#yet every story she has of being with guys it always sounds like harrassment and she just wanted something but didnt enjoy it

[aurawra21]

i'm breaking my silence, Jecka is a lesbian to me

[unoriginalmess]

A Second Mask: Chapter 4

Did that just happen?

Hello guys! It's me. I'm finally writing again. Sorry about the delay. I'm going to explain more at the end of the chapter, but I'm just going to keep the beginning short. So here is chapter 4:

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To say Adrien was concerned would be a huge understatement. He was downright disturbed. Its been weeks and still Marinette hadn't changed back to the happy, peppy, nice girl that he knew. AND SHE WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT!

He tried to talk to her for a whole week after her original trasformation, but after the repeated firm rejections, he stopped altogether. He figured that maybe with some space, she might be able to work through whatever she was going through, but at this point, he's losing hope.

When he is feeling this distressed about something, he usually turns to his lady, but she has been acting weird too. Ever since she suggested they start sparring, she's started to show that she is going through kinda a rough time as well. She is the same ladybug when everyone is watching, but when it's just the two of them, she looks sad and tired. She has also started saying some concerning things while they are sparring. She has started talking about how she has started taking being Ladybug and the Guardian more seriously, and how she has less distractions now, which would be a good thing if she didn't say them so sadly.

The good thing is, the sparring has given him a chance to get out his aggression because of the whole Marinette-situation and his anger at his father in a safe environment. He didn't like the idea of hitting Ladybug at first (especially in the face) but with her not holding back on her hits, he felt more comfortable doing the same. It has helped them fight better too. He hopes that whatever Ladybug is going through in her civillian life will work itself out soon, but until then he will be there for her. He just needs to figure out how to be there for Marinette.

•••

Felix was making good progress with Marinette. After they first asked marinette about (insert fashion question of your choice here, I legit know nothing and I didn't have time to research anything for this chapter), she had started answering their questions on a daily basis. After a couple of days of that, she had started to rant to them about different things in the fashion world that were bothering her, exciting her, or confusing her that particular day. In response to that, they had started to respond to her rants with their own opinions on the subjects and even start their own rants.

It had gotten to the point where Felix would now consider them to be friends, though they know that Marinette would never call them as such, it was fine with them. They know she has trust issues, and they can understand why, so they are fine with being friends in everything but a name.

Felix was looking forward to their daily banter as they waited in their seat for Marinette to arrive. When she did, she was followed by a very pissed-looking Alya. Felix turned to look at her and noticed that she had what looked to be tears forming in her eyes. What they didn't notice was the little black butterfly that had entered through the window in the back of the room, and was making a beeline towards her.

•••

Marinette walked to school in yet another one of her newest fashion creations: a pair of oversized grey ripped jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt. She was actually really liking her new look, and the comfort that it offered was just an added plus.

She was actually feeling excited to talk to Felix about Gabriel Agreste's newest fashion flop. They were the only person that she had met that actually cared about fashion as much as her. It made her happy to talk to them. It kind of scared her how excited she was. Shouldn't she be distancing herself from everyone? she thought to herself. No. Felix isn't my friend, they aren't close to me, they are just someone I talk fashion with. Like a coworker, yeah. Totally. Felix is just a coworker. ("Liar" says the inner voice in her head)

She was shocked out of her thoughts when she was pulled to the side by someone as she entered the courtyard. Her mind immediately thought of an akuma, when the person spoke.

"Marinette! Girl," Oh it's just Alya. Wait Alya? "How long are you gonna keep up this cry for attention? Are you really THAT jealous of Lila? I know that Adrien likes her, but that doesn't give you the right to act like this! And you are hanging out with Felix, who accused her of sexually harrassing Adrien on their first day here-?" She looked absolutely furious at her, but Marinette had heard enough. She cut Alya off in the middle of her presumably long rant.

"ALYA!" Said girl jumped at both the inturruption and the tone of voice used, "First of all, this isn't a cry for attention, if anything its a cry for leaving me the fuck alone. Second of all, I'm not jealous of Lila. I'm not in love with Adrien anymore, and haven't been for a while. You knew that I was dating Luka right? Why would I care who Adrien likes? Lastly, I am allowed to hang out with whoever I choose, whether you like them or not. It's none of your fucking business Alya, and if you think that I'm just some jealous, attention-seeker why do you even care?" With that last question she stormed off to the classroom, leaving a speechless Alya behind her.

When marinette sat down in her seat, she just kept thinking about how Alya was just talking to her. How could she think that about her? They used to be best friends, and Alya wasn't even concerned about her not talking to her anymore, she was just concerned about her being "jealous of Lila". It made her so furious that she could feel tears trickling down her face. She sees the black butterfly out of the corner of her eye and without hesitation grabs it out of the air.

(Next part is taken from this post by @bigfatbreak)

"Go ahead and akumatize me- See what happens, Hawkmoth!" She screamed the words with a slight madness that the energy of the akuma was giving her, "Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find where you're holding it!"

At this point, the entire class was frozen in place watching her and listening to her crazed-sounding voice threaten an actual terrorist. Marinette felt Hawkmoth's confusion and terror through the bond. What in the- She's sensing me through the Akuma?! The akuma then started to fly away, and when it couldn't it zapped her hand like it was made of lightning and fluttered through the same window it came from. Marinette felt like she had failed yet again and collapsed down on her desk, muttering, "Uuuuggghh. It escaped anyway... What a waste. I didn't realize that Hawkmoth was such a coward. He usually likes grandstand..."

She was startled when her hand was picked up by Felix's, "You likely scared him off by managing to locate him like that... A risky move, I should mention. I would ask that you not attempt that a second time. No one knows what his akuma is truly capable of. You'll want to keep off of this hand for a while, too."

"Oh, are those the doctor's orders? Why, Felix, it almost sounds like you care about meeee." Marinette was all too amused by Felix's concern for her. She also liked to tease them... AS COWORKERS DO.

"I have an investment in your presence. Now don't be cheeky and let's get you to the nurse's office," They said while holding her wrist and gently pulling her in that direction.

Marinette scoffed, "'An investment in my presence'??"

Felix chuckled while still semi-dragging her by the wrist towards the front of the room, being careful not to hurt her injury even worse, "What did I just say about being cheeky?"

On their way out of the door they passed a VERY distressed-looking Adrien. He seemed to be sharing the sentiment with the entire class of: Did that just happen?

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And thats chapter 4. It is VERY LATE! I know. I've been swamped with work, and when I went to write it, I had zero ideas on how to write this chapter. I never ended up getting those ideas. I just went where my writing took me, so if it doesn't really match the characters that's why. I will try to be better at updating regularly, but it probably won't happen. Sorry to everyone with a normal sleep schedule, but this is the time that I write things. Also I didn't have my outline with me while writing this chapter, so it might not have everything I planned to write in it.

I would like to thank you all for all of the support I've been getting on this fic. Despite all of the chapter delays, you guys have stuck with me through all of it, so thank each and every one of you. I love seeing so many people loving this au as much as I do. Without you guys this story wouldn't exist, and I would've stopped writing it after the first chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is always accepted. I love being able to improve my writing whenever possible.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day/night/whenever you are reading this. See ya next time guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

Taglist

@queer-illusion @apasponsor @heckinggremlin @1-ahiro-1 @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @sassakitty @lennauts @rianoel @dorkus-minimus @khneltea @welp-that-was-unexpected @mlnchlymrshmllw @lovelyautumnsunflower @chariphrasis @lovesbooks @komatsuna-yuki @polyvirnl @innocentlyguiltyfrenchfry @qhobias @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @hammalammadamdam @cloudydaysomewhere @alcoholic-barney @basenikon @xxbehindthemaskxx @corporeal-terrestrial @shadowymemoirs @moonlight-densetsuu

[fullsunalicia]

ooh idk if requests are open, but if they are could you write a sort of spin off to the tale older than time for jaemin??? bECAUSE YES SON OF EROS FALLING IN LOVE AND HIM NOT SEEING IT COMING?? yes pls,,,,oh and if you ever plan on making it a series with all the dreamies as demigods i will literally worship you and set up a temple for you !! you write so well !!

love and war - NJM

maybe the fates mixed something up when they tied the red string of the daughter of ares to eros’ son instead of aphrodite’s, but jaemin wasn’t complaining. after all, it was love at first sight, and eros is the next-best thing, right?

son of eros!jaemin x daughter of ares!y/n

hello my love! yes, they’re open, so request away as much as you’d like! thank you for this one, i hope you will enjoy it 🤍 also, that sounds really intriguing! for you, i will go ahead and try to write a greek mythology au for every dreamie 🤍 but i’ll have to say that no matter how many temples you build for me, i’ll build dozens more for you! thank you so much for your kind words bubs 🥺

Jaemin was used to playing matchmaker.

Not once did the students on campus flock to the children of Aphrodite when they needed help with love, even though Jaehyun was literally right there. They trusted Eros and his genes, because everyone knew the story of Psyche and wished to find a love like theirs.

Sure, he bended the rules a little bit when he helped Jeno... but what the Fates don’t know, shouldn’t bother them, right?

Little does Jaemin know that they’ve decided to take Na Jaemin’s love life into their very own hands. Somewhere in Greece, up high on a mountain, Cloto, Lachesis and Atropos are having the time of their lifes tying little (y/n)’s red string to Jaemin’s. Not even his father can hinder them, because Jaemin knowingly broke the rules.

They’d like to see how Jaemin would manage with the ill-tempered, hot-headed (y/n), demi-goddess, Ares’ pride and joy.

After all, you’ve never fallen in love.

❀ ❀ ❀

There’s a reason why your knuckles are split open nearly every week.

One look at the you and everyone determines that you must be really weak. Frail, pushed aside almost too easily. You hide it well, because the second they under-estimate you, they’re already dead. (l/n) (y/n) looks nothing like her elder siblings, but you pack quite the punch. It’s the golden, godly blood flowing in your veins that throws in that extra swing, just the amount of strength needed to break someone’s jaw. That’s a blessing only the children of Ares possess - there is not a single fight they ever lose, or at least lose immediately. They were born to conquer, fight and win, meant to be leaders, warriors and protectors.

So when some assholes on campus make your best friend Yuqi uncomfortable, you’re the first to start the brawl. It’s really not your fault those jerks couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. If a girl says no several times and they still can’t accept it, they’ll just have to sort it out with your fists.

You’re not like your father. You don’t actively search for fights, even though there’s nothing that makes you feel more alive than a well-delivered kick or the satisfying feeling of bones cracking beneath your grip. You inherited the love for a good fight, but not the stupidity to look for it at every corner. There’s a hot temper boiling beneath your skin, but you keep it in check pretty well. Unless of course someone bothers Yuqi. That’s something different entirely and you welcome that particular red haze every time it comes.

“Please, please stop hurting yourself for me,” Yuqi begs you as she holds your bandaged hands tightly in her own. You see no reason in putting band-aids on them, but your best friend can’t live with herself if she can’t atleast treat your wounds, so you let her do her thing every time. “I wish you’d just let someone else do it. You know it’s not possible to win every time, (y/n), you’re a daughter of Ares, not the god themself.”

“I warned them not to touch you.” The shrug of your shoulders only upsets Yuqi more. “That was their own fault. I’m not standing aside to someone bothering and harrassing you like that. Not until someone else does it for me, like a future boy- or girlfriend.”

“I’m straight.”

“You’re lying to yourself.”

Yuqi laughs, pink blush settling on her cheeks. You’re only joking, but you know she ponders over that thought, her beautiful mind wrapping itself around the fact that Yuqi was still discovering herself. Her wisdom shone through every thing she said, and she was a good match to you as a daughter of Athene. She was the brains, you the some-what muscle. Even though your parents couldn’t stand each other, Yuqi and you loved each other like sisters.

The girl reaches out to brush your hair out of your sight, then she interlocks your fingers and pulls you forward. Weirdly, you adore skinship. The feeling of a warm body beneath your touch, living, breathing. Not in the violent way. In the sense of finding something and using as an anchor. A heartbeat did so much more than telling yourself to calm down. A smile, a heartfelt spoken sentence. You were as easily to calm down as any other demigod, even though it takes a little bit more than others.

You crave touch. Meaning. Or as they said in Mulan - a guy worth fighting for, even though you’ve never fallen in love.

Butterflies have never lived in your stomach, and you never get weak in the knees because of someone. Sure, you blush a good amount of times when you are complimented and hugged, but never once did that feeling expand into something romantic. It was ... disappointing.

Maybe you weren’t mean to fall in love. You’re only a pawn in the battleground your father laid out for you.

Across the room, Na Jaemin looks you in the face and feels his heart skip several beats.

❀ ❀ ❀

You’re perfect.

That’s the only word Jaemin’s head can offer as he looks at you, his heart seems to tremble in his chest at the sight of your pure smile. It’s not even directed at him, for fuck’s sake. But still, you are so lovely, and he almost stands up to walk over you. He’s Jaemin; if you’re born to break bones, he was born to flirt.

Almost. He decides against it, because of one single reason.

Jaemin has fallen in love several times. But he’s never met a soulmate before, and especially not his own. It’s different, the flower that begins to bloom in his heart for you, different from anything else in the world and only distinctive to children of love. Forget-me-nots, gardenias and cherry blossoms, they all settle in his heart, waiting for you to pluck them and make them yours. He doesn’t want anyone else to have them but you, and it didn’t matter if you are going to tear them apart or treasure them.

He had asked his father before, if soulmates were real. Not a very serious question, but nonetheless still spoken out of curiousity. Jaemin sees relationships like an outstander, able to change and fix, more than easy to manipulate. Love is unsure, it can never be caged. It’s meant to be free. Undeciding. Unraveling.

“They’re real,” Eros had responded. “Of course they are. There is a little truth in every myth. I don’t know if they’re really the people who were conjoined and cut apart by Zeus and his cowardice. But every once in a while, the Fates sit down and meddle with our business, for a relationship made in the stars. It’s not common, son. I haven’t seen them for a long time.”

And yet here you are.

He’s heard about you. That Ares girl, the one who’s so over-protective of a certain chinese business student.

He wonders if you attend NCT parties often.

❀ ❀ ❀

Yuqi doesn’t want you to go to parties. She says your temper explods too fast whenever you have a swig too much and she doesn’t know how to control an angry, intoxicated demigod. Everybody knows that whenever an Ares child is involved in a fight, someone ends up in the hospital. As a consequence, you are rarely offered a drink.

The only reason you attend parties is to watch your friends and/or play designated driver. That’s why you’re standing in this kitchen you’ve never been in clutching a glass of ice tea, and not the whiskey you’ve been eyeing across the table for half an hour now. It’s a shame, really. Drunk you is always so funny. People were denied of that show by Yuqi’s rule against getting drunk in public. Every fifteen minutes, she sends you a checking glance, and you’re still sober every time she does.

Na Jaemin is not. He’s not drunk, really, just buzzed, and that’s enough liquid courage he needs to approach you. The smile adorning his lips makes your stomach flip in an unknown way, and you let him approach you, curious of what he’s planning to do. “You’re not drinking,” he states inquisitively, free hand pointing at your alcohol-free cup. “Don’t like getting drunk?”

“Oh, I do. But I tend to beat people up when I do.” You sigh, crossing your arms in front of your chest, hoping that your silly heart would catch the drift and stop beating at multiple hundred miles an hour. He’s so stunning; This must be what Adonis had looked like, there’s no other explanation. The dazzling smile, the honest eyes that let you see every corner of his soul willingly. Not a single wall pulled up to protect himself. “But you seem to be having fun.”

“Only a little,” he laughs. That sound does wonders to your heart. You also wonder what the hell is going on with you. “But not too much, you know how we Eros children can get when the alcohol hits at once. Not a nice sight.”

“Can’t believe anything that has do with you not being a nice sight.”

The pick-up line is spoken with confidence, yet your cheeks heat up in an instant. Jaemin gauges your reaction, and his fingers twitch. He wants to cradle your face and take you up to his room to show you what else kind of sights he offers. And somehow at the same time, he kind of wants to squish your cheeks and run his fingers through your hair. Very conflicting. Jaemin tends to feel too much, too fast.

But with you, everything moves smoothly. Meant to be. Like the universe had mapped this out a long time ago.

“You’re cute,” he tells you, liking the way you shyly lower your gaze. He cannot possibly imagine you punching someone in the face, but he likes the fervor and passion he finds in your eyes. Love and war are very similar. It’s the first thing Jaemin was ever taught.

He tugs at your fingers, and you don’t stop him when he curls his pinky around yours. “Come on. Let’s do something fun.”

The house is stuffed with people who are trying to have a good time. Jaemin takes you deeper into it, leading you towards a group of people you recognize, but don’t actually know. Amazingly, they were playing billiard in their drunken state, and even though most of them have been drinking for a long time, they still hit their targets dead-on. You join them, and the entire night, Jaemin doesn’t move from your side. He wraps an arm around your shoulders and your waist every once in a while but other than that, he respects your boundaries and follows the game intently, pouting when he loses and grinning smugly when something goes his way.

Jaemin throwing his head back in laughter is the most ethereal thing you’ve ever seen in life. He sets off electric currents in your veins, the very same ones you chased every time you were fighting someone.

Is this what a crush feels like?

❀ ❀ ❀

Jaemin decides that the perfect way to wake up is next to your pretty face.

He’s aware of the fact how creepy this is. But he cannot take his eyes off you, unable to will his gaze away. Every curve and slope of your body is breathtaking. Your hands are resting beside your head, and even though he winces at the cuts that adorn the back of your hand, it just... fits you so well. Never ever in his life has Jaemin felt like this before. It’s just impossible, how you wrap him around your little finger just by looking into his direction. You’re the sun, and he’s the planet orbitting you.

Matchmakers aren’t usually made into a match. But he finds himself perfectly content at your feet, even though the feeling is powerful and foreign. His mind is haywire.

Jaemin likes it. He likes it a lot.

When your eyes flutter open, his heart nearly jumps out of his chest because of the blush settling on your cheeks. “Hi,” you whisper, and he angles his body towards you, desperate for any kind of attention you’re willing to give him. “Hey, princess,” he answers, fingers twitching to hold yours. “Slept well?”

“Yeah.” You don’t move. Instead, you set your pretty eyes on his hands which are resting just below yours, and he wishes for you to take them. He’s too much of a scaredy-cat to do it himself. And that is so untypical of him - Na Jaemin isn’t scared of shit, affection is his second nature.

But you’re different. You were the match that set him ablaze, and his entire existence has shifted to accomodate you.

“Thank you for letting me stay over.” Fingers brush past his. He almost groans in frustration. “I was way too tired to drive home yesterday, and it was really fun, even though I was sober.”

“You don’t need to be drunk to have fun, princess,” is all he says, and it takes his entire courage for him to raise his hand and brush his knuckles against your cheek. Jaemin feels like ascending to heaven when you nuzzle his face against them, and he cups your face. You don’t stop him. You watch him, eyes curious, waiting. Jaemin inches closer.

Children of Eros don’t hold back. They exist for love and for passion, for lust and for loyalty. Emotions for them are inner explosions, felt more intensely than any other person in the world. And right now, he’s dying from anticipation.

“(y/n),” Jaemin murmurs. “I’m going to kiss you.”

His hand leaves your face to rest beside your shoulder, and your breath hitches when he lifts himself to hover over you. For a second, he thinks he’s overdone it. Instead, your fingers find his shirt and grip it tightly, godly strength shimmering through, tugging just so slightly. “(y/n),” he repeats. He needs you to say it. Needs you to give him permission to get lost in you and your touch, his very own paradise in the form of the stars locked in your eyes and all the love in the world in your smile.

If angels really exist, Jaemin is pretty sure they look like you.

“Please,” you whisper. Jaemin’s free hand moves to hold your waist, and you let him tug your shirt up so he can rest it on naked skin. You’re going to make him pass out, he realizes, because you’re so much to take in. So beautiful, so stunning, so alive.

“Please what, princess?”

You pull at his shirt, but Jaemin doesn’t move. You look cute when you bite your lip. “Please kiss me.”

You’re even cuter when you beg.

It should disturb him that the scent of blood lingers to your clothing like a constant afterthought. The bruises you’re going to leave on his shoulders because of your grip should scare him away. But all it does is draw him more in, and even though he’s the one in control right now, Jaemin feels like the little mouse walking right in your trap.

Hook, line and sinker. The moment your lips touch his, he’s a goner. Jaemin grips your waist tighter, hand sliding down to grip your thigh and guide your leg around his hips. He’s very aware that you could crush his shoulders with his bare hands, but the pain you inflict starts to turn into a guilty pleasure. How are you so powerful without knowing it? He tugs at your lower lip, welcoming the whine you let slip a little bit too enthusiastically, tongue meeting yours in a heated frenzy.

Jaemin thought he knew what love was. If not him, who else would? But after this, all his definitions are rearranged and they all spell out one name: yours. He’s barely able to abandon your lips, finding solace in the way you arch your back when he nips at your neck, leaving love bites wherever he can reach. The sound of his name falling from your lips is seriously messing with his sanity. Your hands move on from his shoulders to his hair to tug at the dyed locks, and Jaemin moans at the feeling.

Your taste of heaven is interrupted by someone furiously knocking against his door. Once, twice, until someone angrily yells from outside the room: “Na Jaemin, I’ve told you a thousand times that you have clean-up duty! Get your ass up!”

Jaemin groans, lips still attached to the column of your throat. Your legs keep him trapped against you and you close them tighter, to Jaemin’s delight. Neither of you want to be seperated right now. “Go away, Mark.”

“If you don’t get your ass outside in two minutes, I’ll come in and say hello to your female companion, you dick.”

You giggle at that. “Go, go,” you urge him, shyly cupping his face in your tiny hands to kiss him for a few seconds, way too short for his liking. He’s going to kill Mark for this. Jaemin looks you in the eyes for just a few seconds longer, then he rolls off from you in a pout.

The room feels really warm now. Sitting up, you fix your hair and he watches you, entranced. Like you’re his favourite movie and he didn’t want to look away. Mark keeps his promise, bursting in through the door to get his friend, but Jaemin pushes him out and steps into the hall with him.

“Write down your number before you leave, princess,” he calls over his shoulder, and then the door is shut.

❀ ❀ ❀

“I can’t believe you hook up with someone the second I leave you alone.”

“For the last time, Yuqi! I didn’t hook up with him!”

Your best friend is sprawled across your floor, fanning herself with her hand. It’s hot outside, the blue sky calming you down just by looking at it. For someone who lives to destroy you sure have your knack for aesthetics. “Then what else do you call it?” Yuqi hums.

You don’t know what to call it. You don’t have a noun for the feeling that Jaemin ignited, and you couldn’t get rid of it, despite avoiding him for a full week. Someone like you wasn’t supposed to feel like this. So ... weak. At someone’s beck and call. You are made out of conflict, strength and violence. Love wasn’t something Ares had in mind when he created you.

No, you scold yourself mentally, don’t refer to it as love. It’s not love. Love is stupid. But there isn’t any other way to describe it. All the books lie. There aren’t any fireworks or butterflies in your stomach. It feels like war elephants are running rampant, and your heartrate spikes the second someone mentions the J in Jaemin. The worst thing is that you miss him, had longed for him the entire week, inner turmoil caused by your wish to fall into his bed again or to run away from this university as far as possible.

You may not notice, Yuqi watches you. Your nervous antics of cracking your fingers and tugging at your hair. Both of you know there’s no way to win this war, no matter how long you sit down to think about a good strategy. There’s only one solution: admit defeat.

Something you were very, very bad at.

“(y/n),” the girl sitting on the ground speaks, voice soft, careful. Her eyes remind you of an owl’s. “You should have just left him your number.”

You breathe in shakily. “I don’t know him.”

“But you want to.” Her hands grip yours, finally pulling you out of that terrifying place in your head where you punish yourself for never being in love before and making this so hard for yourself. “I know this is new territory for you and you dislike things that are unknown to you. But just because you were born to fight, doesn’t mean you automatically aren’t born to love and to be weak. Your father loves war. Your mother loved him. Was she weak because of that? Absolutely not. She taught you how to fight and survive in this world, to stand up after being kicked down, to earn your place. Is that not what true warriors do? Is that not strength?

You bite your lip. Then you nod. Yuqi raises her head to kiss your forehead. “Don’t forget that love is the most powerful thing in the entire world,” she reminds you. She looks like Athene more than ever right now, her gaze firm, determinded. Razor sharp mind cutting apart this scary new feeling for you so you can digest it.

“Now go get your man.”

❀ ❀ ❀

[1:33pm] y/n: i should have written down my number

[1:34pm] jaemin: why didn’t you, princess?

[1:36pm] y/n: i’ll tell you personally if that’s okay with you

[1:36pm] y/n: dream café in five minutes

❀ ❀ ❀

Love is an act of surrender to another person.

Your father never taught you what that is. There is only victory in being the last one standing, winning, living to tell the tale. There is no room for error, or for weakness.

The strong ones never admit defeat. That was what Ares had imprinted into your mind from the minute you were born into this world. But what Ares doesn’t know is that he’s wrong. He’s not all-mighty, no God ever is. Their countless myths are living proof for that. And that is why you know that surrendering doesn’t mean being weak. It’s the most brave thing you could ever do, and not every one is able to do that. That itself is a strength. A streng not everyone possesses, but you’re willing to take the risk to acquire it, to step into the unknown, a blind fall.

It would be worth it if Jaemin was waiting to catch you.

He looks as beautiful as always as he approaches you, hands tucked into his leather jacket. You had been terribly afraid of him being angry with you, but he only sends you an angelic smile and dips down to drop a feather-light kiss on your cheek. “You changed your mind,” he beams at you.

Puzzled, you blink up to him. “What?”

“You had a change of heart.” Jaemin raises his hand and rests it on his chest, eyes never leaving yours. The amount of trust and joy you find in his eyes is astounding. “I felt it right here. I knew you’d be able to do it.”

You suddenly remember who Jaemin’s father is. While he grins at you, your cheeks heat up to a thousand degrees, and you cough to cover it up. “I did,” you mumbled. “And I’m so sorry of letting you wait. I... I’ve never felt for anyone like this before. I’m not used to feeling alive unless it’s because I’m breaking someone’s nose.”

Jaemin wraps both arms around you, and you rest your hands on his shoulders. Moving on instinct was common for the both of you. “I’m glad you found that feeling by being with me and not actually punching me,” he teases you. “And for the record, I’ve never felt like this either. You’re very special to me. And that’s why I was willing to wait. So stop apologizing, princess.” His face inches closer to yours, mischievous glint in his eyes. “I haven’t even taken you on a date yet. Very scandalous, if you ask me.”

“So that kiss meant nothing you? Traitor.”

“Hey, that’s hot how I meant it.” You both laugh, though you’re disrupted by him kissing you sweetly. “I don’t need any dates when my heart’s already yours. But you deserve to be treated like a princess, and to get properly taken out and pampered. I want to give you the world, (y/n). Will you let me?”

You do.

Somewhere in Greece, three old, angry hags are disappointed with your lack of protest. They had expected more ruin and punishment for Na Jaemin as an effect of tying your strings together. They should’ve remembered that Jaemin learned all his tricks from his father, who secretly lent his son a helping hand.

What did Jaemin say again? What the Fates don’t know, shouldn’t bother them.

[dreamcatcherfication]

The Queens of London Part 1 - You Are Cordially Invited

So seeing as I’ve got a ton of free time, I’ve got this multi-chapter fic planned out. Depending on how it’s received, we’ll see how often the chapters will come out. Requests are always open and comments are gladly accepted. This is vaguely reminiscent of Ocean’s 11, even though I’ve never seen the movie. Unedited, I apologize for any grammatical errors. Kat-centric fic.

Writing Masterpost

Summary: When Katherine Howard received a strange invitation from a group of women known as “The Queens”, she had no idea what to think. The last thing she expected was to be thrown into the center of a dangerous conspiracy against some douchebag named Henry. But by now Kat’s learned that she really has no idea what to expect anymore.

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Sexual Harrassment

To say it started out as a normal day would be an accurate, if boring, way to start her story. But if Kat was honest, that’s exactly how it began. The sky was slightly overcast, typical for London weather, and people were out and about on their daily strolls. As for Kat, she was sitting on her stool on the side of the cobblestone street with an old worn guitar in her lap and an open case in front of her. A few stray pounds were in the case, but not nearly as much as Kat was hoping for.

She knew what to expect after almost a year of live music. On a normal day, she would make about 50 pounds, give or take ten if it was a good or bad day. Not the best profession, but for a barely high school grad student, she had learned not to complain. Besides, she got to see plenty of interesting faces everyday, sometimes even familiar ones. 

One of the faces she would see everyday was Jane Seymour, wealthy millionaire known for being one of those most charitable people in London. She even had a hospital in construction currently to be named the Seymour hospital. Every person in London knew her name, but oftentimes they wouldn’t notice her when she was out in public wearing some discount Urban Outfitters clothes. Jane never noticed Kat and her guitar, she was far too busy on a phone call with someone or frantically texting her employees every morning. But Kat always noticed her walking by at the same time - 7: 55 AM.

It was a shame really, that the millionaire never noticed Kat. The musician had always looked up to Jane as a role model, and soon enough seeing her every morning became the highlight of Kat’s day. It was much easier to put on a bright face after spotting her idol. It helped her get through the harder parts of the day, especially with the men who would come around.

Those were some of the worst days when Kat had to pack up and leave early. It was usually the same man, Francis, who would cat-call her and make lewd comments. Sometimes a passerby would tell him off, but he always came back. To be honest, he frightened Kat, especially when it came to her history with guys like him. But she couldn’t afford to give up street performing because of one sleazy guy. She needed the money, and that was that.

It was like any other day, not particularly good or bad. Francis hadn’t shown up, which was a plus, but there weren’t too many pounds she had racked up with her singing. Sighing, Kat realized she’d have to make packaged ramen for dinner again.

Finishing her final song, Kat watched as a woman with sunglasses dropped something into her case. “Thank you,” Kat said softly and smiled at the woman, but the woman had already turned around and started walking away. Kat frowned but didn’t think much of it, going into her case to count up her pounds. She was shocked to see a white envelope sitting on top of the pounds, bright and perfectly sealed. It hit Kat that the woman who has just been there probably dropped it by accident, so she stood up frantically and called, “Miss?” Unfortunately, the woman was long gone, nowhere in sight.

Something on the note caught Kat’s eye causing her to freeze in place. The letter had written in cursive at the top Katherine with a thin pen. The ink looked almost fake with how perfect it was on the page. Reaching her hand in to grab the envelope, Kat jerked her hand back before she could grab it. It didn’t make sense to her. Why would this woman drop a letter for her but not stick around to make sure she read it?

A shadow fell over her and Kat jumped up, afraid it might be Francis. Instead, it was just a cloud covering the Sun, reminding her that it was almost evening. Packing her guitar into its case, Kat hurriedly made her way back to her studio. It was a small studio on the edge of London, and Kat was pretty sure her landlord was a drug dealer, but after avoiding him for long enough, he had given up on her. The studio was tiny, the size of one room with a wall split down the middle. The bathroom was next to the bedroom (if it could be classified as one) where they were split from the living room/kitchen by half of a wall. The bathroom had only a shower curtain concealing it from the bedroom, and the kitchen could only be defined as separate from the living room because of the tiny, moldy couch placed in the center.

Setting the guitar case down on the floor of her bedroom, Kat opened it up and took out her guitar. She pocketed all the pounds to be counted later until all that was left was the envelope. Shakily pulling it out, Kat held her breath. Opening it felt like a disservice, ruining the perfectly sealed letter, but Kat found herself tearing it open as curiosity bit its icy jaws into her.

The note was folded into three sections, although it seemed relatively short in itself.

Katherine,

We hope this note finds you in good health and that your music work has been treating you well. We hate to skip so quickly past to pleasantries, but we must ask for your assistance. While we can’t say much in this letter, we know about your connections. And right now, we can really use them. Henry has wronged all of us, and you… we can’t even imagine. 

We can’t say much more but we’re having a meeting. Great Newport Street, the building with the under construction sign, tonight at 11 PM sharp. All of us will be there, and we hope to see you too. If everything goes to plan, this will be more than beneficial to you, we’re sure. After all, Henry’s been making sure we’re all barely scraping by. With him gone, you’ll be richer than you ever thought. We know that’s why you’re in all of this.

We won’t blame you if you don’t show up, but we could use someone like you. 

Best of luck with business,

The Queens

Dropping the letter to the ground, Katherine suddenly felt as if she had just been targeted by the mafia. Was that what was happening? It was too outlandish to be a business offer, that was for sure. And it sounded awfully shady, whatever the “Queens” were offering her. And why her? Why Katherine Howard, the nobody, the invisible girl?

So many questions sped through Kat’s mind as she tried to process the letter. How did they even know who she was? The one thing that kept coming back to her was the name Henry. Kat had never met anyone named Henry, yet the note referred to him as if Kat would know exactly who they were talking about. 

The most worrying part of it all, Kat realized, was that she had already made up her mind. Without realizing it, Kat knew she would be going to that meeting and figuring out what was going on. Maybe it was her unbridled curiosity, or maybe it was her desperate need for the promised money so she could finally eat something other than old ramen, but Kat was sure. Silently, she prayed that these mysterious “Queens” were serial killers targeting her as she jotted down the address on her arm. 

It was a serious risk, going to some random location, but Kat kept murmuring to herself, “It’s either this, or another pack of ramen.” It was that reassurance that got her to push through in the cold night air. She was bundled up in her definition of winter clothes even though it was the middle of fall. The night air was much colder than she wanted to admit, but Kat didn’t own much more than a coat and a scarf to keep her warm. The streets were practically empty, the occasional sound of a car rumbling by reminding Kat that she was still in London.

Reaching her destination, Kat checked her watch to make sure she was on time. 11:02 PM it read. “It’s probably fine, right?” The building in question looked like a theatre, but the windows were covered up with wood and masking tape. A sign on the front door read Under Construction, confirming that Kat was in the right place.

Slowly pushing open the door, Kat stepped inside the foyer, the door giving a light jingle as it moved. “You’re late,” came a voice from the dark, startling Kat. She jumped and whirled around to find whoever had just spoken.

A few paces away stood a tall, well dressed woman with blonde hair. She looked serious, but not angry, as she glanced Kat up and down. “No matter, at least you’re here.” She ushered Kat forward and led her toward the back of the building. There was a flight of stairs leading downwards into the basement, and Kat couldn’t help the knot of anxiety that built up in her stomach as she walked to what very well could be her death. She suddenly felt stupid for thinking this could possibly turn out well.

At the bottom of the steps was a door, and the woman leading Kat opened it and pushed her through. On the other side sat eight women at a round table, all of them turning their heads to see who had entered. “Ah Joan, looks like our guest has finally arrived,” spoke one of the women. Katherine whipped her head to look at the speaker and had to restrain herself from gasping. On the left side of the table sat Jane Seymour, her eyes tuned on Kat and a small smile on her face. She was dressed in more formal wear than Kat usually saw her with, but it was still the same woman.

Finally, recognition set in as Kat surveyed the room. Next to Jane was Catherine de Aragon, the CEO of Aragon News, one of the most successful news outlets in London. On Aragon’s left was Catherine Parr, a world renowned journalist and author, and an associate of Aragon News. Continuing from there was Anne Boleyn, one of the most wealthy bar owners in London. Every bar Kat had ever passed almost always had a Boleyn sign, marking that it belonged to the wealthy entrepreneur. On the other side of Anne was a famous face, Anna von Cleves, a famous fashion designer from Germany who came to London and revolutionized the fashion industry. Completing the circle were three other women Kat had never seen before, similar to the woman Jane referred to as Joan. The first woman had darker skin and was clearly of Spanish descent, with her curly locks framing her face. The next one looked young, only a couple years older than Kat herself, but her fingers were nimble and her eyes looked experienced. The final woman was wearing a smirk, her hair pulled back into a slick ponytail to show off her smooth, well made up face.

It took all of Kat’s willpower not to openly gasp and start freaking out. These women acted as if they knew her, so all she could do was attempt to play it cool. Joan nodded to Jane’s statement and turned back to Kat. “Queens, meet Katherine Brandon. Brandon, meet the Queens. I think we all have a lot to discuss.”

Kat’s eyes went wide. Brandon? Her brain yelled in confusion. Brandon? Unintentionally, Kat murmured under her breath, “Oh snickerdoodles,” as she was led to a seat surrounded by nine powerful and influential women. This was definitely not how she was expecting her day to turn out.

[mysterious-prophetess]

Movie Double feature

Today I saw TWO Movies somewhat back-to-back.

Bumblebee AND Aquaman.

One I’d been anticipating and one I was slightly skeptical about.

So I’m going to do my little post movie write up AS a double feature as well.

So first the overall experiences I had with both and then below a read more, I will get into spoiler territory.

Bumblebee

I will admit I had the bar set low because it’s a Transformer’s movie. Though, I was slightly hopeful because Bee was a bug like he was in the cartoon. And also, Bee is my favorite transformer’s character.

I was right to be hopeful. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable. Not once did I glance at my cellphone. Ok I did but that wasn’t because I was bored. 

The pacing could be very quick at times but the human protagonist was actually someone I could give a full damn about. The plot wrapped up nicely and if Michael Bay really wanted, he could reboot the whole franchise and it would work. Easily the best of the....how many are there at this point? Let’s see.....(one google search later) Six. Best of the Six Transformers movies out. Personally, I think Michael bay should just reboot the series.

Aquaman

I didn’t have the bar super high here either but I was hoping for it to be good because of several reasons.

1) I am a HUGE DC fangirl. That’s right I’ll admit it, I prefer DC to Marvel. So, I’d prefer it when DC movies are good.

2) Representation matters. 

3) The way they set up Aquaman in Justice League (especially with the Motherbox thing and Mera) intrigued me.

So, how was it? Well, I will say it was not as good as Wonder Woman. However, it was better than all the other current batch DC movies, though. By which I mean the ones that are already out. Which is something it does pain me to admit since I am (at heart) a hardcore Superman fangirl. So, for me current DC movie rankings in quality (in my personal opinion):

Wonder Woman

Aquaman

Justice League

Man of Steel

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (extended cut)

Suicide Squad

The tone flipped back and forth with light and more serious moments here and there. The pacing could be choppy in a few segments and Snyder is back at it again with his choices for editing scenes together. More on that in the spoiler section. But it was also fun and Arthur’s 1000000% done with it was something I could relate to. Yes, it is the standard trope-y King Arthur tale (yeah, pun intended and DC did that too) of good true king versus Bad False King, but it also wasn’t totally stale. The art direction is what really made this movie for me. I loved LOVED how the underwater civilizations looked.

Now time for the spoiler section.

You have been warned. Don’t read if you’ve not seen either.

Bumblebee

Like I said above, I did not enter this film with high expectations of it. I mean, I don’t hate the other Transformers movies. I’ll just admit up front that if I could cut out the human bits from most of the other five films and just have nothing but giant robot fights, I’d be more than good with that. Especially Dark of the Moon. Just give me the giant robot bits and omit the rest please.

Charlie is actually relatable. Especially to me because I’ve had the sucky as fuck job at an amusement park. I won’t say where or when but trust me: working at a theme park is not fun at all. She also has something of an arc in this film that isn’t “get the girl” or whatever Mark Whalberg’s character’s arc was supposed to be in Last Knight (I didn’t see age of extinction but it seemed his arc there was around fatherhood or something). Charlie is also (as a character) charming enough to help carry the film with Bee. 

I won’t say the Charlie parts were always 100% good, but definitely good more often than not.

The male human lead (Memo?)...he was just Sam Witwicky 1980′s edition and a little less pathetic. 

Bumblebee was adorable in this. I get it was the amnesia but before he lost his voice, it was nice to hear him actually talk and the fact they cast a guy with a young-ish sounding voice was something I really liked since in the cartoon I’m more than fairly certain Bee was a kid or the youngest member of the Autobots. After the amnesia, it also sort of was childlike in his behaviors. 

I even liked the Decepticons. They were barely playing nice. 

I like that the human military was trying to play them right back.

Best line in the movie was when the John Cena character Agent Burns says something like,

“Should we even trust them, It’s right in their name “Decepticons”“ 

That was actually a clever thing to have in the film. 

Something else I liked was the fact that Optimus Prime, Soundwave, and Ravage were all really close to their cartoon designs, and it looked so much nicer to me.

Bee as a Camaro origin story. It was a nice touch. This skews the canon of the films a little but since it’s in my personal opinion they should just reboot it here and run with this new universe, any continuity issues aren’t that big to me.

Were there times the move just went from 0-CRAZY. Yeah. 

Charlie’s family: Borderline abusive at times, and borderline too...much. They weren’t as over the top as the Witwicky’s but that’s not saying much.

The internet already existed in the 80′s for the military as either DARPA or ARPA Net, so that little revelation was stupid.

The bullies who harrass Charlie at that party spot. I’ve never met someone that callus IRL and there is no way the bitchy chick making fun of the fact Charlie’s dad dropped dead wouldn’t have had at least someone aside from Memo and Bee going “Not Cool”

Speaking of that, the whole delinquent thing that they did to rich girl’s house? Funny but not 100% plot relevant. There were other ways to end up with Charlie, Bee, and Memo in a car chase. 

E.G. Bee’s trying to cheer Charlie up by going fast or something.

The nod to the other films with Simmons was nice. 

A solidly enjoyable film. I do actually recommend it.

Aquaman

Now onto a bigger spiel.

Again, due to DC’s track record for film quality with the current movie universe (and beyond) I did not want to have my hopes up, but I already mentioned why I wanted it to do well above.

The tonal shifts from serious to light to serious again could be (to borrow what my dad said) corny. I like corny, personally, but I get that tonal shifts like this can give others whiplash. Fortunately, they didn’t do this all the time.

What Snyder had them do enough times, however, was editing in flashbacks in the main flow of the story with little warning a la Man of Steel and I didn’t like it then, I don’t like it now.

Sometimes the dialogue could be a bit on the nose and clunky but I did like Arthur’s arc in this film. It was slightly incomplete because part of his arc started in Justice League which was learning how to play nice with other people to do something. Then there was the whole reluctant leader thing. It was done well enough, but having seen it done much better in the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy, I know that attempting this sort of character arc in one film was asking for it to be a little less refined. Which is the result. Yet, despite it relying on a very Arthurian trope of Chosen King with Magic Weapon, it did it well enough that it wasn’t a totally stale thing. The fact he had the magic-trident of King Atlan was something he was actively working to earn throughout the movie. It did actually feel like he had gone through enough of a growth in the film (and part of Justice League) to merit him earning this achievement of his. 

The film did drag a little in places but only twice did I just want them to get on with it already.

Black Manta Ray’s origin was interesting in this universe. Arthur did quasi-create this enemy. 

On the other hand, I can’t fully feel sympathy for a murderous pirate dying because he tried to kill Arthur and Arthur decided that the man who tried to blow him up wasn’t someone he wanted to save. But that’s because I’m a vindictive bitch.

Arthur, later, realizes that he should have done the right thing all along but too late now. He also realizes the value of mercy because of this so...

Mera’s powers are never fully explained, but I find myself mostly ok with that because I just started calling her a waterbender in my head. 

Arhtur and Mera’s relationship evolved semi-organically. They did have chemistry for the most part, but it was almost too cliche at times yet it was fine because it’s the action movie romance cliches that aren’t 100 horrible but it was even at times a little sweet.

So, let’s go over, in detail what I loved about the art direction

Yes, it does look very similar to other underwater cities that I’ve seen in the past in other media, but they also incorporated enough new and nature inspired parts to it that I loved looking at each underwater civilization. The ruins, the tech, the fact things glowed the way they did. That pirate ship air pocket was also a really interesting thing though I kept wondering where Ariel was

I even got that the reason there was water in the Atlantean vehicles was Atlanteans don’t need to worry about things being airtight because they breathe under water. 

Later when it was explained that only a handful of Atlanteans can even breath in the atmosphere it made even more sense.

When Volko was training Arthur in his Atlantean skills and stuff started to glow once he went deeper in the water I actually nodded because there is scientific evidence that every living thing does give off small amounts of bioluminesce. Even we humans do, but it’s so faint we can’t perceive it.

I personally think the Atlanteans should have glowed a little too. 

The different species of Atlantean were very neat. Especially the “feral” ones. Reminded me of someone crossing a Zora with that creature from Pan’s Labyrinth or that thing from Hellboy 2 that Liz made a deal with to save Hellboy.

Onto other things:

The Karathen. I did not expect her to live up to the hype the movie was building her up to be. I was also pleasantly surprised that it was a “she” during the scene where she is trash-talking Arthur without knowing that he can understand her. Then, later, I found out she is voiced by Julie Andrews.

Also, because the Karathen did make such a huge impact in that final fight two things entered my head.

“RELEASE THE KRAKEN” and 

Orm: “I have an army!”

Arthur: “I have a sea monster.”

The Atlantis thrown down was noticed but that got me thinking: Where was the rest of the JL during this. Were they just doing damage control or something after Orm’s little oceanic temper tantrum?

The mid-credits stinger with Mantaray. I knew he wasn’t done because Manta Ray is a major Aquaman villain. I just didn’t think the Atlantis obsessed prof would end up finding him.

I don’t fully get why Nereus would want a war with the surface with Orm in charge, unless he would just strike Orm down later and take his power. 

I didn’t get why the fishpeople didn’t just RUN AWAY whenever Arthur showed up with the Karathen AND wielding the Trident of Atlan. All Fish-People Princess would have had to do was say “my people RUN FROM THE MONSTER” And Orm’s armies (and Orm himself) would be so busy fighting a literal sea monster from their worst nightmares that no one could or would have stopped them.

In fact, I am confused as to why there wasn’t mass panic once the Karathen showed up and she started wrecking all the military vehicles. -\( `-`)/-

Arthur’s ability to speak to the aquatic animals was actually built up to be a major ability. 

Aquaman’s been made fun of in the past for this, but considering he was able to talk to the Karathen, and control a bunch of apex sea predators (turning them on their masters) it isn’t something to be fully laughed off. Outside the ocean, sure it doesn’t really make a huge difference but that’s where making the Atlanteans tougher than land humans comes in. That too makes actual sense with the reasons as to why this was.

Atlanna’s survival wasn’t really too much of a shock for me. I was half-expecting the Trench-peoples to not be totally savage and actually just have a bad rep. 

The Hidden Sea at the Earth’s core bit got an eyebrow quirk. I was half expecting it to be the Caspian Sea....

I would still very much recommend Aquaman.

[mst3kproject]

902: Phantom Planet

You know, Captain, every year of my life I grow more and more convinced that the wisest and the best is to fix our attention on the good and the beautiful.  If you just take the time to look at it. With that in mind, I would like to open by offering you some Good and some Beautiful, in the form of crème brûlée and Lupita Nyong'o.  Fix your attention on them, cleanse your soul, and let's begin.

In the distant future of 1980, astronaut Frank Chapman and his philosophically-inclined first mate set out to search for a mysterious rogue planet that's been causing trouble in the inner solar system.  Their rocket is damaged in a meteor shower and the other guy is killed, but Chapman himself manages to land on the phantom planet, where he is greeted by a civilization of tiny humanoids! After shrinking down to their size, Chapman is adopted into the culture of the planet Ray-Ton.  He helps them fend off an invasion of the monstrous solarites and falls in love with the beautiful but mute Zeta.  In the end Zeta helps him escape from Ray-Ton and return to Earth, where he will never see his true love again.  The planet Ray-Ton, meanwhile, is doomed to collapse into a black hole.

It's hard to summarize Phantom Planet without making it sound like an action-packed adventure, but like so many other movies that couldn't afford to deliver what they promised, it's mostly a love triangle.  The leader of Ray-Ton is a guy named Sessum – his daughter Liara immediately gloms onto Chapman, despite the fact that she's already got a suitor named Heron.  Meanwhile Zeta also has a crush on Chapman but can't tell him, so she just hangs around pouting adorably until he notices her. ��I guess if there are four people involved, that makes it a love square?  As usual in such cases, the romantic subplot is a lazy way to introduce tension – and as usual, there are far more interesting and compelling potential sources of tension that are completely ignored.

In this case, it's Chapman's status as stranger.  He's a foreigner who's been accepted into this society basically because they have no choice – they can't let him leave and tell Earth about their existence, and they don't want to kill him, so they have to keep him. He has stated outright that he wants to escape, and yet when he asks to know more about their technology, Sessum happily explains.  Why not have Heron fear that he's a spy or a saboteur?  The idea of Chapman working for the Solarites comes up and is quickly dismissed, but what about him being a spy for Earth?  Surely something could have been done with this, instead of introducing tension by means of a love triangle.

The other reason for having a love triangle is simply because movies are supposed to have pretty girls in them, and if you don't put them in a romance then you might have to make them important to the plot. The audience would never buy that.  Dog-like aliens, shrinking astronauts, and gravity control, sure, but women with something to do?  Bah, ridiculous!

Sorry, I'm bitter.  Let's have some more Good and Beautiful.  How about bruschetta and Jessica Chastain?

Like in Terror from the Year 5000, the love triangle is a distraction.  The time spent on setting it up and then resolving it could have been devoted to things the audience is much more interested in.  Why not tell us more about the war against the Solarites?  This is a pretty major plot point, and yet we have almost no background for it.  Why are the Solarites and the people of Ray-Ton enemies?  Why do the Solarites want the gravity control technology?  Have they ever tried to talk to each other, and if so, why didn't it work out?  Has the captive Solarite been questioned or tortured, or merely held?  If they don't want to talk to it, why are they holding it?  Is the recent attack a rescue mission?

All this could be interesting, but what would actually be even cooler is if the movie dropped the Solarites altogether.  Sessum tells us that Earth's space exploration is dangerous to Ray-Ton, so instead of introducing these other aliens, why not have the people of Ray-Ton fend off an inadvertent threat from Earth?  This would be far more emotionally effective, as Chapman is forced to confront the idea that he has harmed these people in the past without meaning to, and give him a better reason to be torn between his old and new worlds than the ending where he just has to leave Zeta behind.  It really does piss me off when a script has a much better story just staring us in the face like that and yet completely ignores it.

What do Liara and Zeta see in Chapman, anyway?  He's not good-looking and he spends most of his time on Ray-Ton whining and complaining, yet Liara attaches herself to him like a (excuse me) leech woman.  At his own trial he is loud, abrasive, and ungrateful about his lenient treatment.  He announces his intention to escape at every opportunity.  Liara's aggressive interest in him only seems to make sense if she's trying to make her existing suitor jealous.  It works, I guess, but since Heron was already prepared to announce that he loves Liara, any campaign to make him jealous seems unnecessary.

How about Zeta?  She seems to be Liara's friend – they're frequently seen together – but as she cannot speak, she is a bit of an outsider in the community.  Maybe she sees Chapman as a fellow misfit, somebody who might understand her a little better than any of her own people.  Her consent is never an issue, since she makes her own interest in him clear whenever she can.  When Heron accuses Chapman of harrassing Zeta, Zeta herself defends him as best she can.  The problem with their romance is not that, but the fact that the movie presents Zeta in a very creepy, infantilized way.

In contrast to the aggressive Liara, Zeta is presented as almost entirely passive.  She is clearly interested in Chapman – indeed, when she regains her voice she tells him it was love at first sight – but she never pursues him.  Instead, she waits for him to come to her.  The fact that she cannot speak limits her ability to assert herself, but if she wished she could still physically follow him around the way Liara does.  She does not.

As well as passive, Zeta is childlike.  Her disability renders her incapable of looking after herself, and like a very young child she cannot ask for what she wants or needs but must depend on others to give it to her.  When the Solarite abducts her, she can't even scream for help.  The suggestion is that Chapman's affection for her is rooted in a desire to take care of somebody who can't take care of herself, and the ending seems to bear this out.  When Zeta gains a voice of her own, and therefore a measure of independence, circumstances force Chapman to leave her.  

Even when Zeta can speak, Chapman talks about her in infantilizing terms.  He compliments her looks not by calling her 'beautiful,' but by saying she has 'an adorable little face'.  This sounds more like a description of a baby than of a grown woman!  What we have idealized in Zeta, by both Chapman and the writers, is the passive damsel-in-distress, a woman who is decoratively seen but never heard, contrasted with the outspoken and ambitious Liara.  Never mind the fifties, that's almost Victorian.

Ew.  Time for another restorative shot of the Good and the Beautiful. Here’s butter chicken and Adriana Lima.

Women do seem to have some kind of status on Ray-Ton, as it is apparently not considered unusual to have an all-female jury.  Or perhaps the people of Ray-Ton always have female juries, because they believe women are more fair and impartial than men.  It's impossible to say, because Chapman's trial is pretty much just a plot device – it explains why he's adopted into this culture, but doesn't really do any worldbuilding.  In fact, there's very little worldbuilding in Phantom Planet at all.  We never find out very much about how Ray-Ton culture works.  Liara claims nothing grows on the planet and her people can survive with very little food... but they must need some food, and if nothing grows there then they must have originally come from somewhere else.  More interesting ideas to put into your movie that are completely ignored.

At the end, the narrator tells us that this is only the beginning, only the beginning, only the beginning of man's adventures in space!  But in the context of the story we were just told, that doesn't seem to mean very much.  It can't be only the beginning of a partnership with the people of Ray-Ton, because Chapman says nobody will ever believe him and Ray-Ton's gravity technology will keep any humans from ever coming near their world again.  The planet Ray-Ton itself is doomed to fall apart under its own increasing gravity.  What we've been shown is a situation that has no future, which rather undermines the movie's pro-exploration message.  Depressing.

We'll close with a final dose of the Good and the Beautiful: key lime pie and Rinko Kikuchi. Good night, and may god bless.