#yes the argument scene is hugely important but not because it’s the only time she stands up for herself

[jacarandaaaas]

I find it interesting how a lot of the time when people refer to the argument scene at the climax of the movie, they say “mirabel finally stands up for herself”. but it’s not actually the first time she does! it’s the most crucial time and the only one that isn’t interrupted by something else happening but mirabel does stand up for herself multiple times!

for example when luisa starts losing her gift alma immediatly asks mirabel “what did you do? what did you say to her?”, to which mirabel immediately retaliates “nothing!” it’s short and brushed over but it happens!

then yet again after the disastrous dinner pepa asks “what did you do!?” and mirabel literally yells out “IM NOT DOING ANYTHING!” she isn’t timid about her response she’s blunt and she’s immediate. mirabel can and does stand up for herself in the movie it’s just overlooked!

not to mention the breakfast scene we see already she is quite defiant! but people always act like mirabel was just a timid doormat for the whole movie and never actually stands up for herself when she does!! everytime isa opened her mouth mirabel always had a retaliation! but mirabels defiant nature is a large part to why she is the one who brings about change to the family and the entire encanto!

[sopaprimordialy]

Boppers, hear me out.

Victor is Luther's father.

Ok, now, you might be thinking: "what the actual fuck are you talking about?" Well, in this essay I'll expose favorable arguments to my theory/theses/head canon that, in the album, captain Victor is Luther's father. Keep your radio tuned tight, boppers, bcs I might be crazy OR I might be onto something.

(There will be spoilers)

1. First of all...

For context, Victor is the cop that kills Fox. He's played by David Patrick Kelly, the actor who plays Luther in the original movie, The Warriors (1979). This alone is a huge reason for me to believe that they are somehow connected, BUT THERE'S MORE!

I think we already established that what a character claims to be their reason for doing something is not always their real reasoning, or, at least, not the entirety of it. I do believe Luther kills Cyrus because he enjoys the chaos and has a lot of hate in his heart, as Swan wisely says, but I don't think that's all.

We have hints among his lines that he's also misogynistic and racist. "Well, duh?" You might say, because there were few white men who weren't those things by the time this story takes place, but sometimes we may underestimate how heavy this stuff weighs in the narrative. If he really likes chaos that much, why not kill, Idk, a police captain? That would certainly create generalized chaos just as he likes, but instead, he deliberately targets marginalized groups' leadership — he kills a black woman, a powerful black woman who was trying to unite her community.

She was obviously an obstacle for the cops to keep up with their oppression towards these groups because unity is strength, and all they don't want is strong communities that knows their rights and won't accept to be chased down like animals when they've done nothing but trying to survive.

In the very first track of the album, the question "but is Cyrus atractin' police action?" Is asked. The answer we find further on, especially when the police invades Van Cortlandt Park right after she's killed, is: *yes*, of course she is.

* Also, the timing here is too convenient, don't you think? Just like the police knew exactly when to attack, when the desperate crowd would be disorganized, when they would be easy prey... anyways 😛

2. That weird af phone call

Now that we have established that there would be a lot of interest on the police's part to have Cyrus killed, let's move on to the next topic.

Suddenly, without any further context or this being ever mentioned again, Luther talks to *someone* on the telephone. This happens in the album, and in the movie as well, it is not confirmed who the hell Luther was talking to on that phone call. I've already seen some people theorizing that he has contacts inside the force and that he's talking to them, and I agree, but I think he's not talking with some random cop, I believe he's talking to Victor.

Come think with me: how did Luther instantly knew Ajax had been taken by the cops ("Holy shit, Warrior down [...] Picked the wrong fight / now she's in for a long night", I'll talk about this later btw), and most importantly, what exactly was Victor doing at Union Square's station?

Let's compare this approach with Barnes' one at the park.

Barnes was alone in the bench, and only when Ajax approached him (and started beating the shit out of him), he called for police reinforcements. It didn't feel planned, even tho he was trying to bait them to come closer to him, I think it was much more about sexual harassment than him actually intending to arrest them. With Victor, however, it doesn't feel like a random encounter.

"Officers are on the scene". This line repeats a lot during Reunion Square, that alone indicates that there are a group of cops there, like they've been called. They knew the Warriors, specifically the Warriors, would be there, and why was it so important for them to get the Warriors if they're just a "likkle Coney Island crew"? Because Luther would be FUCKED if the Riffs reached them alive.

Of course, the Riffs could just not believe the girls, but he was not willing to risk it — after the phone call, Luther tells Cropsy the Riffs wanted the Warriors alive, but they don't. And he was right, wasn't him? Cleon being alive and telling the Riffs the truth was the only reason for him to be caught and... well, we don't know for sure what they did to him, but we can imagine they weren't gentle.

That being said, we have strong evidence that Luther was in touch with the cops, else he would have no way of knowing Ajax was grounded. And Victor needed a reason to be there as well; not only an informant, but also a motive, and if we consider the theory that he was talking to Luther, we have both things.

3. Trust in the impunity of a daddy's boy

During the entire musical, Luther thinks he can get away with about everything. I atribute that not only to the fact that he's a white man targeting women of color, but he must also have other reasons to believe he's immune to justice of any kind, and there's where I start to try to convince you that he's Victor's son.

I mean, when Cropsy shows that he's worried the Riffs would go after them, Luther, rather ignorantly, responds with "they're looking for the Warriors, remember?" As if the fact that the Riffs are going after the Warriors is enough for him to believe they would never even think about interrogating them, trying to find the murder weapon, etc.

This behavior suits someone that has never been held accountable for any misdeeds at all, and who would fit this description better than a cop's son?

Let alone that Victor is a captain. He holds even MORE power within the police. Being the son of a cop, even if you're a fucking gang member, you'd feel safe enough to do just whatever the fuck you want without even thinking about the consequences.

Like, how many times he could have been caught doing something illegal, just tell the cops "do you know who my father is?" AND IT ACTUALLY WORKING? I firmly believe he was the one to inform the cops about all of this — the gathering, the Warriors' location, and the fact that he needed daddy to arrest the women who could potentially cause something to happen to him, because the Riffs are not the police, they'd not give af abt who his father is, even someone like him would have to be a little worried about being taken by them.

4. Fox & Luther — Parallels

I bet you did not see that one coming. "What do you mean there's something in common between Fox and Luther specifically that makes Victor killing her an interesting parallel with his (supposed) son?"

Well, games. That's kinda it. Old games.

So, there are only two characters that canonically like games in the musical, because they actually mention them: Fox ("A-yo I'll take you on an Odyssey like Magnavox") and Luther (with his multiple references to Pacman during the entire thing and other game expressions, like "I was at the top of the screen when I took that shot")

The Magnavox Odyssey is actually mentioned on the movie (according to my own father. I confess I don't remember this part, but I trust my nerdy father who actually have a connection with old consoles to notice that) by the Lizzies (fem version of the Bizzies), and Fox was not even there at the moment. Actually, movie Fox does not have a lot of... personality, if you ask me, he was kinda irrelevant. Anyways, even if Lin and Eisa wanted to reference this specific part in which the Lizzies offer to play Odyssey with the Warriors to lure them, why not have the Bizzies saying that? Why Fox?

Because that would be a bitter irony in the future. I might be crazy, BUT HEAR ME OUT, Victor killing a young woman that shared his son's interest for games was a foreshadowing for him being responsible for Luther's death as well — because he failed.

This is other thing they share: they failed. Victor failed to stop the Warriors from going home, Luther failed to kill Cyrus and blame the Warriors with no consequences, they failed together at silencing them, and this CAUSED Luther's (probable) death.

5. A gang member who endorses the police?

Ok, this last section is based in my belief that, even tho the crews fight and have their diferences, they all share a common enemy: the cops. That was the reason for them to accept the truce after all, the cops are their common enemy.

But somehow that doesn't feel true for the Rouges.

First of all, they killed Cyrus, which obviously means they were not in favor of the truce. But why? They sure would suffer from police brutality too if they were a normal gang. And we can all agree that they are even more violent than the average gang (I mean... have you listened to their leader?).

Also, this line intrigues me.

I mean, "picked the wrong fight"? It is clear that Luther's view is biased to take the cops' side. In this case, one could argue that his misogyny would play a big part on him diminishing Ajax's will to fight against an abuser. Anyhow, I think that this evidences that, even tho he's a gang member, he has a strong connection with the police.

CONCLUSION

I think we can all agree that Luther has something going on with the police, and I hope I have convinced you that he has something going on with Victor specifically.

It is possible to argue that their connection is only "tactical", or even go as far as to say that they are friends or something (tho, I don't think that's possible. One thing about brats like the Rouges: they don't go well with old people, with all due respect. I don't personally see this working as a friendship), but I'll stand with the father-son relationship till the day I die!!

Thank you for reading this madness and please lmk what you think! If there's something that doesn't make sense, if you have your own theories... I mean, I'm far more invested in this than I ever thought I would be, please give me more content 🙏🙌

[darklinaforever]

I'm tired of the shitty arguments from pro Gwynriel or Elucien. These people don't know how to read and are looking for bullshit excuses. Once again, they're going to fall hard when the Elriel book and Elriel endgame arrives.

The delusion of "If Elain had wanted to break the bond, why hasn't she done it yet ?" Oh, I don't know, maybe because something so important regarding Elain should be discussed from her point of view ?!

The delusion of "If Elriel wanted to be together, why aren't they still ?" Oh, I don't know, maybe something so important about them as one of the main characters in the series should be covered in a book from their point of view / about them ?! Like Nessian ?!

The "Azriel needs therapy before dating" rant is a display of cruel bias, because literally every character on this show could use therapy. But why should Azriel be the one solving all his problems before being in a relationship ?! It's just an excuse to keep him from being with Elain. But ironically, he no longer needs therapy if the future partner is no longer Elain but Gwyn.

The delusion of "Azriel is only sexually obsessed with Elain" when literally every guy on this show is horny for the women they like is huge evidence of bad faith. Even more so when it's the very first time in 3 books that we have a scene of this kind for Elriel while everything else was about romantic emotional development, and we learn in this same bonus chapter where Azriel is excited for Elain that he has also been looking at the gifts she gave him every evening for 1 year instead of having used them. But somehow the relationship is only based on unhealthy sexual desire ?!

The disillusionment of "SJM always cheats on us with several romantic interests, so Elriel won't end up together" is powerful... Already, Bryce & Hunt ?! Then, yes, SJM generally gives several love interests to its characters. Azriel already had Mor. Elain already had Grayson.

And don't even get me started on the "Elain is going to end up with Tamlin because she likes flowers and Tamlin is the hight lord of the Spring Court" bullshit because otherwise I might get really angry. Crackship worse than Gwynriel !

I can't wait for the Elriel book to come out so all this bullshit stops. Or at least, for Elriel to finally become canon like it was always planned. Because be sure that the pros Gwynriel and Elucien, once their illusions are shattered, will tell bullshit like this book is not consistent with the others and that it's just fan service in order to prove themselves right. Damn people, people have talked about SJM, all its couples have always been obvious.

[mademoiselle-cookie]

She didn't say "children".

She said "common children".

English is not my first language so I didn't know if I was overinterpreting and that it was something that was actually said in English. But apparently no, it’s a deliberate choice. So let's overinterpret.

Let's leave aside the fact that she criticizes Tood and Ambrosius at the same level while the latter only defends himself against idiotic attacks and arguments (you can argue he should have been calmer but everyone was against him, not just Todd, and he has a few problems with his boyfriend).

First of all, it’s not the first time she hears something like that, like when Tood mocked Ballister (in a really classy way) at the beginning of a very important ceremony or when he complained about Ambrosius and his "lavender smell". She clearly heard that, but she didn’t say anything. She could have : bullying someone or imitating and insulting another of being a "dork" and having a good smell (?) are way more childish behaviors. At least for the second case, she could have at least frowned (Todd said this literally in front of her from a distance of a meter).

(Yes she looks like she ate a lemon but she looks like that throughout the whole scene, not just for Todd)

So the problem has never been how they act but how they don't act. They are currently not acting in ways that she deems useful but are instead wasting time. (And she is definitely only complaining about Ambrosius and Todd, not the other knights who joined the latter in accusing the former of nonsense. Alone against everyone, Ambrosius is not the problem, much less the one who started it)

I put it there, but when did the nobles (apart from Ambrosius who is not only an exception but is also obliged to appear impeccable) show themselves to be more distinguished than the commoners? Without wanting to defend them, when we see commoners acting in a despicable way, it is largely because they are being lied to and manipulated. The knights have no reason to harass Ballister - Ambrosius doesn't - and seeing as the squire is a fan, he's probably not the only one. It doesn't take a genius to know that you shouldn't harass people, no matter the situation.

Do we have a scene with a knight like with this woman in the subway who gives a coin to a musician? Todd when he's on the wall in honor of Nimona? OK, but that's after the ENTIRE kingdom has learned their lesson (meaning it's not just him and that's exceptional) and having been a huge asshole for the entire movie.

Also, the knights and the Director, when have they really been around a commoner? Who is the only commoner they know? Ballister. Ballister who most represents the values that the Institute and the knights are supposed to embody. He's the best of them (1st in his class), he's courageous, kind, intelligent (he built his arm on his own), competent (he infiltrated the Institute several times without being detected), strong (the fight of 2 against all) and he sincerely wants to protect the Kingdom. He is also much more polite (he is the only one to have thanked the squire).

Are you trying to seduce me gay boy?

As far as I know, he was always very courteous to everyone, especially to the Director. Her only real reference to commoners is a hard-working, competent and polite man. (The only time he was "wild" was when he attacked a wooden mannequin before entering the Institute. But he was a child, and it didn't exceed the level of violence of Todd, an adult.)

The Director uses commoners as an insult, when overall, commoners act much more distinguished than nobles.

[nutcasewithaknife]

Controversial take time! Wei Wuxian knew that his siblings always loved him, but believed that they were making a mistake in doing so.

(This got too long, it's is under the cut!)

Hear me out. I don't think that Wei Wuxian didn't know he was loved unconditionally. He knew!! For a whole year or so after the war, he was at Yunmeng doing less that the bare minimum to help rebuild, and his brother is mad about it. But he still tries to stand up for Wei Wuxian in front of the rest of Jianghu! The have the stupid soup conversation! Yanli goes off at Jin Zixun in front of half the Jianghu bigshots for insulting him, runs into a battlefield for him after he's killed her husband!! He's never truly afraid of meeting Jiang Cheng post-resurrection, not surprised at all at being asked why he didn't come home. He's just trying to avoid the inevitable mess of feelings that the meeting would entail. Afterall, when it came down to it, Jiang Cheng shut his eyes and stabbed a rock in the end, not him, not even after he'd killed their sister.

Now for the argument. Look, the sibling trio has some complex dynamics, but they survived that household on a mutual understanding that they love each other. That's why Wei Wuxian leaving is the point that casts everything into doubt - they have always been together, and that was an immutable fact until it suddenly wasn't. I don't thing Jiang Yanli or Jiang Cheng ever understood how much Wei Wuxian took their mother to heart - he truly believed any love he deserved was to be earned, because was was a servant. Unconditional love was for family only!

It hit me only while watching the best scene aka Yanli ripping into Jin Zixun at the hunt. She defends him, basically declares him as part of her family, and Wei Wuxian? He's watching his sister having to defend him when it should be the other way round, getting flak for sticking up for him too. He's in agonies the entire time! He's not even happy about jzx getting verbally eviscerated in public!

Most obvious between Sunshot and leaving with the Wens, there's a pattern. Wei Wuxian may not be stepping in as First Disciple to rebuild, but he's still useful - nobody will dare harm the Yunmeng Jiang while he is part of it and holds the power of the Stygian Tiger Amulet. And then, slowly but surely, he sees his brother and and sister standing up for him, deescalating political situations caused by others vying for the very power he possessed and wanted to use to protect the sect. It was actually harming them, in a way that couldn't be solved by its brute force. He is the opposite of useful, now - he's the root of a brewing threat to the sect. This is a huge part of why he leaves! He's pushing away the people he can no longer help but only harm, and he's going to those who he can still be useful to.

Yes, it's about keeping them safe because he loves them, and about protecting lives, but also because he thinks his brother and sister had it wrong all along - they saw him as family when he was just a servant, and therefore acceptable as collateral damage. He cannot allow them to protect him, because that's his job even if they refuse to acknowledge that, isn't it? He left because he thought he was useless, a danger, he didn't deserve their love after they had to defend him at the cost of harm to the sect and themselves. It really fits into his habit of deciding for others once he's made up his mind, doesn't it?

The crux of it is, I think, that he eventually learns that he can have a family. That's why Lan Wangji is important. He doesn't have a fragile, struggling sect of people to protect above everything else, unlike Jiang Cheng. He doesn't die while trying to stick to Wei Wuxian's side, unlike Yanli. He doesn't die for Wei Wuxian either, like Wen Qing. Lan Wangji is able to stay by his side and survives it long enough for him to realise that maybe, just maybe, having him as family is worth breaking rules for, and won't get people killed by default.

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

This is the original pivotal Greatmage scene, from “do we break another rule, part two” in With a Little Help From My Friends, written two years ago.

I remixed it the following summer for Next Time I Fall, but this is where it all began.

(approx 1.2k words)

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

El seems to have other plans, though. As soon as they get to her house after school, she drops her backpack on the floor and announces to Joyce, “I broke up with Mike today and I think we should go see Corroded Coffin again tonight.”

“Oh, honey, are you okay?” Joyce asks immediately, at the same time as Max is blurting out in confusion, “Corroded Coffin?”

“Yes,” El says decisively, “to both of you.”

“Um, okay,” Joyce agrees after a moment of silence. “Sure. I can take you girls to the show tonight. It’s at the same place as last week, right?” El nods, and Joyce pulls her into a hug. “Okay, sweetie, I’ll call Hop and let him know.”

“What the hell?” Max whispers as soon as they’re down the hall, out of earshot of Joyce. “I figured we were gonna have girls night with movies and chocolate chip cookies.” She’ll do whatever El wants, of course, but some context would be nice at least.

But El just shrugs. “I want to see my boys,” she says simply, and spends the rest of the afternoon quietly weaving four new friendship bracelets while they watch tv. Max steels herself to be patient. El will have to give her all the details eventually. Then they can get down to the important post-breakup ritual of trash talking the ex, which she is looking forward to with perhaps a bit more glee than she ought to.

Joyce insists on fixing dinner for Hop and Will before they leave, so by the time they get to the club it’s only about a minute to showtime and they have to fight through the crowd to get a table. Joyce brings them cokes from the bar, along with a beer for herself, and they settle in to watch. Metal still isn’t Max’s favorite music, but El’s face lights up as soon as the boys start playing and she bobs her head enthusiastically with the beat. She looks happier than she has all day. Max tries to imagine what stupid things about the healing magic of metal Eddie might say, and giggles quietly to herself. Okay, she’ll admit that this is more fun than staying home watching Ghostbusters again.

To her surprise, as soon as the show is over, El grabs both her and Joyce by the hand and drags them backstage. Max goes along without argument, figuring maybe El wants to talk to Eddie and it’ll be much easier in the little backstage area where it’s quiet. She knocks on the doorframe, and a huge grin spreads across Eddie’s face as soon as he looks up and spots them. He greets them with an enthusiastic shout of “Hey, guys!” which is quickly echoed by Grant and Jeff, but not Gareth. The only thing he says, almost breathes really, with something like wonder in his voice, is “Janie.”

Max looks up sharply. The expression in his blue eyes as he gazes at El can only be described as longing. She turns to El, who is smiling widely at him with eyes sparkling and cheeks bright pink, and a few puzzle pieces click abruptly into place in her mind.

Now this— this is interesting.

Max bumps fists with Jeff and Grant and accepts a sweaty hug from Eddie with pretend reluctance, teasing him about being stinky, but she doesn’t take her eyes off El. And El doesn’t even notice, because she doesn’t take her eyes off Gareth. Very, very interesting.

“El,” Max says mischievously, “didn’t you make the guys new bracelets?”

“Oh, good.” Eddie holds out his bare wrist. “Mine just unraveled the other day. Feels like I didn’t play as well tonight without it.” He winks cheekily at El, but Max isn’t sure she even notices. She makes quick work of tying the bracelets for Eddie, Grant, and Jeff, and now that Max knows what to look for it’s so obvious that she saved Gareth’s for last so they could talk. When the hell did this happen? For a fleeting moment Max wonders just how many other little clues she might’ve missed over the last few months. The other boys have wandered off and Eddie is engrossed in a conversation with Joyce, so Max happily and quite shamelessly indulges her curiosity and turns her attention to eavesdropping on El and Gareth.

“I broke up with Mike today,” El says softly as she ties the new bracelet on, right next to a faded one that looks like it had frayed apart and been glued back together. “I wanted to come and tell you.” Her hand lingers at his wrist.

He’s looking at her in the same sappy way Eddie looks at Chrissy, but to his credit the first thing he says is, “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I am fine.” Somehow their fingers have tangled together. “I think I should have done it a long time ago.”

“I could’ve told you that.” They giggle, and Max has to bite her lips to hold back a laugh of her own. She could’ve told El that, too, a hundred times over.

“I was wondering.” El suddenly sounds nervous. “What happens now. If something… if something might happen. With you. And me.” Her brown eyes gaze steadily into his blue ones. “Is that bad?”

A myriad of expressions flit across Gareth’s face, and he swallows hard. “Oh, Janie,” he whispers. “No, it’s not bad. I was hoping something might happen with us someday.” His thumb strokes gently across the back of her hand. “But it’s too soon.”

“Too soon?” El sounds disappointed. Max can’t believe she’s been keeping this a secret; she is so demanding every last little detail from El later tonight.

“You’ve been with him for ages, and you guys just broke up today,” Gareth gently explains. “You should take some time for yourself and just enjoy being single. Keep finding out things you like, without having to worry about what he thinks. Or what I think, or anyone else. Have some fun, be a little selfish, y’know?” His smile is pure adoration. “I bet you’ve never been selfish before in your whole life.”

“I am not sure what it means,” she admits, and he laughs, but kindly, and El laughs too, confident she isn’t being laughed at. “Well now’s your chance to find out,” he tells her, and Max decides she already likes Gareth a thousand times more than she ever liked Mike. The magic of metal, indeed.

“Gareth?” El says so quietly that Max has to discreetly lean closer to hear her. “When will it not be too soon anymore?”

He actually has a very lovely smile. “I don’t know. Maybe… maybe we can talk about this again when I’m home for Christmas break? Does that sound okay?”

She shakes her head no. “Too long,” she states, and he laughs, squeezing her hand tightly in his before finally letting go.

“It’s important, Janie,” he says softly. “Take some time just for you. Okay?”

“Okay.” El reaches up to touch the skull and crossbones necklace he always wears. “Can I have this? Until Christmas?” she says unexpectedly.

“God,” he sighs, “I ought to say no, but…” He pulls the necklace up over his head and almost tenderly lowers it over hers. “Until Christmas,” he agrees, and Max idly wonders if either of them will be able to wait that long.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[passthroughtime]

Was Sawa-sensei really the only argument Yagami had? The answer may shock you

So, few people know that I fucking despise this take. It's been fun and still can be fun to me sometimes, but as time goes, I see more and more people thinking that unironically and even hate Yagami for this, among other things.

(Huge spoilers for both games ahead. Obviously.)

And I do a lot of (over)thinking myself, as I am writing a looong fic (first three chapters already live on ao3, sorry for shameless promo), and I always love to delve into characters' motives in canon events, goes with writing exclusively canon compliant things of course, and adding to my ever existing brainworms. Moreover, I'm revisiting Judgment atm for the first time since early 2020 if I'm being correct? And I see a lot of things I've forgotten which give lots what has happened in Lost Judgment pretty damn much sense. The Sawa argument is among these things.

First things first, what was the takeaway of the first game for Yagami? His trauma at first was that he fucked up bad and felt he had lost some crucial evidence that Okubo was actually the killer, but during the events of the game it transforms into "I haven't done anything to get to the truth". His trauma, as well Kuwana's, has its core in their inaction during the critical events of their lives. They were never the same again because they didn't do anything while they could, and yes, in that regard they are wounded in the same way.

How have they both responded? In a similar way. Yagami swore to always get involved there he can do something to change the situation before it escalates. Kuwana does the opposite, he tries to punish for the mistakes already made. (Which is funny considering that Yagami as a lawyer dealt with consequences while Kuwana as a teacher had the power to navigate people's lives to prevent the same mistakes, but it's the whole other theme in itself, and has little to do with the initial one.) Let's focus on Yagami though.

The only reason why Yagami repeatedly gets involved on his own in the Lost Judgment plot time and time again, though literally nobody asked him to do so, is the lesson which he learns in the first game. He says explicitly that he wants to get to the bottom of things, and not forget about cases when a trial is done. That's the reason why he doesn't want to be a lawyer again and why he can never be one again, not full-time at least.

And then Sawa gets murdered. Yagami draws parallel to Terasawa Emi (because of course he does) and is determined to bring everyone who is responsible for her death to the light. For now, it's Soma, the direct murderer, and Kuwana, which made Sawa the connecting thread between his crimes. Yagami realizes that Sawa's death was a tool for everyone to get what they wanted, like Emi's. He references it here:

At this point, Yagami has no proof to think otherwise. He thinks that everyone has forgot about Sawa and that she shouldn't have died. The very least Yagami could do, is to make sure everyone will answer for what they did to her. He sees that Kuwana feels guilty and quite shitty that the student which he thinks so highly of was murdered. Kuwana feels responsible, and Yagami knows that someday he will break.

I think it's also important to say that at no point of LJ has Yagami says anything remotely identifying the goal of his words and actions as "murder bad", but that's more obvious than anything else though requires explanation too if I'm to be believed that Yagami isn't after justice for all the murders.

This whole scene is the Sawa argument summarized, but if you look closer, it is really the only beef he has against Kuwana.

BTW he's not as goody two shoes as you prefer to see him in LJ, if his "I get how you feel" doesn't convince you.

And then the one person Kuwana is determined to do anything for has betrayed him, right before Yagami's eyes. What does Kuwana do? Abandon Yagami when Soma has said to his lackeys to do anything so he wouldn't escape, even murder him perhaps?

Great question, Yagami. This really does contradict everything he has thought of Kuwana since forever. After, instead of a goodbye Kuwana makes sure Soma couldn't stay on the boat longer and kidnap/kill Yagami. RK had no time for that, fleeing was the priority over someone they can find some time after.

First thing Yagami does is visit Kusumoto at the hospital, where he learns she has no regard to Kuwana's life, as long as her son is safe and her crime stays uncovered. Which is fine, I guess, though it's sad because Kuwana would do anything for her and for Mitsuru, but whatever. Ehara doesn't come around too, which also understandable, though Kuwana has risked his life to give Yagami the crucial evidence, he is nothing to him and has already played his part. He is just a tool in his revenge. Wait... What?

Yes, actually it's Kuwana who is being brushed off as collateral damage by everyone. Everyone he has helped actually. And he hasn't come clean during the time before Ehara's trial (he at least could leak the information or point to the body without endangering himself, idk) nor he disappeared to save his skin.

After the trial he thanks Yagami for helping Ehara (which Kuwana wasn't able to do himself) and points to his, and Kawai's body, location. Kuwana knows damn well he can die, but getting to the one who murdered Sawa is more important to him. So, Kuwana has no one on his side, even himself.

No one is going to save him. Sure, he isn't as innocent as Emi, he has fucked some shit up. Does he deserve to disappear for good and be forgotten, or even worse, be remembered as a psycho teacher who killed his student? Yagami doesn't think so. All Yagami sees is that Kuwana desperately tries to protect everyone who did everything right or did nothing at all, every victim of bullying. He has no other motive.

Yagami takes no shit from Kuwana, he isn't afraid or angry when Kuwana threatens to blow up the warehouse (as Sugiura and Higashi for example). He knows that Kuwana isn't capable of killing anyone who doesn't deserve it, he takes no pleasure in murder and doesn't do it for personal gain. Yagami, Kaito, everyone else aren't guilty of anything which deserves death as punishment.

If not for the gang, he would set off the bomb though, I'm 100% sure. But that's besides the point.

So, returning to the question: Was Sawa-sensei really the only argument Yagami had? An answer is yes. Because he really doesn't fucking care bullies are being murdered, slay worstie. But it's not because he's such a crappy lawyer, but because he realizes the importance of a person's life above everything else. And a person who cares is not necessarily stupid or unprofessional.

You can argue all you want who was right and who was wrong. It doesn't matter for the characters.

It was never about justice. They don't argue from a legal point of view. It was about remembering about the importance of a person's life.

I beg you to look at this story from another perspective. Not as a technical coldly-perfect story it should've been. People are imperfect, and Yagami, first and foremost, a person. A person who cares. And JE with LJ as stories can be imperfect... but also realistic.

Terasawa Emi is murdered for the greater good. Sawa is murdered for selfish reasons. Kuwana is almost murdered for the both. I can't imagine Yagami would want to go through lots of red tape to do something someday. He does this something right now. Because the lives of people, living and breathing, should be protected right now and valued above what's right legally.

Please, stop looking at fiction as something which should be perfect, or make more sense, be more logical and emotionally detached than the real world. Some can be like that, but Judgment hasn't been from the start.

[saemi-the-dreamer]

For the ask meme, Emma /Knightley from Jane Austen's Emma or you'd rather/ if you haven't read Emma, Elinor/Edward from Sense and Sensibility) and Damon Gant/Manfred von Karma from Ace Attorney?

Thanks for asking! 💕

Emma /Knightley

Ship It? Yes!

What made you ship it?

I admit that I wasn't especially rooting/shipping them while I read the book the first time, even if I didn't hate it! I was re-reading it after watching the 1996 series (that and the 1996 TV movie are the only adaptations I've watched entirely) and the ship seemed more natural years later. It's been a while, so I'm sorry for not being able to go into too much detail. Still, something I really love about how these two are portrayed is how the two can be honest and call each other out when needed (thinking about the "Badly done, Emma!" scene) without having the other overreacting or turning into a huge, unnecessary drama, on the contrary, they stop and think about their own behaviour. It's so important, especially in Emma, the heroine gets a pass for a good half of the story, nobody except Knightley argues with her, so for all this time she doesn't take him as seriously as she should, and is even smug when she sees that Harriet followed her advice whereas Robert didn't listen to Knightley's (which wasn't even the point of Knightley's frustration btw).

I guess that I like the dynamic where an overconfident character gets paired up with another who doesn't hesitate to call them on their bullshit, and who is their equal? xD Plus, I recall that Knightley's confession was very poignant... I need to re-read it!!

What are your favourite things about the ship?

Since Emma is not my favourite Jane Austen story, and I only learnt to really appreciate it later and I require re-read it, I can't say for sure. I'd say that I really like how the two have known each other forever - literally, Knightley held Emma in his arms when she was a baby! Talk about a "slow burn"! It's interesting to imagine how the two went through so many stages of life together, saw each other grow and mature, how the way they looked at one another shifted, and how their feelings changed and they could hardly help it. There's something quite natural in this that I like.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

The age gap isn't that bad, especially in context! Or more unpopular I guess: the story didn't need to be "modernised" for today's audience (looking at the 2020 adaptation). For fuck's sake, can't people just accept that things were different back then?! And still be able to say "I'm letting it slide because of context, it's fictional and it works here (❤️) but I wouldn't accept it in real life.". I don't like that they made Knightley younger, and changed the dynamic with Emma that much (from what I've seen), it was unnecessary and just to cater to some holier-than-thous. They could have kept an older Knightley and added some scenes to show his softer, more vulnerable side.

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

Gant/Manfred

Ship It? Yes!

What made you ship it?

The fandom made me! 😂

After finishing the first Ace Attorney (the version with "Rise from the Ashes" of course) I went and browsed the internet to find some art and fanfics, and then I discovered the Kink Meme. It's there that I've stumbled upon the pairing. There was also some pretty fanart of them, younger, investigating together. I started to really like the idea of them being both old colleagues (and lovers, having a torrid affair in Gant's office 🤣).

What are your favourite things about the ship?

The potential for two dynamics:

A) an "evil" power couple, with the two just being unapologetic, ambitious, ruthless men. And these two keep bickering like an old couple, and it's a mess of arguments and make-up sex, the two manically laughing as they tempered evidence, etc. (okay, I know I'm going overbroad here, I'm kidding! xD )

B) "We're both disillusioned by a corrupted system, at first we really wanted to make it honestly, then we started getting our hands dirty and now we can't go back or stop. We're colleagues, partners in crime, weird friends... sometimes lovers. We're both messed up, but we don't care anymore, as long as we achieve our goals and have each other."

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Since I mostly low-key ship them and haven't found that many stories about them, I don't think I have one? Otherwise, it's more an unpopular opinion about each one of them, not the pairing?

I'd say that I don't believe either of them ever sexually harassed or "seduced" Miles......................... 😒

[dykeyote]

EEK OH IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!!!! i dont talk about her as much as jedidiah but shes one of my favorite characters in the whole show (:

but yes i love salem and while theres many reasons i do (for one i love butch lesbians in media!!! hehehehehe) one of the biggest ones is that i think salem is incredibly realistic? to me shes always felt like one of the most likeee. Grounded characters in the show. not in that shes the most rational per se although you could make an argument for that, but in that she just feels the most like a real person - in particular i think having a character who brings the listener out of the interpersonal drama of sydney and jedidiah and elijah (which is the main thing that people focus on in the narrative) for a sec and goes hey, remember, this isnt a podcast, this is a summer camp and there are children involved is a really good way to put sydney's oversharing in perspective and remind us that we are not the only ones listening to him. shes a really good character for the narrative and i also think shes just really fun!! cant wait to see more of her and marisol (:

but as to whether the way she treated sydney was fair. thats a trickier question because i truly dont think that its a simple yes/no question? now, if you were to ask me if i think salem's concerns were valid - yes, absolutely. while i don't necessarily think that the kids shouldnt have any knowledge about the threat, sydney's announcements don't appear to be scripted in any way, and as such we can assume hes not reviewing them with anyone else - he doesnt run the camp, and he really should be talking this through with other members of staff to decide What information is important to give to them. and when it comes to his own personal feelings she's 100% correct there the kids absolutely do not need to know that, partially bc its not their business and partially because it can influence their opinions on people they need to respect (which imo we can already see happening, the campers dont respect joshua and sydney doesnt help that at all)

HOWEVER. thats not what you asked. you asked if i think the way she treated sydney was fair, to which the answer is. soooometimesss. it really depends, and honestly that's a huge part of why i like salem as a character? she fucks up at times and she feels bad about it and shes also right at times and she just feels like a very real person, not a "good" or a "bad" person in the narrative. do i think she's right to tell off sydney? yes, sydney is acting out of line. do i think she can go overboard? yeah, very much so. i think when people get rightfully angry about salem being demonized in the fanbase they tend to overcompensate and go in the opposite direction? which i think can be counterproductive as salem Absolutely does make mistakes with how she handles sydney that is an objective fact she can be too forceful and i think people tend to ignore the fact that the way she treats and describes sydney and what she blames his mistakes on can be kind of ableist, namely in her first mediation session? but again i am not a salem hater she feels Badly for this and she takes it back and seems to take this into account in later episodes. salem to me is an incredibly complex character and the question of whether how she treats sydney as a whole is fair is a very complicated one because it really really depends on what episode and even what specific scene youre talking about

hehe okay i rambled a lot but to make a long story short . my personal thoughts on salem are that her head is totally in the right place and she is right to call sydney on it but she can be too harsh. and she can also be totally fair and correct at times!! shes a human being with nuanced thoughts and feelings!! i find salem and sydney's dynamic fascinating because its not a situation where one is "wrong" and one is "right" to me

microdosed on infodumping and now im insane ask me my thoughts on anything chnt related and i give you ten million dollar . literally anything and i will talk about my opinions it can be a character a ship smt i dont like smt i love a hc literally anything im insane

[alaffy]

Only Murders in the Building, 2x03 – The Last Day of Bunny Folger (Spoilers)

The title is pretty self-explanatory.  Just like with Tim in the first season, we see what happened on Bunny’s last day of life. The difference here is that, unlike with Tim, we’re given less to clues to the mystery aspect.  That isn’t to say the mystery wasn’t important, or that there weren’t several things to keep track of; it’s just this episode was more about telling us who Bunny really was.  

But let’s start with the mystery in this.  We find out that the day Bunny died, Bunny was going to turn the board’s presidency over to Nan.  We see that Bunny makes a comment about firing The Doorman before her last day is over; however, the way it was said it’s clear that she wasn’t serious and, in fact, she asks about his wife afterwards.  We know she got a phone call from someone about the painting and she immediately tells them not to call her.  We know she ate with someone at her favorite diner the day before who she didn’t consider a friend (the person who wants the painting or someone else?).  We know that she changed her mind about resigning as The President of the Board and that pissed off Nan.  We also found out that Nan planned to modernize the building, something that Bunny neither knew about or approved of.  Finally, we learned that Bunny knew her attacker.

But, again, this story was about who Bunny was.  And if someone where to tell me I would be emotional about Bunny’s death by the end….yes, Bunny could be very much a bitch to the tenants.  And she was unfair to Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in the first season.  But now we see the reasons.  She loves the Arconia and, in her own way, she loves the people inside of the building. By the end of the episode, I got the impression that she does the things she does, she’s the hard-ass that she is because she wants to make sure that the Arconia is a place where people feel safe to live.  Does she go overboard?  Sure, I don’t think that’s even an argument.  In fact, I think she even realizes that she goes to far’ because Bunny is taking stock in her life and she’s beginning to realize is that the building is all she has.  She doesn’t have any friends, or she doesn’t think she does (with the exception of the one neighbor in the building).  However, I would argue against that belief.  We get to see her a couple of times outside of the building.   She’s friendly to the vendor where she picks up her breakfast. She’s friendly to her regular waiter at the diner.  Hell, she’s more then friendly.  In the scene, she gives him a huge sum of money because she knows his dream is to be a DJ and she wants to help him buy the equipment he needs.  

We also get to see moments with her and the trio from that day.  And, honestly?  Looking at it from her point of view, they do sort of come off as asshole-ly sometimes. Like, again, I get why Bunny isn’t their favorite person…but some of the comments, especially from Oliver, were really unnecessary.   But that’s also the point. We see throughout the episode The Trio getting ready for their celebration that they will be having when Bunny is murdered.  We see them having different interactions with Bunny throughout the day.  Some where Bunny goes too far in what she does and some where they do. We also have a funny moment in the elevator.

At the end of the episode, Bunny hears their celebration.  She takes over a bottle of wine and gives it to them, thanking them for saving the building.  They give her a sweatshirt, have a brief banter, and just when you think they might ask her to join in (which is what Bunny was hoping for) they just slam the door in her face.  In fairness, I can understand why they didn’t think Bunny would want to join in.  But when they realize their mistake, instead of correcting it, they take their party up to the roof.   And the heartbreaking moment is when Charles admitted that, while they didn’t kill Bunny, they might have been able to save her if they only had been kind. 

[letstalkabouttvshows]

This is my rant about RNM 4x06 - Kiss from a rose. Please, join me.

I need to vent about episode 6 and after I do that, I'll go back to my positive bubble. So bear with me for a few minutes.

I've been liking Season 4 so far. Let me start with that.

I think the episodes up to 5 had a good pace, and a good balance between individual plots, and overall, it was giving us the build-up for whatever bigger story arc this season has.

Up to 5, I got that feeling. Like, "ok, they are definitely building the tension and the stories to meet at some point where it will all fit".

Honestly, I still believe that and I still believe Alex (the only character that we don't know anything about plot-wise except he's in Jones's contingency plan) will play an important part in the bigger picture here.

But, episode 6 just overwhelmed me with all the things I dislike in this show's writing, all at once, and just made me annoyed as hell.

The pace 😡

For me, the first episode of the season that felt slow and disconnected as a whole. For five episodes we were having a solid pace and then, episode 6 just hit all the wrong notes.

Guest stars 😡

I love Eduardo, I really do. But all his scenes with his daughter felt overly dramatic and we met her, what? One episode ago? We don't care about her daddy issues, I'm sorry, but we don't.

Will these emotionally charged scenes between them have a place in the bigger story arc that's yet to be revealed?

Odds are, no. But even if it does set some kind of plot, still was too much for too little.

--

Bonnie, as Maria was last year for the first half of the season, it's turning into the main plot. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

The girl has the kiss of death, she did something awful to Michael, she still didn't share all she knows about Tezca, and yet, Max is sheltering her.

Max, the king of trust issues, let me add (I mean, make it make sense). At least she's not crashing at Malex's place.

I know we need guest stars to move the story along, and again, up to episode 5, it was making sense.

But now, we see more of her than we've seen Kyle, or Isobel or yes, ALEX, all season.

Will this have a point? A good resolution? Will all this time we spent with Bonnie be worth the screen time?

---

Tezca, for the first time this season, felt like a badly written villain.

Up to 5, we got the sense she's manipulating everyone. I mean, she took Alex first and nobody knows.

She knew exactly who to hit and what strings to pull.

Again, we had 5 episodes where Tezca was shaping up to be as manipulative as Jones but even edgier. Sinister.

The whole reveal of her true form, with the tattoos and her test to Bonnie (???) felt out of place and underwhelming.

Ok, she can't be stabbed to death but even that twist wasn't good enough to shake the feeling that they might turn Tezca in an all-over-the-place character.

Is it possible her scene at the station was all an act? One more manipulative thing she's pulling to deceive everyone about the plan?

GOD, I HOPE SO. Because this character has potential and would be a tragedy and a waste to not write her well.

Too much information with no real information 🤡

RNM has a way to throw a lot of information at us but when we think about it, there's no real information at all.

We know Max is the savior and has a lot of power. Liz has a part to play in the Ophiuchus movement. AGAIN, the bad guys movement, which means that's not good. We know Alex is part of a contingency plan created by Jones. We know he's in a hole. Dead or locked up. The options here a slim due to the fact the last time we saw him HE WAS GETTING QUICKSANDED. We know the alighting has begun.

And that's it.

There's no more information. They keep circling back to these huge points and they don't explain anything.

I get the build-up but we need to have some real answers. SOON.

The same arguments over and over again 🤡

Since episode 2, it seems like Echo has been arguing about the same things nonstop.

We get Max has powers he can't control. We get Liz has doubts.

In the same way, Michael's falling for the idea of a home planet seems like a broken record. We know Michael always wanted to go back. We get it. Now, move the story along. Get to the point already.

Get to the complicated part of it all because all the emotional struggle is already set up. Again, we get it.

The lack of simple logic 🤡

For a group that has a bunch of geniuses, they do often overlook the simplest of logic.

Like, if Alex's not reaching out, not checking-in, MAYBE there's something wrong.

Especially when the only mother figure he had growing up has died and the love of his life got sick for the first time. Oh, and yeah, there's a dark triad with a crazy shapeshifter with unstoppable powers.

These are all things Alex would go back to Roswell in a blink of an eye.

Why no one is finding it odd that he's not checked in yet?

There are other examples, fell free to add them in the comments if you want to.

My point is 😡🤡

Episode 6 was a mess when it's supposed to lead the way to midseason.

To set up the revelations, plot twists, story arcs, and all.

They had 5 solid episodes and all for what? For this episode to be the connecting element for the first half and second half of the season?

It didn't deliver. Unfortunately.

My hope is that episode 7 picks up the pace again and give us all we are craving for: ANSWERS.

And the missing piece that will make all these plots happening right now fit each other.

Ok, now I'm done. Back to my positive bubble until proven otherwise.

💜

PS: Feel free to rant in the comments too. It's a safe space. I think we all need it.

[luxshine]

Y yo a ti, Cas -segunda parte. Because of course Mexican Cas pulled us out of despair and can throw us back in.

Ok, so the last 24 hours have been a bit of a rollercoaster and now I have another post to write about how dubbing is made. Because I love Misha a lot, and I respect him but… the whole rouge translator thing just doesn’t jive with reality.

Now, first of all I want to make a disclaimer: I do not believe that there’s a conspiracy to keep Dean closeted and away from Castiel. That makes absolutely no sense, no matter how you slice it. Among other things, conspiracy implies intent, and I really doubt the CW, Warner Bros and everyone involved in the marketing choices cares that much. At most, I think that there was a misunderstanding of marketing/PR and now people are doubling down on trying to pretend it didn’t happen. But a conspiracy? Nope. This isn’t THAT important, and it would require a LOT of people involved to make things work.

Which is precisely why the rouge translator thing doesn’t work. Because you would need a conspiracy to MAKE Destiel canon in order for it to be real.

Second: As I write this, I still don’t have an answer from the voice actors. But rest assured, WHEN they reply (or we can organize a panel so YOU guys can ask directly), I will tell you the absolute truth. If I am wrong with my assumptions, and it WAS a rouge translator, I will let you know, and I will admit I was wrong. And if it was from the audio (say, a Jensen adlib) or the actual script? I will also let you know.

Third: I don’t doubt that Misha REALLY believes the rogue translator thing, if it was told to him by TPTB. There’s no reason to believe he knows how dubbing works in Mexico, nor how many people check the final product. Or that he even watched the episode, instead of believing it was a fan clip. Also, I respect him immensely and I don’t want any hate send his way.

That said, let’s go into how dubbing works, again.

For the sake of argument, I will start with the idea that yes, there was a “Rogue translator” who decided that THIS was the perfect moment to make Destiel canon. Not, say, Season 8 when he could have translated an “I need you” from Dean into an “I love you” when the god tablet thing happened, not in season 12, or during the purgatory prayers. No, the best moment was two episodes before the finale, when he had to know that Cas was not coming back. 

And yes, the translator knew Cas was not coming back because when we translate series, we get them in packages of 5 episodes or more at the time. So they must have had 15x16 to 15x21 (The interview special) all together. So they knew that this was Cas’s exit from the series.

Now, in my previous post I said how in the old times, we used vhs tapes and paper copies of the shooting scripts (when they were available that was not always). Now a days, we get the video file and a word document (if we’re lucky. If not, we make the word file). Translate everything. Go through it AGAIN to make sure the lip sync matches and that we don’t have huge speeches when there’s a small window of time to say the speech because of the language differences. Check that we didn’t accidentally used a slang word that only Mexico would understand. If the show is not PG-13, make sure our swearwords are not too bad or too localized. THEN we send it to the studio, which prints about four copies of the script and hands it,and the video, to the Dub director.

The dub director then goes and re-watches every episode, while checking the script. Some directors don’t speak the language, so they’re just checking cadence, time, and the damned lip sync. (And if you, as a translator, don’t match the lip sync? You are either back to training or out of a word if you get too many strikes). So sure, you could slip a change of line there, IF the director doesn’t speak German, or Japanese, or Hindi.

But almost every single dub director speaks English. So a change from “Don’t do this, Cas” to “And I, you, Cas” would be noticed then and there, and changed to the right line. Which means that, for the rogue translator thing to work, we’d have to add also a rogue dub director.

And honestly, do you see a professional dub director with more than 15 years of experience (because you don’t give a series to a newbie, and Supernatural had the same dub director for all it’s run) risking his job for ONE line?

Anyway, in the times before the plague dub actors were called in groups to the study to record, in order to save audio tracks. So, for example, all the Inner Senshi would record together when doing Sailor Moon, and I assume in Supernatural, Sam and Dean’s lines would also be recorded together, while Dean and Cas might have been or not. Depending on times and so on. So you’d had at least 3 people in the studio: Dean’s VA, the dub director and the sound technician. ALL of them checking what was being said, what was in the script, and listening to the original audio.

Some actors would also make corrections to the script there, making some lines easier to read, and, again, checking those damn lip letters (Can you tell I HATE the lip letter thing?) . I remember fondly the VA for Sailor Jupiter, Araceli de Leon (RIP), who was known as “The Corrector”, since she would go through ALL the scripts for everyone with a red pen. The day I handed a script she didn’t find any corrections, I was jumping out of joy. So if 15x18 was recorded AT the dubbing studio? Someone who knew English could’ve caught the difference between the “Don’t do this” and the “And I you”, making it harder for our rogue translator to go unnoticed.

But let’s say it was recorded post-quarantine, when voice actors work alone at home, in their own private sound studios. I have no idea if they would have the director at hand through zoom, but I assume so. In any case, the VA would STILL have the original audio to know how the lines were said, and after 4 years of dubbing Dean Winchester, I will assume that the VA knows at the very least a little bit of English so if his script said “And I, you Cas” but he heard Jensen say “Don’t do it, Cas”, he would’ve made a correction there.

That’s now two people who would have to ignore the rouge translator’s actions, and even help them, in order for this theory to work.

And then the audio goes back to the director, who checks it again, makes sure it is lip synced and well acted, and sent to the audio technician who mixes it all, and now we have a THIRD person who could’ve said “Hey… uhm… this line? Is not what it says in the original” and by this time, we’d have to have a conspiracy to keep that “And I, you, Cas” in the final product.

Which brings me to person number four: Once the dubbing is done? It’s reviewed by the client (In this case, WB Latam), who gives the final say and CAN ask for redubs if necessary.

Story time. When I was doing this for a living, I got a series that had the WEIRDEST line ever. A line that made me triple check I was hearing things right (because it was a damn adlib that I couldn’t check with the script)

It was: “I’ve been listening to jazz even since I was a sperm swimming in my father’s testicles”.

So yeah.

I was a pro, so I didn’t censor it or change it and send it as it was to the director. Who OF COURSE called me and asked “Are you 100% sure that’s the line?” (This was in Japanese, and he didn’t speak Japanese. He trusted me). And I said “yeah, but if you need to change it, we can find another way to say “I’ve been a Jazz fan since before I was born”. “ He, Jack bless him, said “Nah. If that’s the original, let’s keep the original”.

The client was NOT amused and we had to change it in the final product.

Now, this was a throw away line by a secondary character that never appeared again in the series, in a small scene that probably only I remember. And the client still said “Nope, change that”. I’d like to believe that a line that changes the relationship between two main characters would have the same, if not more, scrutiny from TPTB.

Which makes now four people who would have had to either ignore the actions of the rogue translator, or actively participate in a conspiracy to make Destiel Latam canon.

Which, I dunno about you, sounds like way too much effort for something that was going to last for exactly one second before Cas got sucked into the Empty.

Someone made a mistake? Probably. But I am more willing to bet it was whoever sent the master video file to the studio than the dub studio, if that line wasn’t supposed to be there.

[cacoetheswriting]

champagne problems, ch.1

Spencer is in love with you, but you’re engaged to someone else. 

Chapter One: Bloodsport: You announce your engagement to the team, shattering Spencer's heart. A/N: chapter is titled after this song if you want to listen while reading. Word Count: 2.3k Warnings: mild cursing, heartbreak, unrequited / unreciprocated love, very angsty, this series is going to be a real slow burn babyyy

series masterlist

-

Today was like any other day.

You woke up at your usual time to the sound of your alarm. You had coffee, and a quick bite to eat while aimlessly scrolling through the social media apps on your phone. You showered, brushed your teeth, got dressed, did your makeup. And when it was time to leave, you walked out the front door locking it behind you, hopped in your car, and drove to work. 

Today was like any other day. Except that it wasn’t. 

Today wasn't like any other day because while you carried out all of your menial morning tasks, you felt a little heavier. Rather your hand did. 

It was your birthday a couple of days ago. And while you had planned to spend with your boyfriend, Ethan, the universe had other plans and you were stuck out of town on a case. You weren’t mad about it, it was your job after all, and Ethan understood. His work hours were also unreliable.  

Plus you got to celebrate with the other people that mattered the most to you in world; your team. It may have not been they day you had envisioned, because who wants to spend their birthday at a gloomy prescient looking over gruesome crime scene photos, but your team made it special. Takeout, gallons of coffee, and shortly before midnight they surprised you with cake - which Luke slipped up was all Spencer’s idea. 

Little did you know the surprises would continue upon your return home. Ethan, down on one knee in the middle of your living room, surrounded by candles and about a dozen bouquets of roses.  

You took a deep breath before getting out of your car, and heading inside the building. Knowing your sudden engagement would come as a shock to the people you worked with, your second family, you were quite anxious about telling them. You were worried about how they would react. They didn't really know Ethan. They only met him a total of three times throughout the duration of your relationship meaning all the information they possessed was what you had told them - which in reality wasn’t all that much.  

Sitting down at your desk, you kept your hand on your lap. As usual you were the first to arrive meaning you had some time to figure out exactly how you were going to go about this. Your gut feeling was to tell Spencer first. You owed him at least that much giving everything the two of you had been through. 

But once again the universe had other plans. 

“Good morning sunshine!”, Garcia chimed as she crossed the bullpen. “It is so lovely to see your beautiful beautiful face. How was Scottsdale?” She asked stopping beside your desk. “You know, apart from all the murder.” 

“Uhm, it was-” 

“Wait! Before you answer me.” She interrupted while reaching into her handbag. “I wanted to give you this.” Seconds later she retrieved a gift, wrapped perfectly in glittery pink paper with a bright bow tied around it. “Happy Birthday!” 

“Penelope, you didn't have to.” 

“Shush now, of course I did.” She smiled. “Come on. Take it, take it.” 

Which is exactly what you did; completely forgetting about the two carat diamond that now graced your ring finger. 

The shriek that came out of Garcia’s mouth was enough to make you remember. But before you could snatch your hand back, hide it on your lap once again, she grabbed it and the ever so present smile on her face widened even more. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god!”, Garcia was jumping now, her hand still gripping yours as she examined the ring. “When did this happen? How did this happen? Oh I have so many questions!” Another excited shriek escaped her lips. “I’m going to hug you now, and then you’re going to tell me everything!” 

Garcia let your hand fall before bending down slightly to wrap her arms tightly around you. “Congratulations honey, this is so exciting!” She swayed the two of you side to side.

“What’s exciting?” Luke’s voice caused the two of you to break apart. 

“Well newbie, you should invest in a tux.” Penelope beamed. 

“I have a tux.” Luke furrowed his brows, slightly confused. “Wait, what?” He glanced between you and Garcia, waiting for an explanation. 

Taking in a quick breath, you got to your feet and lifted your hand to show him the ring. “Ethan proposed last night.”

Luke’s jaw fell open. “Holy smokes! Congratulations Y/N!” Dropping his bag to the floor, he pulled you into a quick embrace. “That’s huge news. I’m so happy for you.” 

Penelope cleared her throat. “I think you mean we are all happy for her.” Luke chuckled and rolled his eyes at the blonde. “Yes, yes.” 

One by one the team arrived. One by one you shared your news, and one by one they each congratulated you. 

Matt joked about giving him a hefty amount of notice so he could organise a babysitter. Luke asked how you’d feel if his date was Roxy. Dave offered his house as a possible venue; ”Won’t be the first wedding I host kid.”. While Tara, JJ, Emily, and Garcia were deep in discussion about organising your bridal shower.

In the midst of all the chaos you hadn't even realised that one person was missing. The person who’s reaction might not be as cheery as the rest of the group currently huddled around you.

Spencer was late for work. He cursed under his breath while waiting for the elevator. He didn't like to be late. Which is why it didn't happen often. Not because time-keeping overall was important to him. No. He made sure to arrive early each day because it was the only time of day he got to spend with you. Alone. 

It was the only time of day he had you all to himself.

As selfish as it may seem, it was the truth. Although he would never admit it to anyone because that would mean admitting his true feelings. And he couldn't do that. He had his chance. He blew it. Maybe he would get another in the future, he secretly hoped he would, but for now those interrupted mornings with you had to suffice. 

The brunette agent immediately noticed the team gathered at your desk. He thought the worst, but was quickly reassured you were okay when your honey-like laughter filled the bullpen. The sound was music to his ears. If he could, he’d listen to you laugh all day.

“So are you going to keep us guessing forever?” Tara asked intrigued. “How did Ethan do it?” 

Garcia clapped her hands. “Yes, tell us. Was it romantic? Oh, who am I kidding of course it was romantic. All proposals are.” 

Proposals? Spencer shook the thought away. No, he must have heard that incorrectly.

“Did he get down on one knee?” JJ asked with a smile. 

“I gotta give it to Ethan though cause that ring looks expensive. Being a surgeon must be nice.” Luke noted, causing Garcia to smack his bicep. “What?” He retorted shrugging his shoulders. “It’s just an observation.” “Keep your observations to yourself newbie.” 

“Why don’t we let Y/N breathe for a second?” Rossi chimed in. “I’ll treat everyone to lunch later and she can tell us the story then.” He suggested, glancing between the team. Everyone nodded in unison and scattered; just as Spencer approached. 

The second your gaze landed on him, you noticed the solemn look spread across his face. A sick feeling spread through you and you quickly wondered just how much he overheard. 

“Good morning doctor.” You greeted him, your lips pursed into a half-smile. 

“Good morning.” Spencer replied without looking at you. 

“How are you?” You asked as he took off his bag and placed it on the desk beside him. “I wondered where you were this morning.” You added, making conversation.

Spencer didn't respond. He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He couldn't even bare to meet your eyes; which were currently burning a hole into the side of his head. 

While he thought he misheard Garcia say something about proposals, he definitely heard JJ’s question and Luke mention Ethan, and the ring. Spencer usually stirred away from making assumptions, but this time all the evidence was there. He didn't have to ask. He knew. You were engaged. 

“Can-” You cleared your throat. “Can we go somewhere private and talk? I have something I need to tell you.”

“I can’t now.” He rasped. Before you got a chance to protest, the brunette doctor turned on his heel and rushed away. 

The reason he dashed away was you. Your engagement. He figured it out, overheard it, and now he needed to process this new information. You should have let him go, do it alone. You knew you shouldn't have followed him, that it would only make things worse, but you couldn't help yourself. There was a time where you thought Spencer was the love of your life. That the two of you would be getting married. And even though that didn't work out...

You grabbed his arm and using all of your strength you pulled him to a halt. The brunette doctor ran a hand through his already ruffled hair as you stepped in front of him. 

“Spencer, can we talk about this?” You asked, your hand falling back down to your side. “There is nothing to talk about Y/N.” Spencer huffed. “You’re engaged. I’m happy for you.” There was a distinct hurt in his voice. 

“This isn’t how I thought you would find out. I wanted you to be the first one to know but-” “It doesn’t matter Y/N.” He interrupted. 

“It matters to me Spencer.” 

“Why?” He asked in an ominous tone. His eyes darkened. “We broke up a long time ago. You don't owe me anything.” “Our breakup has nothing to do with this.” You protested. Spencer scoffed. “I don’t believe you. You’re not chasing down any of the other members of our team.” “Yeah, because they’re all genuinely happy for me.”

“You don't think I’m happy for you?”

“I know you're not.” 

Silence. Heavy-sitting, unbearable silence. The two of you simply stared at each other as if fighting an inaudible argument. Blood pressure rising, your heart was now hammering in your chest and you were sure he was even angrier than you.

Perhaps that last sentence came out harsher then you intended it to, but in your eyes it was the truth. Spencer had every right not to be happy for you. In fact, a large part of you expected him to react badly which is also another reason why you wanted him to be the first to know. 

You were right of course, you just didn't know it. 

The pain in his chest was insufferable. The jealousy, the anger, the sorrow. All of those feelings mixed inside of him and spread through his body like wildfire. He thought he was heartbroken before, back when you first started dating Ethan, but he was dead wrong. His head was spinning. He felt nauseous. It was hard to breathe. This was heartbreak.

See, Spencer was there when you and Ethan first met. Which in his mind made all of this so much worse. The team was working a local case, and the brunette agent got hurt. Not severely, but it was enough to make everyone worry so you volunteered to drive him to the hospital. While Spencer got checked out, you went to fetch him some jell-o. When you returned about twenty minutes later, you weren't alone anymore. 

You never told anyone the full story. Just that the surgeon spotted you in the cafeteria, and asked you out for coffee. Honestly, there wasn't much more to it than that. Well, apart from the tiny detail that your initial thought was to decline Ethan’s offer because you were secretly hoping to get back together with the brunette agent. 

The only reason you said yes to Ethan all those months ago was because he was a surgeon, and with both of your hectic schedules combined you never thought it would progress any further than that one coffee date. But it did. And overtime you moved on from Spencer, and learned to love the surgeon. The feeling isn't quite the same, but Ethan makes you feel good and at the end of the day that’s all that matters. Right?

“What do you want me to say Y/N?” Spencer asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Do you want to hear how I think you’re rushing into this? Do you want me to tell you I think Ethan is bad for you? That you can do better?” Pause. “It’s not like my opinion will change anything.” 

You opened your mouth to say something but no words came out. Spencer sighed. “You’re engaged now. You’re going to marry Ethan, and I’m respecting your choice.” 

The look that spread across Spencer’s face was pure sadness. He tried not to show it, but you could read him like an open book. He was in pain. He was in pain and there was nothing you could possibly do that would in any way help him or make him feel any better.

“We both moved on Y/N. You deserve to be happy, even if I think the guy is a jerk.” Spencer stated. It was harsh, he knew that, but in his defence it wasn't entirely true. Yes, he thought Ethan was an ass but it was primarily because Spencer loved you still, and he knew he would continue to love you until the end of his days. In his eyes, Ethan didn't deserve you.

And Spencer tried to get over you. Once he knew that you and Ethan were serious, he really tried to get over you. Yet nothing he did worked; it is as if you are imbedded deep in his soul. If he was a selfish man, he would let you stay there forever making it your permanent home. But Spencer Reid wasn't selfish, far from it. And now you were engaged to someone that wasn't him. He had to cut the cord. Even if the feeling was going to crush him. 

“The only thing we share now is our work Y/N, nothing more.” And with that the brunette doctor walked away leaving you feeling lost, confused and slightly hurt. 

You at least thought he considered you a friend.

Loving you is a bloodsport. Fighting in a love war.

-

A/N: starting off the new year right with this angsty mini-series. honestly, i couldn't get the idea out of my head over the holidays so i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i am currently enjoying writing it! hope you liked the first chapter. i’d love to hear your feedback and what you think will happen next! if you would like to be added to a taglist, please let me know. thank you for your continuous support. with love, mal. x

main masterlist | series masterlist

[actualbird]

No need to apologise for the late chapter, stuff happens! Besides, it sounds like work got really busy so it's good you took care of that and yourself first. Now onto more fic related things, my streak of catching the chapters of this fic as they update is now broken, guess I'm back to reading your fics like a morning newspaper!

So I didn't know about Marius going overseas for Giann and his dad until this fic and this was a hell of a way to find out ouch,,,only sixteen and he's making decisions like that...

The cooler lawyer dfxtuxtu sorry Artem Marius plays favourites.

Oh. Oh no. The argument was bound to happen sooner or later but. That was. That was really bad oh god you were not kidding about going full throttle with the angst. The worst part is Marius isn't even wrong but Giann couldn't really do anything about it either so in the end there's really no one to blame.

Oh thank god Ria my beloved. What a scene to walk into though how is she taking charge of the situation so well? Absolutely adore her, I wouldn't know what to do if I were in that situation.

Wasn't Ria giving orders during the rescue too? She's definitely the leader of the polycule.

So as someone who used to adore the textbook grand declarations of romance and probably still loves them even now (of course I do, my favourite is Vyn and his eagle spiel in personal story 3 is about as dramatic a speech as you can get), I really like the more realistic take on it that Ria's giving here. Because it's true, no one can be expected to never hurt someone ever, that's just not realistic. And not all the ways people hurt each other have to blow up in a huge fight like what happened in this fic, sometimes it's an unintentionally insensitive statement that you let your partner know hurt you and they apologise and try their best not to say it again, but that doesn't change the fact that hurt was dealt. So as much as grand declarations of love are romantic and heartwarming, I think keeping in mind they can't always be kept is also important, and I adore this fic for it.

Leave it to Ria to give the best love advice ever. And by extension you because how in the world did you put this into words??? Years of getting love advice of all kinds from fanfics to school talks to parents and this fic put into words the best advice I could possibly get and always thought of on some level but could never make sense of. I adore this fic and your writing so, so much.

Okay moving away from the heaps of praise I give you what feels like every time I write a comment, YES THE MEETING WITH MARIUS AHAHA. It was so wild???? I look back on it now with all I know about Marius and I laugh fondly and I love him so much for it but back when I first started playing I was so annoyed by it dgkxgkf I was giving live reactions to a friend via text and I was cursing Marius out his entire introduction. Truly the dumbest thing in this entire polycule.

As always, thank you so much for writing this chapter I absolutely adored it. Giving the Artem chapter some stiff competition but it's alright they can fight it out, my favourite chapter will probably change every day between these two now. I look forward to the next chapter and the resolution with Marius!!

🌌

gmorning milkyway :DDD thank u reading the morning paper but breaking news is replaced with chapter 5 of "standard operating procedure (x4 speedrun)"

and now my comments to ur comments cuz this ask made me happy clap like a SEAL

GOD YEA THE OVERSEAS THING…..i only recently watched the card that was mentioned in and i was like hey, what the fuck? hey what the Fuck. like i was planning on writing something similar as simply an angsty tidbit i made up but then Nope, canon beat me TO IT!!!

artem isnt even offended that ria is the cooler lawyer, he Agrees uwu. marius does pick fun at ria though, marius calls artem “lawyer with better cooking skills”

funfact about the argument!: it didnt exist at all until i was halfway thru writing artem’s chapter cuz that was when i realized (rather belatedly HAHA) that giann’s worries are intrinsically wound up with protecting and helping marius

and marius…well, we havent heard his part of the story just yet and thatll come in the last chapter. but he is right. and you are also right. theres no one to blame but people in pain do all sorts of things when pushed enough

ria: awww yisss got some oranges for giann to make a Great Impression and i can also make marius go the fuck to sleep ria when she enters: ok. recalibrate. conflict de-escalation time

SHE IS THE LEADER OF THE POLYCULE!!!! THE HILL I WILL DIE ON!!! i didnt get to put it in the chapter cuz it didnt fit, but my perspective of mc be it in fanfic or canon, in platonic team dynamic or polycule, is that shes a catalyst for the grp to come together and also the glue that Keeps them together

i shake ur hand. i love love love grand declarations of romance because i love drama and also love. but also yea, love is messy as hell.

thats basically my entire thesis for this fic: love is messy and imperfect and theres no way to love anybody in any way without fucking up sometimes. but being perfect isnt what love is about, is it? it’s about working through it to become a better person for others and for yourself

jhsvfJHVJKH IM GLAD U ENJOYED THE LOVE ADVICE and that it was put into words well enough!! ria’s spiel here truly truly was one of the things i was most excited to write out, it was something i had planned from the very beginning, and it’s something i believe in a lot that i see her—a stubbornly hopeful person—to believe in as well

marius’ intro in game is the Funniest intro in the Entire Game. the absolute AUDACITY!!! I CANNOT STAND HIM (LIES. I ADORE HIM)

thank u so so SO much for this comment milkway :(((( it rlly made my whole morning :’)

[clarythericebot]

devi, ben, & the journey towards self acceptance

this post has 2 arguments.

#1: devi’s relationship with ben demonstrates her journey towards self-acceptance.

#2: devi and ben’s relationship develop when they engage with each other as others (as other people with wants and hurts and needs) instead of vicious mirrors of themselves.

The show clearly establishes that Devi and Ben are very, very similar to each other. They’re both nerds. They’re ruthlessly competitive. They’re socially awkward. They care about social status.

They’re both smart people! They probably know this about themselves.

The interesting thing here is that they hate each other. (I’d actually argue that the hatred is more on Devi’s part than Ben’s; by the time the series starts, it feels more like he’s dealing with a crush buried as deep in his subconscious as Samberg’s Emmy; one which comes out in cruel and immature ways, but still lacks the rancor of Devi’s I wish you were killed by Nazis). And if that’s the case, it’s not much of a leap at all to say that Devi doesn’t like herself very much.

This brings me to a part of argument #2, which is that Devi doesn’t really engage with Ben as another person at all (in the earlier part of the series) but rather more as an extension of herself—either as a static, two-dimensional antagonist in the story she tells in her head (which I think is how he comes across in the first few episodes since we are in her head) or an unflattering mirror that she loathes to look at, reminding her about everything about herself that she despises.

For me, what cinches this interpretation is the MUN episode. It doesn’t register to her that MUN is important to him—she goes on the trip to buy some freedom, and his presence, at least at first, is an annoyance. Later, when she is angry at herself – at her own actions, at what she has done – she channels all her anger and takes it out on him.

No one else in this series gets this particular type of cruelty from her. Devi becomes self-centered and prioritizes herself over her friends; they are collateral damage. Devi pushes her therapist away when she thinks she is going to abandon her. Devi snaps at her mother for terrible things her mother had said (disproportionately, but the inciting incident is still something that her mother said to hurt her).

But Devi hurts Ben when she wants to hurt herself.

However, it doesn’t stay this way. The shift occurs not when Devi finally has a breakthrough with herself but when she realizes something about him.

I think episode 1x06 (“Never Have I Ever Been the Loneliest Boy in the World”) is brilliant and beautiful for many reasons, but a huge one is that we literally get out of Devi’s head. We engage more in the worlds that she isn’t really a part of, the other. The wonderful thing is that by the end of the episode, she gets to do the same.

NALINI: Benjamin, I hear you were on that last-minute Model UN trip to Davis.

BEN: Oh, it wasn't so last-minute for everyone. Some of us spent months preparing for that trip. But Devi came in with no preparation and still became the talk of the weekend.

NALINI: Oh. Really? Why was that?

In this scene, Ben has the perfect opportunity to do what Devi had done—to do what Devi would in his place. He could’ve gotten his revenge on her by spilling to her mom what she’d done in the MUN conference. He recognizes that opportunity. If there had ever been a perfect time to nuke Devi back, this was it.

He chooses not to do it.

BEN: Nothing bad. She just brought a lot of passion to her role as Equatorial Guinea.

Ben stands down. Why? Well—because he is Ben and not Devi. It’s in this episode that we see, for longer and a little more concretely, what the show is hinting at since the beginning: that beneath his high school immaturity and ego, Ben is genuinely kind.

Devi catches a glimpse of that at the dinner table and again when he chooses to be honest and vulnerable with her—choices that she’s only ever made kicking and screaming in the principal’s office.

The essential thing here to note is that Devi has been utterly self-absorbed since the beginning of the season. She hasn’t engaged with anyone’s life but her own, even her best friends’—her shit is bigger than theirs, after all. She’s caved in herself and her own selfish narrative (which is incidentally CS Lewis’ definition of hell).

The unexpected vulnerability, however, is enough to hammer at least a small crack in the cave she’s holed herself away in. In seeing the person that Ben is, in engaging with an “other”, she finally manages to take the first few tentative steps in helping herself—admitting her own mistakes.

Their relationship changes from there on out. Devi’s caustic rancor towards Ben vanishes and she becomes friendlier with him. And Ben, well, he attempts to drunkenly kiss her at his party.

In spite of that hiccup, Devi knows that she can count on him for help when she needs it. She trusts him to say yes when she asks to move in with him and to get her to Malibu on time.

Devi isn’t finished with her character development. Her self-acceptance issues haven’t been completely addressed – it’s now been underlined that a lot of it comes from her mom’s treatment of her as well – but she’s learned, I think, to take a few hesitant steps outside of her own bubble. At the season finale, the person Devi falls a little bit in love with isn’t a terrible mirror version of herself, but Ben Gross—relentlessly challenging and ultimately kind.

[didsomeonesaydaddydraco]

Fire meet gasoline | Draco Malfoy one shot

Request: yes, from the prompt list and by a lovely anon. (Hi! So I was wondering if you could make a Y/N x Draco fanfic with this prompt: “Please be quite, I can’t even hear myself losing the will to live”? The details would be like Draco and the reader had gotten into a fight about a stupid thing but make up in the end? Also...can it include fluff?)

Word count: 1,984

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Slytherin reader

Used prompt: 1. Please be quite, I can’t even hear myself losing the will to live

She was fire and he was gasoline. If people didn’t know better, they would have thought Malfoy and Y/L/N hated each other. They were always arguing about something, screaming at each other, ignoring the other, death stares and cold shoulders were the right description for their friendship. And it became even worse, when they smelt each other through the Amortentia potion. Draco became the most possessive and overprotective boyfriend ever, only letting his friends to talk to her. But just because he was acting like an arrogant asshole, it didn’t stop Y/N to be her own person and live her life the same way she did when they were only friends with the blonde boy. Of course Draco always picked a fight over this, and they would entertain the whole Common Room and sometimes even the Great Hall with their arguing. They were clever, one of the brightest in their year, so their fights were smart too. They were the explosion when fire meet gasoline. They were burning, but they burned in their love. 

Neither of them could have tell the exact reason of their argument. Both of them were tired, couldn’t sleep enough because they were up all night studying for their upcoming exams. The tiredness made them irritated and sensitive, and the whole week, they picked fights over the stupidest things. Like why was Draco always so mean to everyone who only wanted to be nice with him. Or why did she felt the sudden urge to help Harry and Ron with their essay for History of Magic. Malfoy even managed to get detention, because he almost hexed a first year old who picked a flower to his girlfriends as a thank you gift for helping him found his way back to the Hufflepuff Tower. They were fighting all week, and they were tired of it. But it wasn’t enough for them to actually push their pride aside and apologise to each other for being a bitch. No, they chose to argue over everything they could. 

“Do you think they will ever get tired of arguing so much?” Pansy Parkinson asked Blaise Zabini with a sigh, and rested her head on the chuckling boy’s shoulder. She was glad for the few minutes without Malfoy and Y/L/N, she had been listening to their bickering and arguing all day. On the other hand, Blaise found the couple rather entertaining, and often mocked them for being so stubborn and hot-headed. No matter what some people said, they were actually a match to happen. 

“I think they will argue even on their wedding day” Theodor Nott said with a huge smile and watched as the famous Slytherin couple entered the Great Hall. Both of their faces were red, and even though they were holding hands, it was evident they were still fighting about the same thing.

“Yeah, only if she doesn’t kill him until then” Blaise laughed with Grabe and Goyle, who were more occupied by the huge amount of food in front of them. Draco and Y/N joined their friends by the table, but they didn’t sit next to each other. Draco hopped down next to Blaise, and Y/N sat next Theo. Their friends watched them with amused looks.

“Look, all I’m saying, if you want to be with saint Potter, go and be with him” Draco spat and grabbed the plate from Y/N’s hand to put on some steamed vegetable for her. She rolled her eyes at his comment, and poured a glass of water and another glass of orange juice for him. Pansy chuckled at them. She found it funny, how they still cared and went along with their usual routine while they were clearly pissed at each other “But don’t forget that…”

“What?” Y/N raised an eyebrow at Draco “Don’t forget that your father will hear about this?” She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, but her eyes were smiling “Please, you know that Lucius actually likes me” she shook her head and placed a stuffed potato on Draco’s plate.

“Bitch” Draco murmured and took away his plate from her “Everyone is head over heels for him, and I don’t know why” he rolled his eyes and aggressively cut the meat of his plate “And I don’t understand why’d you go and help him with that stupid essay, Y/L/N. You are a perfect pureblood, with a powerful family and you’re my girlfriend” he kept on renting. Their friends sighed in union and grabbed turned back to their food. It was going to be a very long night “Plus, should I mention that he is probably only using you for your looks? He is so pathetic, like who on Earth would actually be friends with an ork like Hagrid?” 

Pansy looked at her best friend, seeing the familiar look on her face. Y/N had enough of Draco’s childish behaviour, and how he was accusing everyone for every single thing, acting like he was so perfect. It was one thing when he was acting jealous and obsessive with her, but she couldn’t stand hearing him talk shit about nice and pure people like Hagrid. He was one of her favourite teachers, and she just wanted to put him in a bubble and protect him from the cruelty of real world. And she was certainly tired of arguing with him all day. She thought they were over the little incident, which was actually just a quick study session with Harry and Ron in the library, but it looks like Malfoy couldn’t drop it and believe that they were only friendly with her when they hugged her in the end. Those two would have failed History of Magic if she didn’t help them with their essay. But mostly, she was tired of hearing Draco talk and talk and talk and talk. She understood why Lucius was usually so annoyed when his son talked. Draco had the tendency to overdramatise things and make them look like it was the reason of the world ending soon. 

“Shut up, Draco” she said and put down her fork. Y/N felt a headache approaching, and she couldn’t afford resting for the rest of the day. They had an important Potions test on Monday, and she didn’t want to spend her whole weekend in the library. Not, when they had plans in Hogsmeade. She stood up and made her way out of the Great Hall. She needed space and silence, and she couldn’t get neither there. Malfoy was fast on his feet, rushing after her, and stopping her by grabbing her hand. They were standing in the middle of the Hall, most of the students’ eyes on them.

“Excuse me?” He said with concern. He didn’t mean to upset her and make her angry. He knew his behaviour wasn’t the best, and how he acted was a little bit toxic, but this whole love thing was so new to him. He never thought he could someone like he loved her, and he certainly believed nobody would ever love him. Not until he realised why he felt his blood boiling in his veins every time he was Y/N with a boy. And not until he realised why he was always so excited when he saw her, and why he felt that strange feeling in his stomach when she would hug him or just touch him. He was in love with her. Deeply, crazily and madly in love, and he didn’t plan to let her go so easily. That boy, honestly wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side. Marrying her, buying their own mansion and filling it with little Dracos and little Y/Ns. 

“Please, be quiet. I can’t even hear myself losing the will to live” she said annoyedly and tried to free her hand from his grip, but Draco was stronger. She looked up at him with a determined look, ready to tell him to go and fuck himself, but the amused look on his face confused her.

“Drop the attitude, woman” he said and bend down just enough to be able to pick her up and through her on his shoulder. He knew she wasn’t used to be told what to do, so it always silenced her when he did it. 

“Draco, put me down right now” she commanded, but he acted like he didn’t hear her. All eyes were on them, their own group of friends laughing at the pair. They knew this was their way of ending the argument and making up, so they continued their meal with the thought of not having to worry about the scene they would walk up to in the Common Room.

“Come on, princess” Malfoy playfully patted her butt and made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room. He smiled innocently at the students who were passing by them, looking at them strange and wondering why on Earth he was carrying a cursing Y/N on his shoulder. 

When they finally reached Draco’s dorm room, she refused to say anything. She just let Draco drop her on his bed and watch her pouting and looking up at the ceiling. He always found his girlfriend rather cute when she was mad at him, which she was a lot of time. He didn’t even know why they made such a big deal out of his jealous tantrum. They should have been so used to it by now. He gave up and with a sigh, he climbed on top of her, so she no other choice but to look at him. 

“Baby” he said in a soft voice, kissing the top of her noise and nudging it with his “Don’t be like this” 

“Piss of, Malfoy” she turned her head and stared at the picture of the two of them, hugging each other. It was taken last summer, when they visited the beach together and spent the whole day playing in the water, chasing each other in the sand, and cuddling under the stars, making future plans and talking about baby names for their kids. Even though they both knew they had plenty of time for those things, it was something very intimate and heartwarming, talking about their future together.

“I know you love me” he laid down next to her, and pulled Y/N on his chest.  He played with the ends of her ponytail. It was something that calmed down both of them “And you know that I love you” he tilted her head just enough to see her beautiful pace. She wasn’t angry. She was annoyed with him. She didn’t understand why he had to act like a baby when he was almost eighteen years old. They could have spared so much time for themselves. 

“No, I hate you” she buried her face in the crock of his neck. She breathed in his amazing scent, and felt how the stress and annoyance slowly left her body and mind. She relaxed under his soft touch, and let herself to enjoy the small kissed he was showering her face with.

“You can hate me as much as you want, as long as you don’t leave me” he said with a smile, and with a sudden movement, she was under him. She blushed at the way he looked at her. It was pure love, lust, admiration and loyalty. She knew he was the last one who would have heart her. Draco might have been the biggest cry baby ever, but he knew when he had to act like a man and protect his lover. 

“How could I ever leave you, you annoying little twat?” She laughed and pulled him down by his tie and kissed him sweetly. They both smiled in the kiss, and knew they were done fighting. At least for the day.