while you’re drunk,” you told him. You pushed him lightly so that he leaned back against the sofa. “Stay put. I’ll be back. I think we’ve talked enough for tonight.”

“Can you just promise me one thing?” Jinyoung asked quietly.

“What’s that?”

“Even if you don’t consider me your friend anymore, even if you’re just being nice to me because you’re that kind of a caring person… don’t give up on me completely.” Jinyoung looked up at you desperately. “Please. Tell me that I can fix things. Tell me I haven’t broken our friendship and my life beyond repair.”

You looked down at him. Lying on your couch in his crumpled dress shirt and the beer stains, Jinyoung looked pathetic. Perhaps it was because you’d finally let out all the resentment you’d been bottling up for so long. Perhaps it was because, looking into Jinyoung’s eyes now, you could see that he did care. But you suddenly didn’t feel so hollow anymore.

You didn’t feel so lonely in your pain.

“Everything can be fixed, Jinyoung,” you told him softly.

“Even us?” he mumbled.

You nodded. “Even us.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.”

Jinyoung slowly closed his eyes and you went into the other room to get him a spare pillow and a blanket. He let you place the pillow under his head and snuggled into the soft blanket. You turned to switch off the light when you heard him mumble.

“You know something?”

“What, Jinyoung?”

“I thought that the most unbearable thing about being fired from the company was all the effort I’d put into it. I thought I couldn’t bear it because I’d done so much for it for the years,” he said slowly.

You blinked at his curled up figure under the blanket.

“But it’s not?” you asked.

Jinyoung shook his head. “It’s not how much I’ve done for the company that I can’t bear. It’s how much I sacrificed for it.”

-------------------

#got7 #got7 scenarios #got7 scenario #got7 angst #park jinyoung #got7 jinyoung #jinyoung angst #jinyoung scenario #got7 imagines #got7 drabbles #got7 series #got7 fanfiction #jinyoung fanfic #jinyoung my youth

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lexinthelibraryofdreams · 6 years ago

Text

Enemies To Lovers

Imagine: Friends/Enemies to lovers

Pairing: Theseus Scamander x Reader

Words: 3667

A/N: Week two, day six of the Leather and Lace + You Keep Me Warm Romance Event. Did this get out of hand? Yes. Do I care? Barely. Hope you enjoy. If anyone wants to request a character, feel free to do so :)

Warnings: none, I believe. If you want me to add anything, feel free to tell me :)

The first time you met Theseus Scamander, you immediately hated him. In your opinion, he wasn’t suited to be the head of your department and from the first meeting on he seemed to return your feelings. You barely left the office, stuck to your neck in paperwork he assigned to you.

The more time went on, the more he seemed to ignore your requests to actually hire a secretary if he wanted one and allow you to do your job. You were getting frustrated with your job but were also too prideful to quit, which you assumed was what he wanted.

“Sir,” you greeted him after entering his office with the finished reports again. He didn’t even bother looking up and you closed your eyes for a moment to center yourself. With more force than necessary, you put down the stack of papers on his desk. “Look, if you won’t even bother to greet me, at least don’t insist on having me deliver the reports personally. Then you don’t have to ignore me.” You knew how disrespectful you sounded but you were past caring. He wouldn’t get rid of you unless he would forcibly remove you from the office.

Now he looked up. You only stared back, setting your jaw stubbornly. “I do not appreciate you tone, Miss Y/L/N,” was the only thing he said and you had to mentally hold back to not hex him. Straightening your back, you replied, “Well, I do not appreciate being degraded to your secretary when I should be out there and support my colleagues in the field. I know that I have the skills to perform the tasks of an actual auror, so I don’t see why you insist on holding me in the office.” He reached forward and took the papers you had brought him. “It is my decision to make who to send out and who to keep back. If you wish to keep your position, do not question my decisions any further,” he replied, the waved towards you. “You are dismissed.” A part of you wanted to argue but instead you abruptly turned on you heel and exited the office, throwing the door close in your anger. You ignored the few eyes on you as you made your way back to your desk. The few people that were actually here and not on the hunt for Grindelwald and his followers weren’t benched like you, they simply finished off reports from missions. Reports that would inevitably end up on your desk the next morning. One day you would probably snap and light them on fire the instance they arrived.

A woman entered the office but you ignored her presence. At least, you tried until she stepped up to your desk. Hesitantly you looked up with a blank look, trying to look as busy and interrupted as you could. “Do you need anything?” you asked, not bothering with a greeting. You had seen her before, she was part of some other department in the Law Enforcement. She seemed to be friends with Scamander, considering they often spent their breaks with each other.

Now she looked down on you with an unreadable expression. “Could you ask Mr Scamander if he has time? I wanted to talk to him.” You raised an eyebrow at her. “Sorry, Lady, but I’m not his bloody secretary. He just punishes me for existing with having to read over reports he is too busy for. Someday he’ll probably ask for a coffee. For all I care, he could burst into flames right now and I wouldn’t be bothered at all. Anything else?”

She looked a little taken aback at your hostility towards your boss but only thanked you and wordlessly retreated to his office.

Later you learned that the woman was none other than Leta Lestrange, his fiancée. That outburst would probably fall back onto you but you were past caring.

“Y/L/N,” he said, approaching your desk. You plastered on a sweet smile and waited for him to ask whatever he wanted. “Go get your coat, you’re accompanying me.” It was almost embarrassing how quickly you got to your feet, slipping into your coat and following him wordlessly. Though you wondered what caused the sudden change but you wouldn’t test your luck with asking about it.

In the lobby you met up with several other aurors, the head of the Department of Law Enforcement and - of course - Leta Lestrange. You only gave her a semi-politely nod before listening to Travers.

After the short briefing, you followed them outside and disapparated. The bridge leading to the castle was still like you remembered it and a nostalgic feeling welled up inside you. Your happiest memories all were bundled in the place but you knew you weren’t here for fun.

Interrogating Dumbledore went as well as you expected. He stayed polite but passive, not wanting to join the war that was inevitably coming. Or maybe it was already waging, it was hard to tell with how blurred the lines were.

As you turned to leave, he called out to both you and Scamander. You were at the door already, looking at him expectantly. He warned you, should Grindelwald call for his followers to assemble, that you shouldn’t interrupt.

On your way to the bridge, you walked next to Scamander, both of you silent. You admired Dumbledore for defending his point despite the pressure against him. You looked at your boss who seemed lost in thought. “Will you follow his advice?” He shrugged lightly. “I don’t know yet.” You met up with the others again. It occurred to you that that was literally the first conversation between you without any malice behind it. Admittedly, it felt good.

Your next stop was Paris. Despite the urgency of the situation, you looked around to take in at least some of the sights. “First time in Paris?” Scamander asked suddenly and you looked at him before nodding. There still were more negative feelings between one another but since your visit in Hogwarts, you offered a less hostile stand, being more passive in your dislike of him. If he noticed it, he didn’t comment on it.

“Where’s Scamander?” Travers asked and you only shrugged. “Why does everybody expect I know where he is at any given time? I’m not his secretary,” you replied, a little on the edge because even Travers was under the impression. At least he looked more bewildered than offended by your harshness, then ordered for you to go and find him. You tried your hardest not to roll your eyes and trailed off to search and ask around.

In the end you found him locked in a room and tied to a chair. “Mr Scamander, what a coincidence to meet you here,” you said, leaning against the doorframe. When he stopped struggling to look up, you couldn’t hide a gleeful grin. “Looks like you’re in some kind of situation. Once you’re done here, Travers is searching for you.” You turned around to leave, when you heard him struggle some more. “Y/L/N, wait!” he called out and you feigned hesitation. A heavy sigh sounded from behind you, followed by a “Please. I need your help.”

When you faced him again, you wore a big smile. “Really? I wouldn’t have noticed. I mean you normally got everything under control.” He made a face at you. “What do you want so no one will hear about this?” You raised an eyebrow at him and decided to test your luck. “An explanation and for you to get an actual secretary, so I can finally do my job. Maybe, if you’re feeling generous, even an apology but I’m not greedy.”

He sighed again, looking defeated. “It was your father. When he resigned, he requested for you be kept off the field. I know you’re more than capable but he is a scary and influential man, even if he has retired and I did not want to risk my career for that.” He paused and you thought about it. It made sense. Still, he did not have to be so unpleasant about it. “I’m sorry,” he added and he seemed to mean it. You exhaled, then waved your wand and the rope fell to the ground. “Thank you for being honest. Though I’m still kind of angry you wouldn’t have told me without blackmail. That’s not a good way to keep up a professional relationship.” He stood up and straightened out his jacket. “I know. And I meant it when I apologize. I’ll try to be more open about your father’s requests in the future.”

“Appreciated,” you replied and followed him back to Travers.

You had tried to remind him Dumbledore’s words but he had just waved it off. “If you don’t think you can handle it, stay here,” he had said and you adamantly shook your head.

Now you stood there, watching in horror as blue flames devoured colleagues in front of you. Even though you were standing at a good distance to it, you could feel the burning heat on your exposed skin as if you were standing in it. Screaming from one side caught your attention and you saw Scamander as he tried to get to his fiancée. His brother was by his side, trying to drag him away from the flames when they burned the woman to ash. He was screaming and fighting against the grip, so you bolted down the stairs and grabbed him by the arm. “There is nothing you can do Scamander. We have to leave. Don’t let her sacrifice be a lost cause!” you yelled at him and that seemed to get to him a little. You made it out of the mausoleum barely as blue flames burst through the openings and burned everything in their path. Your hand was still wrapped around his upper arm when you were joined by an old, sickly looking wizard.

The circle around the graveyard was quickly formed and once you claimed your position, you drove your wand into the ground with a yell. A golden line formed on the ground and you watched as the flames were encased by the ward and orange flames until they were dragged into the building and finally snuffed out.

You stood next to your boss on the bridge as you watched his brother talk to Dumbledore. “He was right,” the man said and you looked at him. It was one of the few things he had said after watching Leta die and even though you still didn’t really like him, even you would try to be nice. “What do you mean?” He gestured towards Dumbledore. “He warned us. You were there. You tried to remind me but I brushed it off because Travers told me so. We never should have entered that mausoleum.” You hesitated, then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I did warn you but even I couldn’t have imagined that. It wasn’t your fault. She made her own decisions.” You looked out towards Hogwarts. So many students behind the wall didn’t know what had happened only hours ago. Since the obscurial joined Grindelwald, you wouldn’t even deem this place safe and there was hardly anything better protected. “A lot will change, I suppose,” he said, following your gaze. You hummed in agreement, then added, “A lot already has.”

Your little group disbanded, one by one of those that were left walking past the wards and vanishing into thin air. You turned to follow and to your surprise he fell into step next to you. “What are you going to do now?” he asked, hands shoved into his pockets and eyes focused on the stones below them. You shrugged. “Get some rest. Grief those we lost. And when it is called for, fight. That means, if I’m allowed to leave the office now, sir,” you replied and noticed the ghost of a smile cross his lips.

“I can hardly bench my best auror now, can I?” he said and you gave him a firm smile before disapparating.

The next time you stepped into the office, it had changed. Some tables had been cleared which tightened a knot in your stomach. Another desk had been set up before Scamander’s office. A woman was sitting at it, avidly reading over some papers. She looked up and gave you an easy smile as you approached. “Ah, you must be Miss Y/L/N. I’m Priscilla Selpie, Mr Scamander’s new secretary and assistant. He asked me to send you inside once you were here.”

You thanked her with a nod and a smile then entered after knocking. “So you actually listened to me,” you said instead of greeting him and he looked up. “Good morning to you, too. And you actually still don’t care for politeness.” He rounded his desk and leaned against it. You doubted that he had slept much since your return from Paris, judging from his messy hair, his pale face and the very noticeable bags under his eyes. Even his suit jacket had creases where they didn’t belong, completely untypical.

“You know, maybe you should listen to another advice of mine and try to take some time off. You just lost someone, it is understandable,” you said and he shook his head. “I got restless at home. It was bad. This way I can keep busy and distract myself. And try to find the man who is behind all of this.” You looked at the picture of Leta Lestrange on his desk and he followed your gaze. “You hated her, didn’t you? At least, that’s what she thought.” Now it was your time to shake your head. “No, I hated you. I felt really more indifferent towards her than anything else. Admittedly, I was wondering a little how she could love an ass like you but now that I’ve seen some other sides of you... She seems less of a lunatic and more of a normal woman with a type.”

A fond smile crossed his face. “So, hated? Past tense?” You rolled your eyes at him. “That does not mean that I like you, Scamander but... let’s just say that my feelings towards you are neutral. I hope that’s enough for now.” Still, your tone wasn’t harsh. You did have more than enough time to think about what happened and what he told you and in the end he was deemed potentially likeable. Maybe, in the near future, you could even become friends.

He looked at you for a moment, then nodded. “For now.”

And friends you did become. It was two years after the graveyard and you knew that he wouldn’t have it easy today. You greeted Priscilla who smiled at you cheerily and entered the office without knocking. “Alright, Scamander, time for dinner.” Even though he had asked you along the way to use his first name, you refused to do so, just because of how much it annoyed him. Still, it was different than before, spoken with at least 40% more fondness and 75% less irritation. Of course, those numbers varied from day to day.

He didn’t look up. “I’m not really in the mood for dinner” You didn’t bother and forcibly closed the book he was reading, staring down at him. “Well, then you better get in the mood quickly because we are going. You have no say in that. I’m not going to let you gloom in your office for the rest of your day only to end it with a bottle of bourbon. I watched that last year.” He leaned back and rubbed across his neck, clearly tense from looking down the entire time. “I don’t see you barge into my brother’s house to invite him to dinner,” he replied and you raised your eyebrows at him. “Well, Newt has a friend and a nice American lady by his side, so he doesn’t need me but you do, so get up before I hex you.” He reluctantly did, whether because of your reasoning or your threat was unsure but irrelevant.

He followed you out the building and towards a cozy muggle restaurant close to the ministry. “Why aren’t we going somewhere... uh...” You grinned as he struggled with finding the right word, then interrupted him. “Because you need a break from magic and everything that comes with it. So we’ll eat at a muggle place.”

Despite his original hesitation, he seemed to enjoy both the food and the surroundings. Afterwards, you insisted on taking a walk. He walked beside you for a while without saying anything. “I should probably go home... I don’t want to bother you for longer.” You gave him a pointed look and he almost helplessly lifted his shoulders. “Scamander, I already said I’m not going to let you drink your sorrow away. At least not alone. Now come one, I have some drinks at my place.” You offered him your arms and when he put his hand on it, apparated you both to your place. He looked around, the first time he set foot into your flat.

“Take a seat,” you offered and he sat down on your sofa while you retrieved the bourbon and two glasses, placing them on the coffee table and filling them.

In the end, he slept on your sofa after pouring his heart out to you in a less-than-sober state. Whatever he had told you, you would keep it to yourself, you decided.

On the third anniversary you repeated it. Again, he stayed on your sofa for the night and you woke him up the next morning with a strong coffee. He sat at you dinner table while you prepared some breakfast and seemed to watch you. “How personal did I get?” he asked after a while and you laughed a little. “Even more than last time.” You watched him for a moment before returning your attention to the food in front of you.

He had told you how he wanted to move on but still felt guilty about it. That he knew he couldn’t stay like this forever but that he didn’t want to disappoint or forget her, let alone give off the feeling he wanted to replace her. Then you hadn’t said much with real essence but now you wanted to do so. Still, you couldn’t think of the exact words. And a while ago, another issue had occurred.

Finally you could understand how Leta could have love an ass like him.

You entered his office and put the mug down on his desk. “I thought you could use a coffee. This mission was hell.” It wasn’t the first time you did field work but surely the hardest. Or at least second hardest. Nothing would ever trump Paris. At least you hoped it wouldn’t. He took the coffee and sipped on it before thanking you.

“Anything you want?” he asked and you shook your head, leaning against his desk sideways to watch what he was doing. “I finished the report and handed it over to Priscilla. You should take a break. If you continue to squint at the paper like that you’ll get wrinkles or need glasses. Or both. Probably both.” He gave you a tired smile and stretched a little before standing up and joining you on the other side of the desk. His elbow bumped into yours as he took another sip.

“You are always worrying about me,” he teased and you laughed. “Someone has to. You’re clearly not doing it.” He smiled and now intentionally bumped his elbow into your side. Both of you quickly sobered up, then he spoke again. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. We started out literally hating each other and now... never would have imagined that when we first met.” You nodded, smiling into your mug. “Likewise. But I don’t mind this at all.”

He hummed and you could see from the corner of your eye that he was watching you. “Can I help you with something?” You put your mug down on the desk and looked at him. His expression seemed clouded for a moment, then he leaned forward. You unintentionally held your breath but he stopped and pulled back, then turned away. “Sorry. I’m... I just...” he sighed and you put your hand on his which was gripping the edge of the desk hard. “I know. It’s okay. I understand.” He turned around only to look at you with surprise written on his face. “How do you... wait... the anniversary?” You nodded and gave him a warm smile. “Take your time, Theseus. I won’t go anywhere.” This time, you used his first name intentionally.

Now you leaned forward, to press a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll leave you to it.” You picked up your mug again and pushed away from the desk, not getting further than a step.

His hand around your wrist stopped you. You halted, waiting for him to act, which he did by spinning you around and planting his lips on yours. You willingly melted into him, trying not to drop your coffee, smiling against his lips the entire time.

When you parted, you looked him into the eyes and planted another short kiss on his lips. “That was quicker than expected.” He smiled, a little sheepishly even, and brushed some hair behind your ear. “You made it easier. I’m glad I drunkenly confessed that. Otherwise I might have let you walk out,” he said and your smile only widened. “Would have been a shame, really. But I’m glad you didn’t.”

Whatever this would grow into, it somehow had been years in the making, neither of you could deny that. It truly had been a wild ride and with the uncertainty of the future, it would surely stay just as interesting but it was easier to look ahead when you knew someone by your side.

#romancemonth #theseus imagine #theseus x reader #theseus scamander

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spiftynifty · 6 years ago

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TeeVee Podcast’s Voltron s8 review

I’ve been waiting eagerly for TeeVee’s review of s8. If you recall, their s7 review was what gave us the man getting choked up about Shiro’s relationship.

The link to the podcast is here but if you’d prefer a sort of transcript, here are some of the highlights for me. I didn’t always catch who was speaking but I wrote down initials where I could. S=Shanon, A=Antony, M=Moises, C=Chip D=Dan. The panel is divided on their feelings on the season. 2 of them seem to have hated it, one liked it, one thought it was fine, and one feels mixed about it. Anyway here we go, some great quotes ahead.

Under the readmore cuz it’s long.

S: "After 7 seasons of a show that was going to be one of the animated series of the decade, they not only did not stick the landing, they fell on their butts, rolled off the mat, off the lines, into the judge's table and their leotard popped open"

"A lot of the plot was callbacks to things from seasons ago that we really probably didn't need to see again." "I wasn't entirely sure that they weren't gaslighting me."

Man Shannon is calling out some great points. She's calling out the dropped druid plot thread, and wondering what the point was of showing Lotor's past when he's dead, and nothing can change in his present and his redemption can't really happen.

A: "endings are hard. I was disappointed with this season [...] it was let down by poor plotting and that final battle made me throw my hands up in despair most of the time. But I have enormous sympathy for the EPs. Maintaining a longform episodic story is hard. And to pull off an ending that satisfies even MOST of the audience is harder yet. and let's not forget they were always upfront that vt always had 'editorial interference' from up top. Toys, the fact that it's aimed at children, corp resistance to some of the more modern social issues that they've tried to tackle. THAT SAID, we don't know what happened on this production, who had the final say, what they argued over. and I say this cuz a lot of the fandom drama over it assumes a LOT over how media and entertainment like this is made that simple ARE. NOT. TRUE. Some of the stuff I've read has been ABSURDLY offbase, like that there were different writers rather than just 1 the whole way through which ignores how TV is made. And if you think these writers just go off and write a script without talking to anyone first and then they come back with something that must be filmed without any changes, THAT'S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS. [..]we don't know who made these decisions. The studio isn't always the bad guy. Sometimes they rescue things that would otherwise have been a horrible mess. And unless you were IN THE ROOM, you don't know, and neither do any of us. So let's all bear that in mind. [...]You can't lay the blame OR credit on any one person. For any of this."

They're laughing & making so much fun of the final 3 episodes and how baffling they were.

"Don't even get me started on Voltron merging with Atlas [and the crew disappearing] that was a bad, bad idea."

"But that was the ONE time Shiro was back with the team!"

a couple dudes are relatively ok with the Allura death because we've never seen a WOC heroically sacrifice herself for the universe and usually it's the Shiro hero character D: They also point out that technically she wasn't fridged so.. yay?

Antony and Shannon vehemently disagree.

A: "My problem with that ending was more just that it was... not. good." he makes a comparison to RotJ where Vader still dies and it's his SON, who lives, who 'redeems' him. "This was none of those things. It felt like a terrible lesson. You can be so evil that you kill literally billions of people for 10k yrs but if you say sorry just before you're about to be executed it's alright, dw about it, we'll put the universe back to rights. NO, that's a terrible lesson!!"

S:"They had the LIONS. That's my problem. Throughout this series we've had stakes going up but there has always been a trading of ideas, what can we do, what can we figure out, up to the point where they wind up sacrificing the castle, but they go through steps before that 'is there anything else we can do’. And here, there's not even... she didn't even get to say goodbye to Coran! This is the one character, WOC, and she has sacrificed throughout this entire series. She lost her planet. She lost the last connection she had to her father in the AI. She kept LOSING things over and over to the point where she sacrifices her crown to help Shiro. and the thanks she gets is that she has to turn around and say nope I've got to away and fix all of this and apparently never see you all again. It really, REALLY REALLY bothered me. All of my friends who have CHILDREN who watch this show, universally the kids were upset and angry and tearful and HATED that outcome. This did not feel like a triumph. Having to lose Allura like that robbed any kind of triumph in the success of saving all the universes. And I think that's one of the reasons that this last part of the season sits so poorly with me. I feel like it should have ended in a triumphant way. even if it meant losing a couple of the team members or the lions. Of course that takes away the toy aspect which is why that's not an option. We already had several tragedy arcs in this series. Zarkon, Honerva, and Lotor had tragedy arcs. Why does Allura have to have one too? We've had enough."

Antony & Shanon KILLIN IT on this podcast y'all.

C: "This series relies so much on 'oh wait, there's a new upgrade', 'oh wait, there's this new thing'" A: "Well that was the entire final battle." C: "So there's this handwavy Allura has to sacrifice herself. The heavy lifting wasn't done to make this an earned moment."

S: "I do think, whether it was at the direction of DW or WEP (Vld IP), without those little epilogue cards, there is the potential opening that Allura might be able to return.[..]It was open to interpretation."

One guy likes the Shiro ending for the surprising progress aspect, even though he's not thrilled about how it was put together. also he isn't convinced the epilogue wasn't planned. He likes a lot of s8 but all the stuff he likes is tied to stuff that he really didn't like.

S:"The shiro card is the other reason that I think those things were shoved in. For me, that turns Shiro's entire character into a token when he wasn't before. When they introduced his sexuality, it was done BEAUTIFULLY. There was this conversation with his significant other a mature relationship that ran into its problems and therefore couldn't happen anymore. Adam could've been Adele, and nothing would have changed about that conversation. It was not the defining characteristic of Shiro. It was just something else about him."

S: "And then s8 happens and Shiro is divided from everybody on the team. There are so few interactions of any kind that aren't just barking orders. or making plans. Keith is the prime example. Their friendship had been a backbone of this series and suddenly they can't even stand more than feet 5ft from each other.

A: “It’s barely evident, yeah.”

M:”And the same with the rest of the main cast. And if they had set that up at the end of s7, that he’s going to go into the background a bit, it wouldn’t have felt as weird.

S: “And they didn’t! S7 was miraculous in the fact that even though he’s no longer in a lion, he’s still got a vital part to play in the series. And s8 erased that. It pretty much neutered him! And the kind of message is once you've revealed this character to be gay, we've gotta keep him out of the way. And if they had not put those end cards in, again the fact that he's a gay man is just the fact that he's a gay man and it's not any bigger or smaller aspect of his character, but they did not EARN him marrying random bridge crew member #3."

A: "and RETIRING! A man who LEFT adam because he felt he had to go and fight."

A: "He left the guy he loved before because of his devotion to"

S:"To fighting to making things right"

A:”To being a soldier and doing the right thing.”

C:”Isn’t the whole point then that he achieves that?”

M:”The fighting’s over and he can leave that behind and he can actually be happy.”

S: “He wouldn’t’ve. I don’t see it.”

M: “I violently disagree.”

C: “I think it was a nice endcap for his character."

Moises also likes this because it’s not a BYG scenario and he gets retired. Shannon is extremely exasperated by these takes.

S:”For me, it’s like Tangled. You go through Rapunzel and Flynn, going through their adventures, getting closer, getting to know each other, they save each other, things like that. And then she’s reunited with her parents and then we get and endcap that says ‘for political reasons her parents decided they needed to marry her off to the prince in the next county, sorry’. That would’ve had people RIOTING. Thats not how you do a story with characters that people care about. And to shove shiro off onto this random character that we--his name is never spoken!”

A:”No he had like 3 lines in the entire season.”

S:”He had 3 line sin the season, you don’t know his name unless you watched the subtitles, and in the audio narration for the visually impaired, they called him Adam in the endcap. They called him Adam! They fixed that now. It feels like a hugely clumsy attempt to grab the woke points for a character that didn’t need them.”

Moises then talks a little about Shiro and Keith and how he and Shannon both thought there was something there, and still do, but they can’t know what happened behind the scenes and to theorize on the intent of that relationship is “conspiracy theory land” and trying to decide what the writers were prevented from doing is like “reading tea leaves and chicken bones”. He references people extracting things from his own writing.

M: “As much as I wanted to see that relationship flower and flourish, the fact that it didn’t, look, it’s one of a million times that’s happened for me, with fiction, where things didnt turn out the way I wanted to see them.”

S:”I’m talking about 2 different things, as far as Shiro’s character, vs shipping issues. I feel Shiro’s character was done a disservice that if they were going to end him in a relationship with another man, they didn’t earn it by throwing that little endcap on.”

M:”Yeah, they could have brought back one less robeast or something.”

S:”The other thing is, I think there is enough out there as far as interviews with JDS and LM to show that at the very least I think they meant to leave it openended. Again if you take out that endcap, the last shot includes a shot of just Shiro and Keith, together, same screen, looking up as the lions go away, without saying anything further. I know I pie in the sky hoped that they were gonna kiss this season when we did our s7 recap and yes that was the shipper in me talking. I truly did not expect that they would be able to go that far. What I did not expect was for them to tear it down. And I feel like that’s what they did. Between the complete absence of interactions in s8, and then throwing that epilogue in there.”

Dan doesn’t understand how that could be because he sees no reason for them to do that. Shannon patiently explains about DW’s history with LGBT characters but Dan insists that the creators told the story the way they wanted to and he’s fine with Shiro getting a marriage even if it’s a character they don’t know.

Overall the panelists love the show still, and in most cases prefer to consider it in the realm of s1-6 with a weak final double season (7&8) or that the show ends after s7. They would all love to know how long the NDAs last, a making of perhaps, to know what the heck happened and what changed along the way. Big mood my dudes. Big mood.

#voltron #vld #teevee #transcript

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mrswalkers-blog · 6 years ago

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A Golden Cage

Chapter 9 - Is it Love?

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

This is the story of Emily, daughter of Drake and Riley. She is conflicted between her old friend Daniel and the crown Prince James, son of Liam and Olivia

Summary: Social Season is on. Emily is spending time with both James and Daniel. Who will win her heart?

Warnings: PG.

A/N: I am writing this for maybe one reader. But still, I want to write.

Word Count: 2106

Previous Chapters Link to previous chapters can be found in the master list on my blog page.

After spending more than six hours trying out different outfits along with footwear and accessories with Samantha, Emily really needed a break. She had spent the entire day in the boutique, feeling like a mannequin for Samantha and the designer she had brought with her. In eagerness to complete the excruciating exercise, she even skipped lunch.

She took a deep breath after finalizing each outfit for the events and a few more for any other outings. After that, she went straight to her room for a relaxing shower. Then she picked the most relaxing pair of t-shirt and jeans. She paused for a moment looking at the pair in her hands, wondering what James would say about them. It did matter to her what he would think. She had never cared for anyone else's opinion, but for him, she was ready to put in an extra effort. But right now, she was not making any public appearances and no one was going to notice her. She put on the pair and tied her hair in a high pony. After getting dressed, to her hand found her phone and before she knew what she was doing, she had already called Daniel.

‘Hi, where are you?’ she asked him.

‘I am in the training room.’ he said from the other end.

‘Cool. I am coming there.’

---

Daniel had taken the opportunity of an empty day to brush his skills in the highly equipped training room set up specifically for the security personnel in the palace. Most of the guards had already left, except a single female guard, who was practicing at the other end of the room. Daniel knew her name was Kim and that she was Sophie‘s guard.

After placing the phone, he sipped some water from a bottle. He remembered something he had seen on the internet. he placed the bottle on the standing punching bag. He kicked the punching bag sending the bottle in the air, and in a swift motion, he turned around and kicked the bottle, still in the air, with his other leg. The bottle went flying to a corner in the room.

‘That’s impressive!’ Kim called from her end. She walked over to him, smiling appreciatively at him. ‘

‘Daniel? right? I am Kim.’ she offered him her hand. Daniel shook her hand firmly, giving her a polite smile.

‘I would like to try that.’ she went to pick up a bottle. She placed the bottle on the punching bag, kicked the standing punching bag with her right leg, she kicked her right leg high enough to hit the bottle hard sending it across the room.

'No,’ Daniel chuckled, 'you need to turn and then kick, with your other leg.’

Daniel went and picked up the bottle. He placed it for her to try again. She kicked the punching bag with her right leg but couldn't complete the turn before the bottle hit the ground.

‘It seems you have a strong side. Why don't you try kicking with your left leg first?’

Daniel kept the bottle on top of the punching bag and went behind Kim. Kim took her fighting stance, ready to kick.

‘No, your weight is still on your left.’ he moved forward, he paused, his hands hovering over her hips,’ May I?’ he asked. Kim answered with a nod. Daniel placed his hands on her hips, trying to adjust her weight.’You need to...’

‘Hey, guys!’ Emily entered the room, she paused abruptly looking at Daniel’s hands on a woman’s hips. Daniel immediately moved his hands back seeing her looking at them.

Emily’s smile faltered for just a second. ‘may I join you guys?’ she said smiling.

‘Kim this is Emily, Emily Kim.’ Daniel introduced them, feeling a little embarrassed. Not really sure why.

‘Ofcourse I know you Lady Emily.’ Kim politely nodded.

‘Oh, no need to be formal. Call me Emily.’ she offered her hand for a handshake to Kim.

‘So the stories about Walker family are right. You are really humble.’ Kim shook Emily’s hand.

Emily smiled as her eyes shifted to the punching bag.’So what are you guys doing?’

‘Its kick bottle challenge. You have to kick the bag sending the bottle in the air and then kick it in midair with the other leg.’ Kim explained it to her.

‘Oh! Cool! can I try?’ Emily said excitedly. She placed her phone on a table on the side.

‘Are you sure? Lady...ummm... Emily?’ Kim looked at her with doubt.

‘Move back’ she said taking a fighting stance in front of the punching bag.

She hopped twice in her place gaining momentum, with an efficient move she kicked the punching bag, did a flip, and kicked the bottle hard with her other leg sending the bottle flying across the room. She landed back with a triumphant smile.

‘That’s amazing!’ Kim clapped appreciating her. Emily looked at Daniel to see him looking at her completely awestruck. He blushed to realize her smiling at his reaction.

‘Well! I have learned from the best - my father.’ Emily replied to Kim.

Before Kim could respond, they were interrupted by a call on Emily’s phone. Emily excused herself to answer the call from James.

‘Hey!’ she said in a soft voice, walking a little away from Daniel and Kim.

‘Emily. I was hoping you can join me for an outing I have planned.’

‘An Outing? Where?’ she wanted to say yes. She wanted to say more and more time with him. But still didn't want to sound so eager.

‘Picnic in the mountains.’

‘Mountains? I mean do you really like mountains?’ Emily chuckled.

‘Well. I haven't done it. But I know you like it. So what do you say?’

‘Sure. I will get ready in half an hour.’

---

Emily picked a silk top with jeans shorts and platform heel shoes. She knew James would love this designer wear. She wanted him to know that she was ready to put an extra effort for him. And she knew there would not be much walking involved today.

When they reached the mountains, it was nearly sunset. A short walk from the car led them to a picnic site already set up for them. A mat was laid down with plates already served and covered. A champagne bottle and two glasses were waiting for them.

‘So this is how a Prince go to Picnic?’ she chuckled looking at the spread.

‘A prince is entitled to the best. And so is a Princess.’ he held her hand and led her to the mat. A butler came and poured both of them a glass of champagne. As he left, Emily looked back to the car where the driver and guards were positioned. They were watching different directions and few bushes were obscuring a clear view to where they were sitting.

They sipped the champagne in silence watching the sun go down. James held Emily’s hand in his. ‘I wanted this to be special for you.’

‘It is. I know you have gone far from your ways to do this.’

‘You do the same for me.’ James brushed his thumb on her knuckles.’ I know you had worked hard today for your attire.’

Emily simply smiled.

‘Life of a Queen is different. She has an image to keep up. People should look up to her. Not feel like one of them.’

‘But…’ Emily started to say something, but James ignored her and continued.

‘I know this is not the life that you have lived. But if you want that, you will have to do some sacrifices. A Queen does not have friends. She has allies.’

Emily knew what James was referencing to. He was clearly talking about Daniel.

‘We have staff, guards, servants, allies, and enemies. But no friend. We cannot trust anyone.’

Emily wanted to disagree, but she kept silent.

‘There are pros too, you know, being a Queen. Everything you want will be yours. Everyone will admire you, follow your every order. And you will have … me.’

Emily blushed, she turned towards him. The orange light of the setting sun on his face made him look even more handsome.

James brushed his thumb on her cheek,’ I am having a hard time getting you out of my head. Every day, every moment, I think about you. All I can think about is to spend time with you. Everyone has started noticing my distraction.’ he let out a small chuckle.

‘Oh’ Emily felt a little overwhelmed by his confession.

‘I want you to know that I would anything to keep you in my life... I.. ‘ he paused, trying to read Emily’s eyes,’ I hope you too want that.’

‘Yes!’ Emily smiled,’ I want to be with you.’

‘I hope it's not only because I am a Prince?’ he asked her with a stoic face.

‘No...’ she stuttered. Honestly even she didn't have a true answer. Maybe it was because he was the most eligible bachelor in all of Cordonia, and every girl wanted to marry him. Maybe it was because of the attention he was giving her, maybe it was because she wanted to defeat her brother, maybe because she liked him. She didn’t know. But she knew this is what she wanted, more than anything. And she was ready to do whatever it takes.

James laughed and kissed her. His hand went in her hairs, grabbing them pulling her closer, tongue exploring her mouth, his hand moving up her thigh...

Emily suddenly pulled away, jerking his hand away from between her legs. She was suddenly aware of the presence of the staff just a few feet away from them. She turned to look at them.

James turned her towards him and whispered in her ears,’ They won't look.’ His tongue flicked her earlobe and his hand caressed her inner thigh.

‘I am sorry. I am not comfortable.’ she said gently pushing him away.

‘Oh come on!’ James said a little annoyed, his voice low but stern. ‘I am not going to undress you.’

‘Please.’ she pleaded.

‘Fine.’ with a jerk, he stood up and started walking towards the car.

Emily hurriedly followed him. She wanted to say something to him but was aware that she must not speak when they were in earshot of the staff. She kept her head low and took her seat in the SUV beside James.

James kept his gaze away from her during the ride back. Emily sat looking at him, feeling guilty. She waited for him to look at her once, but he never looked. When they reached the Palace, he walked away without looking at her.

Emily went to her room, feeling ashamed for her behavior. She paced her room thinking about how she can get him to forgive her. She picked her phone up and typed.

I am sorry. Please forgive me.

She sent it to James. She waited, and waited and waited. Checking her phone again and again. But there was no reply. She forgot her dinner, only one thing in her mind. How to make it up to him.

---

She woke up to a knock on her door. She rushed to open the door to Daniel.

‘You look exhausted!’ he said looking at her.

Emily walked back to her bed to pick her phone. It had switched off due to low battery. She threw it on the bed in frustration.

‘Are you alright?’ Daniel asked her with a clear concern in his voice.

‘No....’ she flopped down on her bed, her facein her hands.

‘I think you forgot that we are leaving for Lythikos in an hour.’

‘What!? I completely forgot!’ she looked around realizing she needed to get ready, pack her bags and leave in an hour. She felt her stomach grumble and remembered she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.

‘Okay listen! Don’t panic. I can help you out.’ Daniel said reassuring her.

‘Daniel, I am really hungry.’ Emily said on verge of tears.

‘Ok. I will get you something, meanwhile, you take a shower.’ he said rushing out of her room.

By the time Emily showered and got ready, Daniel was back with warm breakfast and a maid to help Emily pack her things.

‘You are a lifesaver!’ she said practically snatching the breakfast from his hands.

It was almost a miracle that Emily was ready in an hour. She tipped the maid handsomely and thanked her. She tried to look for James, but Daniel informed her that he had already left on another plane. She will have to wait to see him or call him till they reach Lythikos.

—

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Pixel berry. I only own my Original Characters

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