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film-in-my-soul · 2 years ago

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Review: Manner of Death (2020)

Region: Thailand

Aprox. Length: 09h:27m:20s

Viewing Source: Tencent Video

Summary: Dr. Bunnakit is a medical examiner based at a provincial hospital. One day, after carrying out an autopsy on the body of a woman who had seemingly hanged herself, Dr. Bunnakit rules out suicide, as his findings point to homicide. His conclusion suddenly makes him the target of someone very powerful. When an anonymous man breaks into his house and threatens him to change his report to suicide, Dr. Bunnakit doesn't take this threat seriously. But all that changes when one of his friends, a prosecutor, suddenly disappears. Dr. Bunnakit quietly conducts his own investigation in order to get at the truth. All clues lead to one suspect, a man named Tan, who denies any involvement. Tan convinces Dr. Bunnakit to team up together in order to find the real murderer.

Overall Opinion: One of the strongest things about this show is the mystery element and the raw hate I feel for any and all antagonists. While the initial draw to this series for a lot of people will likely be Max and Tul (as it was for me) I think the story is what really keeps people hooked. You’re never sure who to trust, who to believe, or who might stab you in the back at the last minute, and full honesty I live for it. The BL romance aspect of Manner of Death also blends seamlessly into the overarching plot and anyone who has said that the show feels more like a mystery that just happens to have a MlM romance in it than a traditional Thai BL that just happens to be a murder mystery is completely correct. I think for me a lot of my appreciation stems from Manner of Death handling uncomfortable and ultimately adult situations in an interesting way as well as having a distinctive, almost dreary style that sets it apart from any other Thai BL I’ve watched before. My only suggestion for a potential watcher is to be mindful of any warnings you see at the start of an episode, while there is nothing graphic visually shown, to my memory, the topics and situations alluded to and talked about can get very heavy.

Technical Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Personal Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

(See under the cut for a deeper analysis of character/plot/technical aspects. Beware of possible spoilers.)

Main Characters:

Dr. Bun:

Bun is a character where things just seem to happen to him half of the time. But then the other half is him actively making the worst possible choices to throw himself headfirst into deadly situations. Regardless, he’s a character I enjoy a lot even if at times he can feel a bit clumsy and useless. It only serves to show us just how out of his depth he actually is though, so even when he makes the wrong choice I don’t necessarily feel it makes him a poorly written character. He also actively stands against what he believes is wrong and is written with a strong conviction you feel in the face of all the opposition against him as he’s desperately searching for the truth of what happened to Jane and just what’s going on in the province. In regards to his relationship with Tan I actually really enjoy the fact that the show could have easily just made him immediately fall for him even against his better judgment and instead, outside of his drunken kiss in the first episode, really took the time to bring Bun to his breaking point and finally give in to the chemistry between them and let it happen, all while still not completely trusting Tan. All in all, Bun is a fairly dynamic character who has a vicious streak and needs a bit more sense of self-preservation.

Tan:

Tan balances being suspicious as hell and pretty much Bun’s only lifeline very well. He’s threatening in some way, by nature of the mystery and plot, but as he’s getting to know Bun more and showing the Dr. different sides of himself Tan is a surprisingly endearing character. It’s clear that he cares about Bun and wants him safe but also needs to keep him in the dark. Tan has a duality I generally enjoy, while also giving off ‘dumber than a rock’ energy at times. (I’m looking at you final episode proposal via gang chase through the woods.) Ultimately one of the more compelling aspects of Tan’s character is the fact that he’s so secretive, and the audience, like Bun, are unsure if we can trust him. He, of course, makes all the wrong choices in order to keep those he cares about safe instead of just telling the truth, but he gets there in the end.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Side Characters:

Inspector M:

Inspector M is, based on the conversations I’ve had around this show while watching it, almost everyone's fan favorite, and seeing how he fills out that uniform? I can tell why. Jokes about how hot Great Sapol Assawamunkong is in uniform aside, Inspector M is actually a really fantastic character. He’s someone who starts on the "wrong side" but through Bun and Tan’s investigation and continuous pestering, he himself has to face the reality of the corruption in his province. I also love that even when Inspector M is officially on the “good side” he still has an obvious dislike for our leads even though it’s softened slightly. Because of the nature of Inspector M’s character you’re always left wondering until towards the end if he is also in on the corruption among the governing bodies and it’s Great’s performance as the character that really sells it to the audience.

Pued:

Ah Pued, the start to our more complicated side characters. A big part of Manner of Death is who we trust and how much of the truth that’s been uncovered by Tan and Bun is the truth. I think one thing that the show does fantastically is exploring these characters who can read as more sympathetic while still maintaining that they are bad people. Pued is one of those characters. I still hate him, he’s still a bad person, but you can’t help but understand where he’s coming from with the terrible choices he makes. It’s also nice that he faces terrible consequences even if we’re still left feeling maybe a little conflicted on whether he suffered too much or got off easy for where his actions turned the plot, especially when the motive behind how he's killed isn't exactly the one I personally wish it was.

Rungtiwa:

This bitch really had me in the first half and the revelation of her treachery is one of the best twists in the show even if it felt a little hard to follow leading up to the explanation. She’s such a background character for most of the show that while you don’t necessarily forget about her, she’s never completely on your radar until the show puts her right in your path. It’s effective for the narrative and while I was cursing her the whole time in the last few episodes I found the reveal highly effective.

Dr. Oat:

Dr. Oat is, in my opinion, the unsung character of Manner of Death, he is comic relief, a potential red-harring, and an MVP when it comes to keeping our other characters alive. While he’s not as wildly used in the story as I think he could have been I really enjoy the levity he brings to the show as one of the softer characters who is also having to face the reality of the place he lives in and what that means for him as a doctor. I think I would have liked his character more if they’d implemented the same kind of suspicion they’d used for other characters with him. Overall he’s solid and serves his function in the story well. Also, love the cute moment between him and Inspector M in the last episode even though they had maybe a handful of scenes together. Though I suppose saving your life might inspire flirting with anyone.

That:

That, like Sorn, is a character that is meant to directly reflect another character. For That’s case, he is a mirror of Tan. He is, of course, his own character, but we are meant to draw the parallels between him and the lead and draw on the idea that That likely shows some of the same traits Tan had in his youth, thus filling us in on Tan’s character more. Outside of that, I have no big problems with That’s character. I like how at the start he’s appropriately stand-offish with Sorn and appears to desperately be seen as older and more capable than he is. He’s loyal and I appreciate the way that he can remain distinct within the story.

Sorawit / Sorn:

Sorn is a similar character to That in terms of what his purpose as a character is, but his counterpart is Dr. Bun. He’s gentle and naive, but wants the truth regarding his friend and will work to get it even at his own expense. Sorn and That’s story is meant to reflect the larger plot and poses a “what if” question to the audience that I thoroughly enjoy. He and That are used as a way to deepen the story while still maintaining their own individuals.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Story/Plot:

There are so many aspects of this story I really like. The mystery of how Jane died and how it connects back to the larger corruption and mystery of the province is so interesting. We are forced, as many of the characters are, to uncover terrible secret after terrible secret, wondering who we’re meant to trust. There’s also something very interesting about the dark depths the show is willing to go, from the illegal abortion clinic (a moral grey area for many in how it's utilized for the plot), to the sex trafficking, to the police and political corruption there’s no one aspect of vile behavior that doesn’t feed into another. Nothing we’re presented as the audience is there for shock value, it all circles around each other and only serves to further character motivation and a search for where the end of the poison in the province lies.

While Manner of Death isn’t without its tropes I find I don’t have as many problems with them popping up as I might in other shows. Miscommunication or simply not talking is an element the plot has to rely on and makes sense within the context of the story. Bun wouldn’t trust Tan if he knew he does work for the local gang and Tan needs Bun to trust him because Bun is the only one actively putting himself in the line of fire trying to get the truth about Jane. The plot feels very condensed to the cast, each revelation has a resounding effect on each of them.

There were some moments, most choices that Tan makes, that made me want to pull out my hair, but ultimately it’s the frustration from those choices that keep you hooked. Locking Bun to the stair post? A terrible choice! Especially when you get almost murdered in the process and can’t actually go unlock him only to then unlock him and explain you both now need to fake your own deaths. It’s dramatic, highly unnecessary, but also, given everything we know about Bun, probably the only thing that would have worked to get him to stay put. Convincing your boyfriend that he’s being pursued by someone possibly acting in retaliation to you scooping the corruption out of your town only for you to end up at gunpoint and then because told “psych this is actually a marriage proposal,” Tan what the hell were you thinking?! In the fact of the rest story, it’s honestly the most baffling moment but god if it wasn’t entertaining.

Overall I really enjoy the story of Manner of Death and appreciate that it really feels like the main focus is on the mystery instead of the romance. It’s well balanced, has great twists, and satisfying villain reveals.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Technical/Visual Execution:

Technical/Visual Execution: One thing I really like about Manner of Death from a visual standpoint is that it is stylized, everything is muted colors, greys and greens, and dull rainy vibes. A lot of the time Thai BL are very flat in color or overly bright but Manner of Death chose a visual style that really reflects the dreary and seedy material it covers. Outside of that, I think it’s well produced in terms of editing and shooting.

Rating: ★★★★☆

INBOX - Any feedback is more than welcome or suggestions for further reviews.

Masterlist Navigation - Check out my other content if you'd like!

Thank you so much for reading!

#manner of death #manner of death review #maxtul #thai drama review #my review #film-in-my-soul review

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shyficwriter · 3 years ago

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Who's Tougher?

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Guardians find out that Reader maybe isn't Terran while playing with one of those labor pain/period cramp simulators. Inspired by that one episode of Lucifer where Lucifer got tased.

Author’s Note: Based off this dumb post I wrote earlier, because sometimes my dumber ideas are the funniest.

Part 2 here.

Word Count: 2,376 It had started with a bet.

Who was tougher? You or Peter?

Tired of hearing your bickering one day, and after having come across a video on the internet where a couple of guys were using a period cramp simulator, Rocket decided to whip one up with some spare parts he had lying around. Took him about 10 minutes, 15 if you count the time it took him to sort through his spare parts drawer.

You and Peter where sitting at the table with Kraglin when Rocket hopped up and slapped it on the table, interrupting your bickering.

"What's that?" Peter asked, his face one of confusion.

It looked almost like Peter's Zune, only bigger and instead of headphones it had four long wires coming out of it that were attached to thin disk-shaped objects.

"This is gonna settle your argument on who's tougher once and for all so I don't gotta hear your constant whining anymore." Rocket said.

"Hey! It's not constant!" you say, a bit offended, but also not looking forward to doing whatever Rocket was suggesting. "What is that even supposed to do?"

"Saw a video online where a couple of Terran-types were using electric pulses to simulate period cramps. It does that, more or less."

"More or less??" You cry uncertainly, "You want to electrocute us? Because that's what I'm hearing."

Peter laughs, "If you're scared you can just admit that I'm tougher." He leans back in his chair with a smug look that makes you want to smack him.

You glare at him. "I'm not scared. I'm just being cautious of accepting offers to let Rocket stick electrodes on us!"

Kraglin snickers from his side of the table. "Sound scared to me. If Yondu could trust him to wire his fin into his skull, I'm sure ya can trust him not to fry ya with that little thingy-ma-bob."

Yondu, having heard his name while walking by, stops by the table. "What's going on here?"

"Rocket wants to electrocute us!"

"Do not!" Rocket defends. "Well, not much... I just want to settle which one of them is really tougher so they'll quit whining about it."

Yondu shakes his head, chuckling. He looks at you. "So you're really gonna give in and tell Peter he's tougher cuz yer scared of a little shock?"

You glare at him. You knew he was only trying to razz you up, but you couldn't help it. "I'm not scared, I-"

Peter cuts you off. "Then prove it." He was bluffing, he didn't really want to try either. Who in their right mind would willingly let Rocket hook them up to an electric shock machine?? But his poker-face was good. Too good.

"Ugh. Fine. If to only wipe that smug grin off your dumb face." you say, rolling your eyes. "How's it work?"

Rocket grinned, as did the other two. "Ok, so you each get two of these electrodes," He held up the white disk, "and you stick them to your stomach, and then I'll take this," he held up the Zune-looking thing, "and turn it up until one of you taps out."

You begrudgingly took the electrodes from Rocket and he clarified his instructions by telling you both to place them below your belly-button. You retake your seats at Rocket's behest, him cockily saying that you 'might want to sit down for this'.

"Ready?" he smirked.

You looked at Peter's cocky grin and rolled your eyes. "Sure."

Rocket turned the dial. Nothing happened, so you assumed it had only just switched the device on, but you did see Peter give a little jolt.

You turned your head to him and laughed. "What you jumpy for, Mister Cocky? He hasn't started yet."

"Yes I did."

You looked back at Rocket, confused. "What?"

"I did start it. It's on level 1 now."

You look at Peter. He confirms it's on. "You don't feel anything?" he asks. You shake your head.

Rocket give you an odd look and says he's turning it up to 2.

Peter jerks again, softly grunting. "Hey, how high does this go?"

Rocket answers that it goes up to 10, and Peter makes a face that makes it obvious he's regretting his life choices.

"Oh, I can feel it now," you say, your mouth twitching upward in a grin. "It kinda tickles."

"That doesn't seem right?" Rocket switches it off. "Switch your leads, I want to make sure there's not a short in the wires."

You and Peter do what's asked. As soon as Rocket sees all the leads are stuck down properly he cranks it up to 2 without warning.

Peter jerks forward and grabs the table with a grunt. "Dude! What the fuck! A warning would be nice!"

You, however, only start softly giggling with a, "Hey!"

Rocket scratches his head, and turns the knob to 2.5.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut and tries, but fails, to sit back up straight. You also close your eyes, but it's because you've brought a hand to press on your forehead as you lean back in your chair, still giggling.

As soon as Rocket turns the knob to 3, Peter taps out.

Rocket turns the device off and looks at you suspiciously before glancing at Yondu and Kraglin who only shrug in response. "I don't get it? That's not supposed to happen?" Rocket says looking his new device over.

"I'll have a go." says Kraglin. "I bet Pete's just being a baby."

This earns a chuckle from Yondu and an annoyed outburst from Peter, who challenges Yondu to do it with Kraglin if they're both so tough.

Smirking, Yondu actually agrees. You and Peter hand over your leads and Yondu and Kraglin put them on.

Rocket repeats the same process. He starts them out at 1, and neither react. He goes up to 2, and Kraglin winces like Peter had. Up to 3, and Kraglin grunts and starts to grip the table while Yondu only acknowledges he can feel it pinching, but from the look on his face you can tell he's just putting on a tough act.

Rocket turns it up to 4 and Yondu exhales out his nose while looking up at the ceiling. At 6 Kraglin taps out and Rocket turns the device off.

Yondu laughs and tells Peter, "Guess everyone here is tougher than you, boy." to which Peter calls bullshit, says he wasn't ready, and demands to go again, this time against Yondu.

Peter doesn't make it past 4, and you laugh at him, prompting him to glare at you and say, "You wouldn't make it past 4 either!"

You call his bet, laughing, "Guess I'd need to go up against Yondu or Krags then, because we know you sure can't."

Before Peter can retort the rest of the team has come over to see what the fuss is about.

Rocket explains that you're seeing who's the toughest, and this promptly makes Mantis and Groot, in their innocence, want to try. However, this is immediately shot down by Gamora, who says that any game, or whatever it was that you were doing, where you willfully electrocute yourself, was stupid.

Drax, however, says he'll have a go, and Peter jumps on this, telling you, "There you go! Go up against Drax. If you can outlast him I'll finally say you're tougher than me."

"Quill." Yondu says in a warning tone, the implication clear that he didn't think anyone could beat the behemoth and that he knew that Peter egging you on like that would only result in you pushing yourself too hard to prove him wrong and getting hurt.

"Relax, old man!" Peter turned to you with a smug grin. "You can take it, right?" Peter is really pushing his luck, but you agree, taking back your leads from Yondu, and Rocket instructing Drax what to do as he takes Peter's chair.

Once you were both settled Rocket made sure you were ready before turning the device up to 1, then after a moment 2, and after another moment 3, where you had left off before.

Drax was just sitting there unfazed, but you were giggling again like before, prompting Drax to ask you what was so funny.

"It tickles!" you say, covering your face again and giggling harder once Rocket announced he was turning it up to 4.

"I bet you're faking it just to mess with us." Peter grumbled at you as Gamora gave him a strange look.

They heard Mantis giggling and looked over to see Mantis pulling her hand away from your arm, her antennae glowing. "Nope. Not lying. I don't sense any feelings of deception."

"Well, that doesn't make any sense, but here's 5." Rocket said, turning the dial.

You jerked in your seat, drawing one foot up into your chair as you tilted your head back laughing, still covering your face with your hands. "Ok! Ok! Wait a minute!" you squeak.

"Are you saying you give up?" Peter said with a smirk. "Guess that means you can't say you're tougher than me."

You flip him off. "No! I didn't say that!" This makes Yondu chuckle. Like most of the rest of the team he had started grinning at your reactions. You may be being stubborn, but he supposed you being tickled was better than you being in pain, though by all accounts it didn't make sense. He had done it himself, and it most definitely didn't tickle.

"Well it's up to 5, you couldn't get past 4, Pete." Kraglin corrected, letting Peter know that you technically had just proved you were tougher by being able to go to a higher setting than him.

"That's not the deal we made. Besides, how can it count if it only tickles? The higher settings are bound to hurt." He knew his logic was flawed, but he was stubborn too, he wasn't just going to hand you a victory.

Seeing as you weren't giving up yet, Rocket went ahead and dialed it up to 6.

"How you doing Drax?" Kraglin asked.

Drax just shrugged. "Fine. It's not the most pleasant feeling, but it's completely bearable."

They didn't ask how you were doing. It was pretty clear how you were doing. You hadn't quit giggling this whole time, much to Rocket's frustration because it just didn't make sense. It was, however, the only thing keeping Gamora from making Rocket stop. She knew Drax could take almost anything, so he'd be fine. You didn't seem to be in pain at all, so she assumed you must be safe.

Rocket dialed up to 7.

Drax nodded his head. "There it is. I can feel it more now." However, there wasn't an ounce of pain etched into his face. Dude obviously had one hell of a pain tolerance.

You were still curled in your chair. One hand covered your mouth while you giggled, the other rested on your knee. You tried to psyche yourself up. It was only a tickle. You weren't a baby. You got this, right?

The foot that had been in your chair then slammed to the floor as you lurched forward with a shriek of laughter, gripping the metal armrest of your chair as your other hand wrapped around your middle.

"How can that still tickle!? It's turned up to 8!" Rocket questioned in disbelief, holding up the device to Yondu as if to prove it.

"Eight!?" you cry, "You were supposed to tell us, you rabid raccoon!"

Drax began to laugh as well and in disbelief Peter said, "Drax? Seriously?!"

"It doesn't tickle," Drax clarified, his laughter dying into a light chuckle. "It's just very funny to watch the smaller Terran react."

You attempted to glare at Drax for referring to you as the "smaller Terran," but failed at it. You stomped your foot on the ground as you felt the tickle get somehow worse, and knew Rocket had turned it up again. "Rocket! Please!" you whined, making a few of the others laugh. Maybe you don't got this.

"That one was for calling me a raccoon, asshat." Rocket said with a grin, his previous frustration seemingly gone in favor of mischief.

You quickly reach for the little shit, but you recoil as he jumped out of reach, a smug grin on his face as he turned the dial to the last setting.

"And that one was 'cause I can."

Drax barely reacted, but you were suffering.

Shit. Shit. Nothing had ever tickled like this before. You don't got this. You still had a death grip on the arm of the chair and you were laughing so hard you couldn't sit up straight. Screw the bet, time for begging. "Ok! Ok!" you squeal. "Rock-Rocket! Ahaha! Ok! I'm sorry! Please! I can't- I give up!"

Rocket and Peter laughed triumphantly as you continued to plead for mercy. Yondu had pity on you and chuckled saying, "Alright, Rat. That's enou-"

He was cut off by a metallic squeal and a snap that made everyone jump. The sound was only followed by the sounds of your dying laughter as you caught your breath.

You threw your leads up on the table, having had ripped them off when you couldn't take it anymore (and after having finally realized that was an option.) You finally look up at Rocket, still giggly and gasping for breath as you say, "Youhoo suck! Eheheh... you- you little brat... haha... Jeez..." Your eyes were glowing a bright blue that slowly faded as you raised an eyebrow, noting how your companions expressions have changed to something resembling "WTF??"

"What's with the faces?" you ask, only to follow Mantis's eyes down to the arm of your chair, or rather, what used to be the arm of your chair.

You had snapped it, but that wasn't all. It was now twisted both outward & downward and the place you had been gripping it had been crushed to form to the inside of your fist as if it had been made of foam board.

You hear someone hesitantly say, "Ya ain't Terran... are ya?"

You look back up at your friends' expectant faces with a nervous grin, squinting and blushing as you rub the back of your head. "Well, aha... This is awkward..."

#gotg #gotg imagine #x reader #peter quill #rocket raccoon #yondu udonta #kraglin obfonteri #fanfic #fanfiction #yondu lives #funny #fluff #fluffy fanfiction

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itsclydebitches · 3 years ago

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Hey Clyde! I'm not sure if you've been asked this before but why do you think the writers chose to have Cinder... cry? One one hand, I thought that scene was supposed to be a breaking point but on the other (and looking at the following episodes), did she cry to guilt Watts into helping her? I was already a little confused with that choice before but now I'm even more so.

Hey there, anon!

Yeah, it’s a messy scene, more because of what happens after it than because of the scene itself. No, I personally don’t think this was a calculated move to get Watts to help her. We could delve into whether Cinder is currently the kind of character to pull off a manipulation like that — I’d say not — but the main takeaway is that she doesn’t need to do that. Watts is ready and willing to get back to work, together.

Well, the others may or may not be dead, but Salem will definitely be back and until she returns we need to figure out what to do. Cinder has no motivation for convincing Watts to work with her because Watts is already willing. It’s only when she starts suggesting more idiotic, ill-thought out “plans” that he tells her precisely why she’s failed in the past, but even post-death threat he doesn’t express any reluctance about working with her. Watts doesn’t say a thing between getting dropped back on the roof and Cinder shedding that tear.

We admittedly do get some kind of emotion from Watts after he’s brought back onto the roof, but I read that more as a, “Holy shit I nearly died” reaction and not a “Oh no I’ve hurt Cinder’s feelings” one. If he was at all moved by her crying, he doesn’t show it. Watts doesn’t care. He said what he said and he stands by it.

Rather, I lean more towards that first reading: “I thought that scene was supposed to be a breaking point.” Other critics were right to point out that Watts’ general accusations of her never having a plan/working with others are ridiculous — we watched whole seasons of Cinder weaving intricate (by RWBY’s standards) plans with the White Fang and Roman — but he’s right that she’s a mess now. Between throwing herself at Raven and then throwing herself at Penny, her “plan” of “Just be more powerful and win” is garbage. It’s not enough to be strong, you have to be smart too, and for the first time since Volume 3, Cinder seems to get that. This is also the volume where we get her backstory, a flashback to a time when she was powerless, and if we’re seeing those memories now, it stands to reason it’s because Cinder is thinking about them now. That was her past and, wouldn’t you know, it looks a lot like her present. She’s tortured by Salem, failing to seize the power she wants, and now Watts lays it all out in one neat, vicious package. He’s right. I’m a failure. Cue collapsing on the roof and having that dam break a bit in the form of a single tear.

I, personally, was really intrigued by this development, simply because Cinder lacks development. The concept of her re-acquiring the patience and intellect she had in earlier volumes after regressing was a good one. Here’s a woman who craves power, finally achieved some (Amber’s Maiden powers), and in doing so expected everything else in her life to fall into place. When it didn’t — when she was still losing fights and remained under Salem’s thumb — she devolved into an impatient, crazed villain, creating a cycle where she was bound to continue losing so long as she acted this way. Watts’ accusations finally snap her out of that, with the added bonus of this “friendship is power” theme. RWBY strongly pushes that only those who work together can hope to succeed (Salem wants to divide, the Ace Ops supposedly couldn’t work as a team well enough to beat Team RWBY, etc.) and now here was Cinder re-learning how to rely on her allies. No more trying to shake Emerald when she wants to help attack Penny, no more ignoring Watts’ “we need a plan” to run off after the powers on her own, Cinder is finally ready to play smart again and that’s achieved largely though having a team she can also rely on, just like she did back in Volumes 1-3. That time when she won. If Team RWBY wins because they support and love one another, what’s going to happen if the villains start, well, not loving one another, but becoming evil friends? Why, they should become quite the force to reckoned with! And that’s presumably what we saw in Atlas’ HQs: Neo, Cinder, and Watts enjoying being evil together. They’re trading compliments, Neo is skipping through dead bodies... the villains that work together win together.

The problem is... absolutely nothing comes of this. Cinder doesn’t actually get smarter, everyone else just gets dumber. This entire plan hinges on snagging the Relic and the Relic, in turn, hinges on Neo. Does Cinder do anything to trick or convince Neo that she’s truly reliable this time? No, Neo just goes stupid and hands over the Relic. Again. So Jinn gives Cinder all the information she needs and after things actually go well via teamwork — Cinder distracts Team RWBY while Neo sneaks up — she destroys that advantage by kicking Neo off the edge and burning Watts. Cinder’s success doesn’t even last a whole episode. Sure, she gets away with the Relics, but what she actually wanted, the Maiden power, is lost to her because it ended up being a 3v1 battle. If only Neo was around to fight Weiss while Cinder went after Penny! Funny how you self-sabotaged yourself. Again.

This scene, like so much in RWBY, is fine on its own, but falls apart as the story progresses. Cinder’s revelation didn’t actually change her character, so fans are right to ask, “What was the point?” Well, the answer is that the point was lost, what the scene set up was quickly dropped, but the other way to approach this is to assume there must be a different point to the scene. Enter the “Cinder is sympathetic” reading. I’m not going to deny that this exists regardless of what else we might take away from the moment — it’s hard to have any villain cry on screen and not question how much we’re supposed to feel for them. That’s something I’ve criticized regarding Raven — but some fans have come to the conclusion that this is the scene’s only purpose. Which, when the story drops the other purpose, makes a certain amount of sense. This volume we watched Hazel suddenly sacrifice himself for the boy he was torturing, Emerald get buddy with the girl she was just trying to murder, and Ironwood go full, evil spotlight villain. Volume 8 made HUGE missteps when it came to flipping the moral divide, with the villains suddenly meant to be friends and the friends (including the Ace Ops) meant to be villains. It’s understandable that fans would wonder if Cinder is meant to be a part of that flip. Did you include her crying solely to try and convince me she’s not that bad? At least, not as bad as the evil Ironwood? And many fans are, rightly, upset about this attempt to pull on their heartstrings. Regardless of what else that scene might have been attempting to do — whether this really was setup for Cinder’s development that the show failed to follow through on — we can’t ignore the inherent problems in spending this much time (crying + backstory) making an unambiguous villain look all woobie, while simultaneously avoiding that work in the previously morally gray/heroic characters. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t have sympathetic villains, that you shouldn’t introduce that nuance, but rather that RWBY is developing an awful habit of putting that work towards the wrong characters. Everything in a story is interconnected, so it’s frustrating to watch Cinder cry and go, “Wait, am I supposed to feel bad for her when she is, essentially, crying over her failure to kill the heroes?” while simultaneously watching a show that, when a former hero was maimed, betrayed, and facing an impossible decision went, “Nah. You shouldn’t feel bad for this asshole at all. He’s evil.” Which is it, RWBY? Why am I encouraged to feel for the Definitely Bad characters, but discouraged from feeling for the Morally Ambiguous ones? There’s a disconnect here which encourages fans to approach the scene with a less than charitable eye. Cinder’s scene appears to be doing at least two different things, both as a means of developing her character, but between what happens later in the volume and how other characters are handled in comparison to her, both attempts fall flat.

#rwby #mymetas #Anonymous

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aromantic-misguide-to-romance · 4 years ago

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Egg Hunt Nightmare - short review

Devilgrams: Easter Egg Panic! (Diavolo), Race for the Golden Egg! (Mammon), Let's Decorate Eggs! (Beelzebub)

Easter Egg Panic!

The premise is ridiculous. Diavolo caused very stupid trouble again, mostly, and MC runs around with him, trying to help him fix it. Standard, just dumber than usual. The ending excuses it all though and I understand that sacrifices must have been made.

Most of the Devilgram is, as expected from the Nightmare, egg hunt and running after magical eggs. Since the title isn't as obvious as with other Devilgrams, I won't say much about plot.

First 3 episodes are generally not very memorable, but despite the generic topic of egg hunt, the plot is well executed. The scenes surprisingly vary a lot - some faster paced, some calmer, some sweeter, some more comedic, so you don't get bored with one motif stretched for too long. It's a decent mix of comedic action, a sweet word here and there, casually hinting the bond between Diavolo and MC.

That underlying bond naturally opens the door for more romantic exchanges and scenes and gives a reason for this ridiculous premise.

Part 4 is much longer and much more rewarding, so it makes up for the slightly bland previous parts, it's mostly both heartwarming and funny. It also offers a kiss option. Also in that cute sweet adorable situation, if you don't go for the kiss, the alternative suddenly kicks you in the gut with a completely casually dropped angst bomb, so enjoy your screamcat.jpg moments.

Choices: quite okay, nothing rude, nothing stupid, they're incorporated into the story in a believable way. But they're mostly just choice + reaction and most of them don't change anything. One chain of choices however is relevant, as a whole unlocks quite a long and meaningful scene. You have to get them all right to get to the end of it and to the kiss choice.

Music: with the variety of moods that the Devilgram covers, every one of them has a fitting piece playing. Well-chosen.

Very fun Devilgram, worth a try for the comedic moments - spiced up with usual Diavolo angst. It's not groundbreaking though - a decent story rather than a masterpiece.

Race for the Golden Egg!

The Devilgram has plenty of action plot as the title suggests so Mammon and MC are constantly running around but that's pretty much it. It is... not very interesting, and doesn't bring interesting interactions between characters either. It's focused entirely on Mammon's hunt for the golden egg, so it's exactly what it says on the tin. Nothing less, nothing more.

There are two romantic moments, but the first romantic option is disconnected and wasn't properly incorporated into the scene - it's sweet but the transition between it and the plot is very unnatural and throws off.

Of course, it's not one of those Devilgrams with lots of romantic potential, it's rather intended as one of those comedic ones... but it could have more bond between MC and Mammon and most of Mammon's hunt is rather bland than funny anyway. It's too focused on the hunt that it completely doesn't have ideas for. It tries to move the action around but it doesn't bring much variety into the adventure.

Choices: the main problem. You generally can choose between cheering Mammon on to amplify his recklessness or being a jerk, even in romantic scenes. Considering that people probably read Devilgrams to spend time with characters they actually like, I don't think the Devilgram gives any sensible options to react. There are various Devilgrams that make the turn down options actually fun, hilarious and friendly and this… definitely isn't one of them. Good choices aren't fun either since they might come off as making fun of Mammon rather than genuinely helping him - he does mess up specifically because MC was rushing him to dive into action but when MC doesn't rush him - he figures out right away how to get it done. So if you don't feel either like being a jerk or amplifying Mammon's tendencies for laughs but let's say would like to raise the number of braincells from zero to one… no choices for you.

Music: doesn't disturb, it's well-chosen and plays multiple pieces typical to funny moments and shenanigans.

I'd say that this Devilgram is very mediocre - nothing new or interesting about Mammon there, few heartwarming moments, annoying choices, the humour isn't outstanding either.

Let's Decorate Eggs!

The Devilgram is about cooking and decorating eggs, so exactly what it says on the tin, nothing more, nothing less. As such, it doesn't have any plot aside from cooking the eggs and decorating them, obviously, and is much calmer and slow paced than the other two. We don't really see any new unexpected sides of Beel and generally it doesn't offer much plot-wise, but it's a pleasant read.

It shows Beel trying out a new hobby and MC is accompanying him on various tasks related to it - so fortunately it has some variety and not just one scene stretched for 4 episodes.

The story itself is quite fluffy but not overly sweet as it's not focused on romance but spending time together, doing something fun. It has one (1) comedic moment - it's funny but it won't make you wheeze.

As a story with such a limited premise it's definitely well-done. It could be more balanced if it had more romantic moments, so if you look for romance and kisses all over the place, it's not this Devilgram.

Choices: some are boring - MC can either be enthusiastic or meh (bordering on rude, I'd even say) about Beel's ideas, most give just a reaction. There are choices that unlock more romantic scenes and further choices - it's quite easy to guess which choice does that.

Music: well-chosen, it's mostly just music typical for just calm everyday stuff going on, so exactly the right pieces for the story.

In general, the Devilgram doesn't offer anything particularly interesting, but it might be a nice addition to your Devilgram collection if you're interested in spending some time with Beel on a new hobby.

In conclusion, Diavolo's SSR is a fun, good read, Beel UR is just nice, Mammon's UR is skippable… maybe that's good, considering the trouble getting the card...

#devilgram reviews #obey me diavolo #obey me mammon #obey me beelzebub

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themightyaliendwarf · 4 years ago

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TPN s02e11

I think I’ve mentioned before that I was taking notes while watching the episodes. I thought that this time I will share them with you

And you know, I could stop this post here. But because I promised myself I will analyze every episode this season, that’s exactly what I’m going to do right now. So, let’s just jump to it.

1. Cool, you are telling us about the Ratri clan. What was that? Oh, you will just speed through a history that took, like, I don’t know... 5 chapters in 1 minute? Yeah, sure, CW, you do you. Not like we need context, history, worldbuilding an all, right? Those are minor things, right? Let’s just flash some images that are taken from the manga. That should make those annoying manga readers happy, right? RIGHT?

2. THE AUDACITY to show HIM. I know that we as manga readers all hate this little dude, but it’s the good kind of hate. He had personality and twisted sense of humour. He was dangerous, cunning and you had to agree on his terms. Here he is just a meaningless idol that anime only watchers see for the first time. But once again, we don’t need context and worldbuilding in our story, right? They are useless garbage! Apparently...

3. But the voice acting is good. That was you should expect from Yoshimasa Hosoya. He is a great seiyuu.

4. OKAY, BACK TO RANTING. Well, fellas, the mass production farms were present in the anime for the entire 0.5s. I guess that all we are getting. Not like their existence is important to understand the horror of farm systems and how the nobility treats common people, RIGHT?

5. And then Peter calmly kills himself. In the manga, this man quite literally became insane. Suddenly, his whole worldview fell down and he could no longer imagine himself living in this world. If you have read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, same thing happens to Inspector Javert - suddenly his current worldview crumbles into pieces after he is faced with a serious dilemma. And then he decides to kill himself. Same thing happens to Peter in the manga: - he tries to desperately save himself; - he considers killing Emma to break the promise; - and in the end he kills himself because he sees no better option. Here he just casually pulls out a dagger and cuts his throat... you had one job, CW. ONE!

6. We don’t see this page. Because I guess human world also doesn’t need a development:

7. I guess lambda experiments gave Norman a superpower. He looks at the person and already knows everything about their status. Because how else can you explain the ability to say whether someone is dead or alive by simply looking at them for 1 second?

8. And then we see that scene with nobles in front of the queen. They are just... sitting there. Why? I... I have no idea. But I like to think they just sit like that everyday and just look at each other. I mean, they don’t seem to have anything better to do, so that’s something. Honestly, I can’t blame them. I also wouldn’t want to be a part of this story.

9. Hey, remember all those amazing moments from season 1? You like them, huh? Well, then, today is your lucky day! We will show them to you again! That makes the episode better, right?

10. Wow! I’ve said before that anime!Norman is an asshole, but anime!Emma also deserves this title. She says goodbye to that old demon AND THEN SHE JUST IGNORES MUJIKA. THE AUDACITY. The Promised Neverland? More like The Promised Audacity.

11. You know, Peter before he dies gives the children a password that they should give to his uncle. Not like it matters, but it also wasn’t included here. Because why would it?

12. Okay, so the elevator goes down and there they see a gate that has to be opened with the pen. Question: how Peter would cross from one world to another? Was he using this gate? But how could he do it if it requires the Minerva pen? Was there another gate? Or maybe he would just teleoprt with the power of plot?

13. So, Emma, Ray, Norman and Lambda squad doesn’t go to the human word because they want to save the other children... you know, we all wrote an essay at one point or another. And sometimes you are about to end it when you realise you still didn’t meet the requirements, and you have to squeeze one more paragraph. This is that moment. WHO THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA? Should I be happy that anime finally acknowledges the existence of other farms and Norman’s hideout. Do you expect me to be grateful, CW? Wow, congratulations on doing less than bare minimum! Unless making Emma a complate asshole was something you wanted. Yes, sure, I know that in the manga you also have this “ha, I tricked you moment”, but it’s very different. There Emma had little to no choice, here she is just like “well, actually...��. Why? Why didn’t they mention it before? Seriously, why?

14. And then we have a flashback to that conversation in the cave. You know, I’ve mentioned many times that the fullscore trio are dumbasses in the anime, and that’s only because they are getting dumber with each episode. Emma, there is echo in caves. If you want to have a private conversation, leave the cave. Otherwise, everybody will hear you. Then again, physics is broken in this anime, so I guess I shouldn’t expect it to work now.

15. And look what they mention - destroying the central power. WWWOOOOW! Pity that Norman didn’t think about that while coming up with his genocide plan, RIGHT? I mean, I know that attacking a random village was more important, but he could have at least considered that option.

16. I laughed so hard when somebody said that they survived only thanks to the Minerva shelter. Ah, yes, the shelter that survived 5 minutes and then got exploded. Gotcha! A very, veeeery important location.

17. Fellas, Phil is crying and I feel nothing. Once again, you had one job, CW. Because it’s not the seyiuu’s fault. As I mention before, I think that voice acting is easily the best thing about this season. It’s almost insulting that actors this good are starring in... this.

18. Then we see how the children live in the human world while Isabella’s lullaby is playing in the background. CloverWorks, I’m serious here - you had no right to place this song in this garbage of an episode. NO RIGHT!

19. Btw. I was right about Isabella surviving the anime. As I said - sugar, sprinkles and no deaths. Not like it’s a horror/thriller/drama manga, right?

20. We’ve reached the moment when my notes become chaotic. Friends, let’s call spade a spade - CloverWorks turned 30+ chapters into one-minute-long slideshow.

- I could rant about how presumably anime!Emma, anime!Ray were fine with the genocide of the capital. - I could rant about how anime!Emma suddenly reaches Seven Walls and forges a new promise. - I could rant about how Mujika and Sonju wake up the priest anime only watchers know nothing about - I could rant about how Mujika suddenly comes a queen. - I could rant about the existence of some random humans (I guess was Norman’s hideout) - I could rant about the presumable lack of Reward. But you know what? I won’t. Because this ending was so lazy that I don’t feel like I want to spend more time on analysing it than CW spent on making it. They ruined it. Nothing is explained, nothing matters, the series is over. That’s all, folks. And it’s absolutely disgusting.

I’ve seen a lot of bad endings. Some of them made little sense, others weren’t satisfyingly, some of them were rushed. But you know what? I could at least see the effort. For example, look at TPN manga. A lot of people had issues with it because it was rushed. I don’t think it was perfect, but I liked it because I could see the heart and effort that was put into it.

The TPN anime ending was lazy and quite honestly insulting to all of the fans. You could enjoy this season. Perhaps you actually liked this ending - I won’t judge you. But one thing is certain - Shirai, Damizu and us, fans, deserved something better. That’s all.

#tpn #the promised neverland #tpn season 2 #tpn s02e11 #tpn spoilers #ynn

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waveridden · 4 years ago

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thoughts on every cw show you've watched (a dark history i think we both share)

lily i wish you could hear the noise i just made when i saw this. god. okay. i’m going in approximate chronological order here. also an important piece of context is my mom did not let us watch ~adult tv~ until approximately 2010 so even though i am theoretically old enough to remember, like, one tree hill, i did not watch it.

also i’m putting this under a cut not out of shame but because it’s stupidly long but i’m putting the one everyone wonders about at the top (coincidentally i think it’s also chronologically first)

supernatural: meant a whole awful lot to me when i was a teen! ruby supernatural is how i figured out i like girls! i think i said this at the time but dean/cas canon (or. “canon”) means a lot to me not because i think it’s Good but because it was 14yo me’s wildest dream and i think sometimes our wildest teenage dreams deserve to come true. it’s a shitshow don’t get me wrong but it’s one that wormed its way into my brain and that in some ways i still care a lot about. i think it did a lot for my love of stories about families and about choice and free will like it was definitely formative and i’m cool with that. there are definitely dumber things that were formative for me

arrow: watched s1 while it was airing and i think i watched 3-4 total seasons on netflix. hot fucking garbage show. i think they had some interesting ideas in the early seasons - i like malcolm merlyn as a villain, i LOVE roy harper in this, thea queen is one of my favorite characters ever, there are lots of little things i could be kind about - but oliver is just such an irredeemable fucking bastard that it made the show unwatchable. also they put a jewish woman in a gas chamber, which is something i think we as a society need to talk about more???? in conclusion laurel lance i miss you

smallville: when i was in high school i bought the first season of smallville on dvd. i watched about half of it and never finished it. i do think it’s a fun concept tho and i like that it got to serve as sort of like... a proto legends of tomorrow situation where they could just throw random comics characters at you

the vampire diaries: bonnie was hot. idk i watched half a season and got bored

the flash: i watched the first... three-ish seasons while it was airing i think? i have a lot of fondness bc the flash is my dad’s favorite superhero and i genuinely think s1 is a lot of fun but man it went downhill huh. cisco ramon and iris west i love you and you deserve to be in a better show. also dc adaptations stop just randomly doing flashpoint challenge

izombie: rahul kohli i think of you every day. ravi/major was good. i remember not actually enjoying the first season but still being excited when s2 started and then like... not watching it. wasn’t arthur from merlin in this???

the 100: DEEP BREATHS. OKAY. the 100 was very important to me for a very long time and in some ways it still is because the first long fic i ever actually outlined and completed was for the 100, and that matters to me even though the show no longer does. however jesus christ what a fall from grace. like they even went from typical cw racist to just batshit levels of all the isms and phobias you could think of. i genuinely don’t understand how clexa is still in the public discourse at ALL like i get that fandom is overwhelmingly white and decided that they could look past the brownface but the violent homophobia isn’t great! also lily i know you know this but Justice For Jasper Jordan. that’s all

also i used to play this game in seasons 6-7 where whenever i saw an episode recap i would read it and it made me feel insane. did you know that in season 7 they went to a different planet? everyone was cryogenically frozen for like thirty years except for monty and harper (who had a DAUGHTER) and they went to a new planet. i’m not making this up. literal insanity. i’m foaming at the mouth as we speak

legends of tomorrow: i have seen season one of legends of tomorrow approximately six times. my url is a legends of tomorrow reference. i actually haven’t watched since s3 tho like i didn’t have cable/netflix for a while there and just... never caught up. it is such a perfectly ridiculous show. “we need to go back in time to make george lucas make movies so our historian is inspired by indiana jones!” “what if elvis’s guitar did necromancy?” stop wasting my time with talking and show me 45 minutes of that. lots of insane shit. nate heywood i think of you every day maisie richardson-sellers please call me

supergirl: i watched the pilot (fine) and the musical episode of the flash (honestly? pretty fun) and feel absolutely no desire to watch any more

riverdale: i watched the first season of riverdale and the reason i stopped watching was not related to the show itself, it’s because the roommate i lived with at the time who watched with me started making aggressive comments about the show being reverse racist and i removed myself from the situation. i really really want to watch it but i think you need someone to do it With you instead of doing it alone and tam keeps SAYING NO WHEN I ASK so idk maybe one day

crazy ex girlfriend: i never actually watched this but my roommate did and sometimes i would watch with her. there was a very smug quality to this show that really annoyed me? idk how to explain it. would not watch the whole thing tbqh. music was alright tho. i have referenced this moment in this song in way too many conversations that did not call for it

black lightning: i watched season one while it was airing and it was REALLY well done. i hope the future seasons were also good. anissa/grace fucking ruled we love a lesbian/bi relationship AND an interracial relationship with zero white people in it

also some bonus content for people who actually made it this far:

i have the wikipedia page for the cw open right now and i’m looking at all the kids shows, so i want to throw out there that 1) sonic x is the first fandom i remember being in 2) i watched a LOT of yugioh as a kid and i don’t care what anyone says yugioh gx fucking ruled and so did 5ds they really just went “what if we did it ON MOTORCYCLES” and i respect that 3) i watched the legion of superheroes cartoon with my dad and in retrospect it’s just stunningly fucking ugly but i loved it a lot when i was a kid

#waveridden.ask #mountalodiel #this is so long jfkldjsdklfds #ALSO heads up if anyone clicks the readmore:#cw for some discussion of the various isms/phobias that cw shows always seem to have #specifically the paragraph about arrow discusses a violently antisemitic thing that really stuck with me #and the 1oo includes racism/homophobia discussion #so idk just... tread with caution! if you're not in the mood to deal with that today don't deal with it today

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suntzuh · 5 years ago

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My thoughts on Supergirl

TBT I started following Supergirl when it was already halfway S2. At first I wasn’t even a Supercorp shipper, I supported Karamel, although at first it was a strange and not a very healthy relationship, it made sense. On screen, the chemistry, the story told by the camera, by the actors, the choice of elements in set, in clothing, some parallels etc. I liked Mon-El.

I consider myself a very objective person and although I’m gay, I do understand the natural order of things, when “it’s meant to be” (as of what makes sense, how things unfold, etc). As I mentioned, the case of Kara & Mon-El made sense to me. After Mon-El, Kara’s love life, it just doesn’t make sense; unless, Lena is in the equation (and I’m not taking a stand based on my preferences, but as to the unspoken language and the “natural order of things” i mentioned earlier. I’ve seen different stories unfold in the arrowverse, in Smallville, in Lois & Clark, and many more considering movie and series. Love interests don’t appear from one day to another. The argument to discredit William by many Supercorp fans, is that one, and I agree. Lena has been a character that has grown by Kara/Supergirl’s side and mainly because all the support she’s had from her. On the other hand, (and it has been mentioned by Katie McGrath on interview) is that Lena is the only person with whom Kara feels more human. Lena is, ok, she was the safe zone for Kara, a place she could be human, were she could acknowledge mistakes, fears, among other things. I’ve seen fans trying to discredit Supercorp, because it’s Toxic; so was Mon-El, so was William, and in a matter of way, with Jimmy, it was complicated. Actually, I think he was not toxic at all. And so, people try really hard to elaborate arguments in order to discredit Supercorp:

Lena is a villain - No she isn’t, she really hasn’t made any villainy stuff. She is lying? deceiving? So has Kara, and here it’s the fun part, people would justify Kara’s lying and deceiving by the greater good, which was the argument Supergirl established when she used Myriad this last episode. On the other hand, when it comes to Lena, they don’t accept the greater good, because she is “destined” to be a bad Luthor. Non Nocere, and all of the lying she has done, has been done to help a friend, to help take down a villain such as Lex, for helping mankind and to keep her friends safe, protect them. I do have to say, she hasn’t been taking the best of the decisions, but her heart is at the right place.

Mon-El is Kara’s equal. Yes, he was. He understood her roots, her story, her longings, her powers, etc. The thing is, he’s not there anymore, his story moved on. My point on this is that, Kara/Supergirl understands perfectly her roots, her story; everything that make her a Kryptonian. What she still doesn’t gets a hold of, is being human, something that at times feels like it’s forbidden for her, because it’s a weakness. As to Clark & Lois, that is what helps Clark, have a balance between Clark and Superman. That’s the balance Kara/Supergirl lacks, that’s the balance Lena brings to her life.

If still, these few points don’t make sense, may I remind you, this is a superhero series; a hero’s journey...when has the hero’s Journey not been complicated?

And last, at least for this long post; the “toxic” relationship Kara and Lena have, is all rooted in Kara not being upfront to Lena, that was the starting point of this conflict, it was never Lena. What happened next is a whole different story, in which yeah I think Lena has her blame, but so does Kara, and the worst part is they haven’t seen how much they mean to each other, because both of them are so invested in their hurt. I saw this post which I strongly agree with that had a picture of Lena and Kara/Supergirl that had the legend “Stronger together, dumber apart.” I really I don’t know if the show will let us have Supercorp, but i think I would rather have Kara/Supergirl mend her relationship with Lena as gay as possible as friends, and keep Lena, rather than losing Lena and not having any relationship at all, not even friends. I have lost almost all of my hope, but still I’ll be there for the show, and give them credit for what they have done in the last seasons.

#supercorp #supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #mon el #supergirl 5.17 #lex luthor #kara zor el #supergirl season 5 #katie mcgrath #melissa benoist #supercorp endgame #kara x lena #mon el of daxam

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howaboutalittlehelpneos · 4 years ago

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Any and all of the protagonists?

All of them would be a tall order for one ask, but... If I had to pick one, I think I’ll go with the most recent series I completed, Yuya from Arc V!

Why I like them/why I don’t Yuya’s a sweet boy who wants to make the world smile, even if he’s feeling sad himself, which I find both endearing, and depressing. I just kinda want to put him in therapy so he can learn that repressing all his negative emotions and Only Being Happy no matter the situation is a very unhealthy way to go through life. I care him and want him to learn that expressing negative emotions is okay. Poor boy. Also, Yuya Sakaki is literally the dumbest fucking protagonist in Yugioh history (I say, having not seen Sevens yet- maybe Yuga is dumber), and if a character is dumb, I have no choice but to love him. Seriously, he once said that 300 kg of cotton is heavier than 300 kg of steel because he thought it was a trick question. The quiz duel episode really does cement him as the dumbest fucking protag, and I love him for it.

What I like about their appearance

Baby boy looks like tomato. Enough said. (Also I like his little choker/collar thing.)

Do I prefer their dub names or original names? Yuya’s name stays the same in both, so I can’t comment here.

OTP

Candyshipping... There is no other contender for me. These boys are really cute together, and they both care about each other a lot, so I can’t not love them as a ship.

NOTP Hm... I guess shipping Yuya with any of the other Yu boys? Like Yuya/Yuri, Yuya/Yuto, etc. I can’t really say I have a Strong anti stance against most ships with Yuya I’m aware of, I just don’t really care about it if it’s not candyshipping. The Yu boys specifically just feel weird to ship, personally, especially when you consider the fact that they’re all fourths of a whole.

EDIT: I just remembered that Reiji (Declan in the dub) exists, so whatever their ship name is, that. I hate that. Fuck Reiji, all my homies hate Reiji, and I wouldn’t Ever wanna see ship art of that (even though I’m sure that exists and is at least semi-popular.)

OT3 Don’t have one. The only person I ship Yuya with is right up there. Sorry. No third here.

Favourite card they use

Cheer Mole!!! She’s just a shy little baby trying her best, and I love her for it. She’s so important.

Favourite moment they were in Since it’s tied to Candyshipping, I still do love that dream Yuya has immediately after he meets Sora, where he’s become a champion and won a trophy and made his dad proud, because it’s his fantasy dream; it’s everything he could ever want, and then out of nowhere, Sora shows up and immediately just jumps onto him and will not let go. He’d only known Sora for a day before this, and we never saw Sora exhibit any behavior like this in the waking world. He was actually very restrained, and only offered Yuya a handshake, so seeing Sora in Yuya’s fantasy dream behaving that way? V e r y telling that a certain protagonist is running from his gay subconscious.

Least favourite moment Mmm... The Battle Beast duel in season 3. I’ve ranted about this at length to at least two people, but I really really hated how the whole theme of “you shouldn’t lash out just because you were hurt” got pushed here, when like. The Battle Beast was literally tortured for years by Arc V Gozaburo to become a fighting machine. He finally got pushed too far and was about to kill his father (or handler, or teacher, whatever the fuck you want to call Sanders,) but then of course the narrative demands "Nooo don't kill your father, just because he verbally and physically abused you and kept you in inhumane conditions doesn't mean he doesn't deserve mercy". Yes the fuck it does. I know that Yuya was just doing what his dad taught him and all (thank you for the psychological damage, Yusho), but yeah, that was probably my least favorite Yuya moment. I wasn’t even really mad at him specifically, more like the writers for not letting this abused man lash out against someone who literally kept him in a solitary confinement cell.

Would I fuck, marry or kill them Like with my last one on Tyranno, I see him more as a son, but... [Edit] I’m gonna have to say none of the above. When I think about it, Yuya’s only ever seemed affected by male attention, so he’s most likely a (very repressed) gay. I can’t pick anything here.

#ygo ask meme #ygo arc v #yuya sakaki #sora perse #sora shiunin #candyshipping #he is a very good boy... stupid #but good #and i care him #anon

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norbaum · 4 years ago

Photo

but when you 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 the light i 𝑅𝐸𝒜𝐿𝐼𝒵𝐸...

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆:

✧ ( jack gilinsky + 21 + cis male + he/him ) — did you see 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐘 ‘𝐍𝐎𝐑’ 𝐁𝐀𝐔𝐌 walking down 3rd ? rumor has it they are a 𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 @ 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 & 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 and have lived in 𝟐𝟐𝟑 e 66th st 𝐀𝐏𝐓 𝟒𝟎𝟏 for 𝐀 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅. i’d describe them as ( 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙-𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 ) but ( 𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 ), and when they pass by i’m always reminded of 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐊, 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐌 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍, & 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝟏𝟎 𝐃𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑. ( ollie, 22, they/them, est )

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:

one half ( the younger ) of the baum twins — the self-proclaimed christmas tree twins but really, it’s their parents’ fault ; works the first shift at the sunrise baking the bulk of goods for the day && has a love for baking in general ; a senior at NYU studying an individualized track of architecture ; a kind soul who genuinely means well even if he misses the point a bit ( read : a himbo ).

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘:

— norway baum was born in a buffalo, new york hospital two minutes and forty-three seconds after his sister fir baum, and unlike his sister, did not scream upon his arrival into the world. it snowed on that december night, CHRISTMAS EVE, an irrelevant fact considering the baums, jewish in heritage, did not celebrate. their parents knew quite in advance that their family would be increasing by two, so it’s anyone’s guess why instead of picking nice normal names for their children they settled on ( as the twins would realize as they got older ) two versions of what amounted to christmas tree.

— nor supposes he ought to be thankful they didn’t name him spruce, because at least norway ( despite also being a country ) could be shortened to a mildly acceptable nickname. instead they graciously made that his middle name leaving every time he gets carded to be an adventure in dubious looks as someone read “norway spruce baum” across the shiny plastic.

— the twins’ entrance into the world would remain a blueprint for most of their lives, fir — the feral child, nor — the calmer but dumber one ; though unlike predicted, they did not balance each other out ( at least in the sense that their parents hoped ). instead it was excruciatingly obvious from the moment they were capable of semi-complex thought that they would be absolute hellions together.

— they grew as thick as thieves as they got older, outgrowing the hellion age soon enough, but only to enter the scheming menaces phase that some may argue they still haven’t left. there were times they had their differences, sure, but in the end they never amounted more to a ripple in the ocean, quickly forgiven and on to the next grand thing.

— they were raised very comfortably in a large house some might consider a mansion ( a modest one at that ), having been privileged enough to be born into the lower upper class. the baums were a rather practical family all the same, in spite of the big house and healthy number of zeros in their bank account, raising their children to be humble, polite, and hardworking : for the most part succeeding ( hardworking might be a matter of perspective ).

— for high school, they attended the local prestigious private co-ed school, nichols ; nor apparently not quite as dumb as everyone seemed to think considering his passing of the entrance exams and decent grades to back that up. nor graduated from nichols ranked surprisingly well, thanks to apparent natural abilities in math and physics.

— college was a toss up, but the choice quickly become a no-brainer when fir was also accepted into NYU. move-in day was a flurry of excitement, most notably the first time the twins would be living ( somewhat ) apart in different dorms thanks to random housing placement and a no co-ed room policy. that excitement lasted about six days for nor, when he became frustrated with the fact that his new roommate, though by almost all accounts PLEASANT, could not seemingly read his mind.

— several other factors, one of which was definitely not separation anxiety, lead them to room together with a few of their mutual friends their sophomore year, and then seek an apartment together the summer before their junior year.

— the 66th st hadn’t really been somewhere nor had frequented, though the neighborhood was known to be affordable and good for students seeking reasonably priced apartments. besides, the apartments were nice, not such a bad commute from school, and they both needed jobs if they wanted to continue to continue to have fun : for though their parents’ generosity extended to both their tuition and rent, it did not extend to spending money.

— in spite of their chaotic energy, they somehow landed one of the apartments on the block and moved in the beginning of august before their junior year ( august 2019 ).

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂:

— nor is one of the bakers at sunrise on weekdays and saturdays, likely with the 4 am shift that makes the bulk of the baked goods for the morning rush. he also helps with the counter if needed when the shop opens. he’s kicking down the door of 401 a little after 9 am on weekdays just in time to bring fir breakfast and go to class, and noon on weekends. he’d always been a bit of an early riser ( though 4 am isn’t really an acceptable time for anyone, it’s something he’s grown accustomed to ), and luckily functions well on just five hours of sleep or so. he is prone to taking about an hour and a half nap in the afternoons, though. he does enjoy his work, especially walking through the near abandoned corner at the wee hours of morning.

— at NYU nor studies an individualized track in architecture through the gallatin school of individualized study ; his track combines studies in architecture with structural classes in the tandon school of engineering so he can better understand practicality and the importance of structural-based architecture.

— has played hockey since he was quite young and the baums were looking for some way to burn off his energy. a sports town like buffalo it was a pretty obvious choice. he played up through high school, until an injury and two surgeries near the end of his junior year pretty much put an end to any serious athletic scholarships to a hockey school. he still played his senior year, but was advised against the rigors of college hockey. it was also in this time that he discovered his love of baking. he has played for fun nearby on one of the beer league teams the past couple years.

— as mentioned above, he really started to get into baking end of his junior year and senior year when he was either in recovery or benched a lot and wanted to contribute something. he bonded with one of his grandmothers over this time and he definitely loves making her recipes even now !! he’s also definitely the type to make baked goods for the neighbors. he started out beginning of last season at sunrise just doing regular cashier stuff but in a pinch when they were running low on something popular and they didn’t have any bakers on hand he was able to whip up a batch and saved the day and after that his manager asked him if he wanted to be one of the bakers.

— of the two of them, nor is the one more likely to cook, but they probably still rely a bit too heavily on ordering take out ( they are trying their best ).

— nor is quite neat, but more due to the fact he doesn’t own very much for things to get messy.

— has plants in his room and absolutely talks to them

— probably falls asleep while rewatching episodes of the great british bakeoff every night.

— sings in the shower and hums or sings quietly under his breath when he bakes. he’s really not that bad but he definitely lacks the creativity to do songwriting or talent to play an instrument so don’t ask.

— fir and nor have successfully gone to each other’s classes before despite being fraternal, most notably the longest gambit they ran sophomore year of high school where nor went to fir’s math class and she went to his history class and they kept it up until parent-teacher conferences in october ( something they had forgotten to take into consideration ) and their scheme was then exposed and they were subsequently grounded.

— he’s not straight and very much just loves who he loves. that being said, his tendency to look past people’s flaws and hand out second chances has gotten his heart broken a few times and has resulted in fir taking to examining anyone he shows the vaguest interest in under a microscope ( and possibly taken to interrogation ).

— fir and nor co-run the most chaotic tik tok @xmastreez. it has no real purpose or direction and mostly consists of capturing random shenanigans of each other, themselves, or random people. they have a modest following.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘:

— put bluntly, nor is a rather kind and gentle soul ; he tends to want to see the best in people and that leads to him coming across rather naive. that may be true in a sense, but it’s less due to ignorance and more that he hasn’t let any hardship or heartbreak get in the way of his worldview. the exception to this is of course anyone who has hurt fir ; you will then learn that he’s very good at holding grudges too.

— nor isn’t someone to worry about the future very much. there was a point early in high school when he did, but after the injury his junior year, he took on a very one week, one day at a time sort of mentality. he is quite happy to live in the moment for now.

— he’s a hard worker, but only when it comes to things that he likes or wants to learn. he’ll put 100% into anything he deems worthy : his baking, hockey, certain classes of study, but try to get him to read something he doesn’t want to or learn something he dislikes and he will become the biggest slacker you have ever seen.

— he and fir bounce well off each other and though nor may be the more responsible one, it’s clear that fir is more of the leader of the two and that his resolve when it comes to his sister’s absurd ideas is not very strong. that being said he can be very protective of fir ( though not overbearingly so ), in a way that can be seen as quite endearing.

— nor is smart, but only in the context of his classwork. outside the classroom or the bakery, and especially in day-to-day interactions, nor just seems to be lacking a certain brand of common sense.

— honestly he’s a fucking himbo. need i say more.

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄:

— 5′11″ ( one inch taller than fir, a fact hotly contested between them and many times a moot point considering she likes to wear heels ), rather fit thanks to keeping up hockey as a hobby.

— brown eyes, skin that tends to always look a little sunkissed even in the middle of winter, dark brown hair that fluctuates in length, sometimes a bit short, usually a bit longer so that it starts to curl slightly.

— style : he likes black skinny jeans or semi-fitted army green pants that probably get covered in flour too quickly but he wears them to work anyway, and fitted t-shirts in any color. he’s a fan of hoodies, cycling through an old nichols hockey one, an adidas branded one, and a newer nyu sweatshirt he got when he committed to the university. he considers hoodies adequate enough for most of the winter, and hey he’s never really gotten sick from walking to class in just that so why change ?? though he may on occasion throw on a denim jacket over a hoodie. he wears practical boots when it isn’t too hot ( unlike his sister ). — ref: yes, yes, and yes

— jewelry : nor’s not one for accessories, limited to a couple simple silver necklaces and an analogue watch with a brown leather band that probably takes him a little too long to read.

— scars, tattoos, etc : no tattoos ; a small well-healed scar over his left cheekbone from a hockey accident ( near invisible and most people don’t know it’s there unless they’re close or looking ), several other small scars on his legs and hands that he can’t recall what they’re from ; small birthmark on the outside of his right thigh.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒:

🎵i wanna ~𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦~ with somebody🎵 🎵feel the ᶜʰᵉᵐ with someboᵈʸʸʸʸʸʸ🎵

𝐎𝐎𝐂:

hello everyone !! i’m ollie ( 22, est, they/them pronouns ) one of your admins. i am pretty much always on discord so hmu there pls, thank you so much for joining 66th, and i can’t wait to vibe w you all !!!!

#66th.intro

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stilessdylanobae-ddixonlove · 5 years ago

Text

Surviving The Walking Dead - Truth (Chapter 20)

Author: @stilessdylanobae-ddixonlove

Characters: Daryl Dixon, Lydia, Magna, Negan, Beta, Alpha, Whisperer Terry, Whisperer Ben, Evan, Maggie Rhee, Ezekiel, Judith Grimes, RJ Grimes, Yumiko and Reader.

Summary: Y/n struggles with new and old feelings as her and Magna attempt to escape the Whisperers. Negan gives an epic apology and Daryl recovers from his wounds.

Note: All you who wanted to see more of Y/n and Negan, you’ll like this chapter. <3

Though the story line is greatly different and many changes have been made, a small amount of the dialogue in this chapter is the same as or is very similar to those that took place in AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 11. I do NOT take credit for those.

Warning: Cursing, violence, sexual content, threatening dialogue, painful triggers/loss, vulgar remarks and quite a bit of fluff.

Chapter Twenty - Chapter Twenty-One

Lydia had just barely managed to pull Daryl from the old gas station and into the woods, as he was in and out of consciousness. They stumbled through the trees, where he finally collapsed underneath the trunk of a very large one. Luckily, it was out far enough from the recent danger. Lydia quickly tore off a piece of her blue and baggy long sleeve shirt and tied it around his bleeding thigh as tightly as her hands would allow. Daryl looked to her and only saw one thing; you. Things were blurry and the world was spinning, but he saw you none the less.

As he tried to keep his eyes open, he called out your name in his compromised mental state. “Y/n.” He mumbled, his voice fading as he finally lost control and let go of the world around him once again.

Everything went black.

Several hours later, Daryl woke in a panic. His head felt somewhat normal again after he recovered from all the blood loss.

Lydia put her hand on his chest to calm him and to force him to stay sitting. “Easy.” She said. He slowed his breathing and watched her tearing away anxiously at a pile of leaves in front of where she sat.

“How long have I been asleep?” Daryl questioned.

“Most of the day.”

He squinted his eyes at her in wonder, still feeling rather weak. “And you were just out here?” He asked.

“Yeah I left Alexandria, couldn’t stand it. I want to help. So I was watching you and then I was watching them. And then I was watching you and my mom.” She admitted, her bottom lip quivering slightly.

“Did you kill her?” Daryl asked, knowing Alpha wasn’t in the best shape either the last he saw of her.

“If it was your dad could you have?” She replied, her deep brown eyes quickly moving back and forth between his hooded blue ones.

______________________________

You had found it. The secret route the Whisperers would take in and out of the mine. It was well hidden, the entrance was small, very dark and behind a large boulder that took a lot of man power to move. You’d just traveled through it with them-still at the end of a rope, still their hostage. The outside world was blinding to your adjusting eyes. You were forced to sit in the dirt beside Magna as the two of you watched Beta pace uncomfortably in front of the caves. He was getting nervous.

“Somethings wrong. Alpha should’ve been here already and now he’s losing it.” You noted. Magna nodded in agreement while Negan leaned against a tree waiting and watching, unsure what the brute would want to do next without his leader to decide for him.

“Maybe you should go looking for her.” Negan suggested, trying to conjure up his own plan. Beta growled at him. “I mean, something obviously is keeping them.”

“Stop talking.” Beta enforced. Negan frowned. He hated how quiet these people were all the time. They didn’t talk or engage in each other at all. Truthfully, he was going a little crazy by the uncomfortable silence.

Magna watched the exchange, trying to prevent herself from wanting her fate to rest in Negan’s hands. She still couldn’t stand the guy but a part of her wondered if he’d be the cause of your escape and survival. “What’s he doing?” Magna leaned in and whispered in your ear.

“Fishing for a way to help us I imagine.” You responded. “He owes me.”

“I can’t believe he joined them. What do you think they’re up to? Are they gonna attack?” She wondered out loud.

“They’re gathering up the herd, so probably.” You both sighed, ultimately being distracted from your conversation by the sudden commotion of someone else’s. Beta was leaving.

“But, what about them?” One Skin asked, short in height and hiding behind his mask. He pointed to you and Magna.

“I don’t care!” Beta hollered, taking off with only a select few.

“I’ll watch them.” Negan offered. Beta shrugged it off as a few more of their people followed him back to the road. You rolled your eyes, unamused by whatever he had up his sleeve. He came and knelt down in front of you, smiling from ear to ear. “He may be big but he’s dumber than a god damn post.” He chuckled to himself.

“What are you doing?” You questioned, looking up to see the other less important Whisperers that stayed behind staring at the three of you endlessly. “You can’t help us. If they come back and we’re gone, they’ll know you can’t be trusted and our entire plan is ruined.” You said quietly. Magna instantly turned to you in question. She furrowed her brow and waited for more information.

“So what, you want me to let you die?” Negan said quietly but with more frustration in his voice.

“If that’s what it takes.” You answered while Magna shook her head intensely.

“Well that’s not gonna happen, obviously.” Negan scowled at you, noticing something was different. You didn’t have your usual spunk or determination. Your sparkling personality was immensely lacking.

“She doesn’t mean that. And what plan? Will someone tell me what’s happening?” Magna insisted. You shushed her, firmly placing your hand on her arm and lightly shaking your head. She huffed in response.

Negan stood and spun around, anxiously rubbing his hands together. “Well, everyone’s gotta piss at some point right? We’ll be right back.” He told his fake ally’s and grabbed the rope that was still attached to the both of you where your hands were tied. “Well come on then, we got shit to do.” Negan pulled forcefully. He brought you around the corner and further into the bushes to speak freely. The wind blew through your long y/h/c hair as you all came to an abrupt stop. “If you really do have to go, now’s the time.” Negan smiled as he tilted his head to further gawk at you. “Still wearing those pretty pink panties?” He teased. Magna’s eyes grew wide and you deadpanned him. Once again taking note of his infamous leather jacket he wore, much cleaner than the last time you’d saw him. Maybe the Whisperers had finally stopped testing him and let him in, it was a good sign. His hair was nicely pushed back and his smile was bright. He was handsome but he was still Negan.

“I’m serious. They will kill you before you are able to kill her.” You insisted, letting Magna in on the plan since not having another choice. She let her mouth gape open in surprise and tried to hide it as she brought her tied hands up to scratch her nose, awkwardly.

“You really are a genius.” She put together. Negan winked.

“You can’t say anything to anyone.” You told her.

She huffed again. “Who the hell am I gonna tell when we’re clearly gonna die out here?”

Negan was trying to think on his toes, trying to ensure that wouldn’t happen. “Ladies, we don’t have long before someone comes checking in on us, so-”

“So, nothing. I told you they will kill you and this will have been for nothing.” You interrupted.

“Are you saying you care about what happens to me now? Or is this all still just part of your plan to save the folks back home?” Negan harassed. You locked eyes with him as he leaned in closer and watched your chest as it began to rise and fall heavily. He was making you more uncomfortable than the life threatening situation you were in. “Relax. I’ll be fine. And so will you.” Negan told you, placing his hand on yours and sliding his small pocket knife against your palm and within your grasp.

Magna watched closely. “Smooth.” She admitted. Negan kept his eyes on only you as you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his need to protect you.

“When the time is right.” He said, squeezing your hand and then letting go to take you back to the caves entrance. He shoved you back down where you sat before and tied your rope around a tree. Then he made his way back over to the group of Whisperers who were still awaiting the return of their leader.

“I get it now.” Magna said, blinking her eyes continuously at you. You turned to her, overly frustrated and confused. “He’s in love with you.” She pointed to where he stood with his arms crossed.

“What?” You hollered. “Negan doesn’t love anyone. He’s too in love with himself.” You grimaced.

Magna stared in disbelief. “Does Daryl know about this plan of yours?”

“No. I didn’t want anyone to know until it was done.” You admitted, looking to the ground with a heavy sigh. “Carol knows because she caught me leaving that night. And now you.” You told her honestly.

Magna readjusted herself, moving her legs out straight in front of her. You rested your hands in your lap, firmly gripping onto the knife Negan gave you. Your wrists were red and sore, as were hers. “What if Negan didn’t have that? Would you really just give up?” She asked you sincerely.

“I don’t know.” You admitted, letting a single tear fall and stain your dirt covered cheek.

“What about your baby?” She asked, concerned. You sniffled, took a big deep breath and thought a moment.

“You were right, I didn’t mean it. Okay?” You told her. She hesitantly nodded, thinking about her own heartache. Wondering whether she was still in a relationship or if she had anyone to go home to. She was sure you at least had that feeling in common.

_____________________________

About another hour had passed and it was all too quiet now, almost eerie as a heavy fog entered the forest. The sun was going down and it was quickly getting dark. Two men-Whisperers, who’d removed their masks stood guard now which was good because if Negan was the last to be watching you when you escaped he might be blamed. They looked you and Magna up and down for much too long, putting her on edge. She grunted and scowled at them.

“Ugh. Men are pigs.” She noted, disgusted. The taller one with messy long black hair bit his lip as he peered down your tank top. “Why don’t you just kill us already?” She asked, unable to take them staring anymore.

“Maybe we will.” The other man with a short graying beard told her. “Or we could have some fun first.” He grinned. Magna let out an exaggerated gag.

“Like Alpha says, we’re animals.” The black haired man agreed, laughing. Negan shook his head, wanting nothing more than to knock them both out.

“Hey, since when do any of you people talk so much?” He yelled at them. They chuckled.

“Since Alpha and Beta aren’t here to keep them in line. They’re weak, frightened men. That’s all.” You glared up at them while they instantly lost the smiles on their faces. “Don’t listen to them.” You turned to your friend.

Later that same, long night after many Whisperers had finally dozed off, Negan came and sat next to you. It was very dark and very cold. Magna rested her head back against a tree a little ways back and pretended to sleep as well. Your body was shivering uncontrollably now as you began putting Negan’s knife to use, planning to sneak away in the dead of the night. He stopped you though when he suddenly grabbed your hands and brought them to his mouth, blowing his warm breath onto them. You raised your eyebrows, a bit taken back by his kind gesture. You stared into his eyes while he continued to try and warm you. “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.” You said, slowly lowering your hands away from him and continuing to cut away at the rope.

“Not gonna say goodbye?” He asked, looking to your hands.

You shook your head, pulling away at the remaining rope and quietly handing the knife off to Magna. “You’re taking too long here.”

“I have to earn her trust. I’m not there yet, why can’t you just trust me?”

“Gee, I don’t know.” You hissed.

“Listen, Y/n. In all seriousness, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’re here. I’d much rather you be safe some place far from here.” He told you.

“I know.” You sighed.

“And I’m sorry about everything else. I’m sorry about, you know, them all those years ago.” He said, referring to all the friends and family you lost back at the Sanctuary. You swallowed nervously, never expecting to hear a sincere apology from him. “Being locked up all those years, I had a lot of time to think. And the truth is, I fucked up. A lot. But I was always honest and true to one thing.” He shared, searching your eyes for several minutes before awkwardly looking down to his hands, wringing them uncomfortably. “I promise you now, when this is all done...and I will get it done, that I am indebted to you. Whatever you want, need I’ll get it for you. And I will not harm anyone that means something to you. Ever.”

“I wish I could believe you.” You gulped.

“I’ve never lied to you.” He quickly replied, smiling at you. He could see it on your face. Your cheeks red, your eyes glossy and your expression stoic. You cared for him, it wasn’t just about using him to save the others. “There’s a shack of some sort a few miles north from here. An old cabin more like, if you need some place to stop and rest. No one here knows about it to my knowledge. You’ll be safe there.” He stood up and reached his hand down to help you up. You looked at him the way you hadn’t looked at him since the beginning. It warmed his troubled soul. “They are gunning for Hilltop. Warn them.” He whispered.

You nodded. “I still have to see this thing through. If you are able to get away for a minute to update me, meet me there.” You asked just as Magna stood up, now fully free of her ropes as well. He agreed and turned to walk away. “Negan.” You stopped him. “Try to meet me there. So I know you’re okay after we leave here.” You gulped.

He grinned. “Will do, Princess.”

________________________

The following morning, you spotted the cabin deep in the woods that Negan spoke of. He told the truth. You slowly entered it, holding Negan’s pocket knife high in the air; it being your only weapon now.

Magna pulled at some spider webs near the front door as she followed you inside. “What are we doing here?” She asked. “I was all for getting as far away from those freaks as possible. But shouldn’t we warn Hilltop?” She asked.

“Yeah. You have to.”

“What? What about you?” She bellowed.

You shook your head and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m not ready to go back. I’m not sure I was before all this. Please go and warn them. You know where I am.”

“Y/n, Daryl thinks you’re dead.” She firmly pointed out.

You shrugged. “So tell him I’m not. By the time anyone comes looking for me again, it’ll all be over. I know it.” She sighed heavily and pulled you in for a hug.

Magna searched your worried eyes, her expression nearly matching yours. “I don’t like a lot of people. You are one of them, so please don’t be stupid.” She begged. You nodded with a smile and hugged her back.

“Go. Seriously.” You grinned and watched her leave on a new mission. Magna had become a friend and you didn’t want to lose that but you were more focused on this plan with Negan than ever.

_________________________

Back at the Whisperer camp, Negan woke to find Alpha had returned. Standing in one piece, staring down at him.

“Shit.” Negan jumped. “You shouldn’t wake somebody standing over them like that.” He said, standing up. “Glad to see you’re alright, I was getting worried.” He grinned, flirtatiously.

Alpha scowled at him, raising her right eyebrow and placing her hands behind her back. “Beta tells me we had some stragglers from the caves.” She began. Negan nodded. “Where are they now?”

Negan played dumb. His acting was beyond brilliant. He spun to the tree where your severed ropes still laid on the forest floor. He pointed and then looked back in fake utter confusion. “Terry and his little sidekick were on guard last. Clearly, they did an excellent job of that, damn it. I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed up watching them.” He told her. She eyed him and sighed.

“Fine. We are leaving for Hilltop soon, we will put an end to them there.” She told him. “Help gather the horde.” Negan nodded, secretly terrified she might still suspect him. But for now, he was safe. He still feared he might have to do something extreme to fully earn her trust back.

“I’m ready for my skin suit. I am all in.” Negan told her. “So, let me be in.” He shrugged.

Alpha smiled, gratefully. “Go with Beta. I have a meeting with Ben and Terry.” She smirked, preparing to punish them. Negan was more than okay with letting those perverts take the fall.

By that afternoon, Negan had his mask. He roamed the area watching others collect loads of sap from the surrounding trees. He was bored and pretending to help gather more of the dead to join the herd that would surely take out Hilltop in just a few short hours.

He swung his bat around proudly. “So uh, what’s with the sap? Some sort of fire starter?” He asked Beta who led the group collecting it. But he only grunted in response, always a man of few words.

__________________________

Several hours had passed back at Hilltop. Daryl and Lydia had safely returned to rest and allow his leg to heal. They saw Alpha and Beta reunite on their journey home, not knowing they’d just missed you.That evening, he sat alone on a table outside near the line of occupied trailers. He was quietly brooding over his losses while the people slept soundly in their homes with their families. Most of them anyway. He stared into space, lost in thought as Maggie appeared from the shadows and approached him cautiously. She looked down at his wrapped leg. “I’m sorry about before. I don’t want you to get hurt.” She told him.

He sighed as she grabbed his upper arm, squeezing it gently to comfort him. “We’ll have to talk about her, all of it eventually.” Daryl mumbled to her before they both fell distracted by figure running towards them. As he slowed his pace and stopped in front of them, they could now see it was Evan struggling to catch his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked, frightened.

“Magna.” He said in between pants. Daryl instantly stood up. “She’s here.” He said, gesturing for them to follow. As the three of them came to the main house, there she was sitting on the steps next to Yumiko. But it was only her-you were no where in sight. Daryl’s heart pounded in his chest as he hesitated to go any farther.

Her face was covered in blood and she instantly felt saddened by the sight of Daryl approaching. “We kept pushing. Searching.” She began, locking eyes with Yumiko. “And then we separated.” She added. “I had to blend in.” She explained how the blood on her face was not her own. “We both got out and were held hostage by the Whisperers. Negan’s with them now.” She let slip out, then hung her mouth open not wanting to say anymore. “They’re coming here. The horde wasn’t far behind me.”

“And Y/n?” Daryl asked with a harsh swallow.

“She told me to come warn you, I don’t know. But she’s alive.” She replied. Daryl let his shoulders fall in relief.

“Get the others. We’ll evacuate the kids first.” Maggie ordered.

“They are too close for that. There’s no way we’d make it anywhere in time.” Magna shook.

“Then we fight.” Lydia appeared out of nowhere. Daryl looked to her and smiled. Both feeling a little better after hearing you were okay.

“Yeah.” He agreed. “You two.” He pointed to Magna and Lydia. “Come with me.” They followed him inside rather quickly. “Wait here, please?” He asked before disappearing up the stairs. Daryl came back with Judith and RJ who’d been staying here the last few days with Aaron and his daughter while Michonne remained at Oceanside. People were panicking, running in and out looking for their loved ones. Daryl caught a glimpse of Ezekiel and called after him, then ran to meet him on the front porch. “I need you to take the three of them to Earl before we start this. Maggie has him watching the rest of the kids.” Ezekiel nodded. “If one of us doesn’t make it out of this fight-”

“Then the other will go find the kids.” The King agreed completely. Daryl patted him on the back in thanks and returned to the living area inside.

Daryl crouched down in front of little Judith. “Promise me something.” He said to her. “If Ezekiel comes to find you after the fight you go with him, again. You and your brother, okay?” Judith hesitantly nodded. “It’s okay to be scared.”

“I’m not scared.” She said firmly.

“Maybe I am, a little bit.” Daryl admitted honestly to everyone in the room.

The young girl readjusted her sheriff’s hat and folded her arms tightly across her little chest. “But if I was, maybe I would be scared for RJ because he’s so little.” She sighed.

“I get that.” Daryl replied.

“Maybe I’d be worried about my mom. Or I’d be afraid you’d get hurt and I’d lose you.” She looked to her feet. Daryl leaned in and hugged her tightly as she wiped away a few tears. Daryl rubbed her back gently, feeling torn between her and finding out more about you. He always thought he would never be brave enough to have kids of his own-especially not in this world. But even still, with a father like his and the way he was raised, he never felt like he was good enough. He always figured it would be kinder of him to not. He’d also watched Carol lose not one, but two and he witnessed Rick struggle to keep his safe time and time again before he died. He never felt he had it in him, watching after their kids was hard enough. But when he hugged little Judith just then, thinking about you-something about it instantly felt a little different. For family, for you-with you he would do just about anything. He finally let go and smiled at her, then pointed to Ezekiel. “Wait.” She said, reaching for his vest that sat on the arm of the couch next to Magna. “I made you something. It’s for luck.” She said, holding his iconic leather vest high in the air, showing off her latest art project. She had painted on his missing angel wing. It was different shades of blue and white and matched perfectly, looking better than it ever did.

Daryl smiled uncomfortably. “No way.” He brought his hand to his mouth with a smile. He felt happier than he had in days. “I love it.” He finally said, slipping it back on to wear for the battle, as she clearly intended. “How does it look?” He asked, spinning around to show it off. Judith finally giggled.

“It looks good.” She agreed. He smiled back and got closer, looking the small girl in the eyes.

“Promise?” He asked her again. She nodded. “Give me another hug.” Daryl said as he brought her in close and looked up to Lydia next.

“You too.” Daryl added as he stood up straight, tapping the teens forearm.

She instantly frowned. “What? I saved your life yesterday!” Lydia cried, throwing her arms down to her sides.

“And now I’m saving yours.” He said, pulling her in for a hug. He held her tight, needing to keep her safe from this as well. He knew it would be entirely too much. She let out a big regretful sigh in his ear before finally letting go and leaving with Judith, who took her little brothers hand. Daryl watched them disappear into the night with Ezekiel. He then remained a little dazed, staring long after they’d been gone.

“You aren’t leaving?” Magna asked. Daryl shook his head and limped his way over to sit next to her on the couch for a moment.

“I can’t yet. I’m gonna fight. But before I do that I need you to tell me everything.” Daryl stated. “If Y/n stayed out there and she knows what’s coming, she might do something stupid. Something that gets her killed. Do you know where she is?” He pleaded. She ultimately nodded, trying to decide whether to tell Daryl the entire story.

____________________________________

@jodiereedus22 @dashesoflipstick @theunofficialduke @dixonluvv@nikki082489 @jordangdelacruz @lunatheumbreon @dbtvluvI @letsstarsfalling @escaping-reality-22

Let me know if anyone would like to be tagged in future chapters (:

Thanks for reading!

I hope you are enjoying my version of this story. Sensing a love triangle yet??

Yes, I changed this into it’s own chapter instead of doing two parts like I was originally planning. I ended up going a different direction and I think it works better this way.

Next time: A fiery battle at Hilltop, an unforgettable reunion and an intense moment between Y/n and Negan.

ANDDD let me know what you thought of this chapter here —–>

<<Chapter 19, >>Chapter 21

#the walking dead #the walking dead fanfiction #daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixion imagine #Norman Reedus #norman reedus fanfiction #negan #negan fanfiction #negan x reader #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #jeffery dean morgan fanfiction

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drunklander · 5 years ago

Text

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 509

So this episode had some all-to-brief moments I really liked, a moment where I was definitely laughing at it and not with it, and a whole lot of Jamie being an ableist douchecanoe with a side of toxic masculinity.

The scene where Marsali calls Claire her Ma is the sweetest fucking thing. I have diabetes now. Their relationship is literally like my favorite thing about this season. (What little we’ve actually gotten of it...)

Also thank fuck she’s not gonna be preggo anymore. I swear, she’s gonna pop out a walking, talking toddler.

Also it took me longer to type that than the scene took. Can we please get more good character stuff that lasts more than fucking 0.5 seconds? Is that really too much to ask?

Hard pass on the Bree and Roger stuff, but I am 1000% here for babies swearing so Jem can stay.

Did they cast a blonde baby though so it could pass as Bonnet’s? Or did they not actually put any thought into that?

Jamie shading Roger when he asks Bree to go hunting is like the only time he’s not a douchenozzle this episode.

I know we’re supposed to be like fully on board with Roger by this point, since Jamie is by the end of the episode, but nah. I’m cool with still not liking or caring about him.

There is so much grunting and groaning in this episode it’s like the opposite of an ASMR video.

The noises in this episode are like the equivalent of someone saying “moist” over and over.

Oh hey, my favorite color! DYE ALL THE THINGS!

Seriously though, Lizzie is like that weird kid in high school that never actually has a glow up. “It’s a good day for dyeing.” I’m sorry the writers hate you so much, Lizzie.

Omfg, finally, a Claire and Bree scene that is [mostly] not about men! More of these, please. And more of Claire and Marsali. And more of Bree and Marsali. Can we please have an episode of just the ladies where the men are never mentioned?

But gee, I wonder if Bree’s engineering is gonna come back at some point this episode. Hmmm...

Ok they’ve talked about going back like almost every episode. Can Bree and fam please just go back in the finale and get it over with?

Irrationally angry at Roger for how much time he wastes just dicking around the woods because he has no idea where anything is.

Also like, buddy, if you shoot off your gun and then immediately peace out, folks are gonna come looking for you in the wrong spot...

Omfg, Jamie is like literally dying and the priority is to tell someone to go do some murder. Yes, Bonnet is straight garbage. Def won’t be sad when he’s dead, and given how he has everyone who’s anyone in his pocket, murder’s probs the only way to get rid of him. But like, take the testosterone down a notch, bro.

Jamie went from “stay and take care of the Ridge” to “all y’all gotta get the fuck outta here” *rull* quick.

Aaand is this the start of Roger wanting to be a minster? Jamie talked about his father the soldier, but he wants to follow in his other father’s footsteps? Def would be a better fucking reason than “I wanna get close and friendly with the ladies in a way that’s mildly creepy and don’t want people to think I’m cheating.”

“Dinna tell me ye don’t have snakes in yer time.” Ok but like Marsali is right there. Are we supposed to assume she knows? I swear to fuck if we got cheated out of her and Fergus finding out about Claire...

Nurse!Marsali is legit my favorite and my favorite adaptive choice the show made in a long fucking time.

Claire telling Jamie she doesn’t need to inject the penicillin into his bum is the fucking cutest.

Glad they did the “you’re not yelling at me so I must be dying” scene, it’s adorable. One good thing before Jamie turns into a twat.

Like seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you, buddy. He’s obsessed with being “whole”. Always has been. It’s lowkey a bit gross, tbh.

Ableism is never a good look, bro.

Like oh hey, Claire, you left everything and traveled through time to come be with me, but if I can’t have my leg, then sorry, that’s just a sacrifice I’m not willing to make. Fuck you, dude. Fuuuck you.

“Well people of this time see the child as proof that... That you were a willing participant, because God wouldna allow a child to be conceived through... Rape.” IT’S NOT JUST THAT TIME, ROGER. WE STILL LIVE IN THE BAD PLACE.

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Friendly reminder that the Republican Party is evil and if you support them you are a garbage person or an idiot. :)

I said what I said, @ me and get blocked.

Literalol at Bree getting punted by a fucking buffalo. Like that is the most unintentionally hilarious fucking thing ever.

Like seriously, that bit was dumb af in the book and it’s dumber af here because the CGI or whatever the fuck composite it was is so fucking terrible.

I fucking love that Claire and Bree talk to each other like equals. The mutual love and respect there is great. More of them together, please and thank you.

But also like, fuck Jamie for making Claire thing she’d lose his love if she saves his life by taking his leg. Fuck him, selfish asshat. What a fucking bastard.

She’d risk losing his love to save him. She loves him that much. And he’s willing to make her feel this pain because he doesn’t want to be crippled.

CLAIRE FUCKING ELIZABETH FUCKING BEAUCHAMP FUCKING DESERVES FUCKING BETTER. FUCK.

Young Ian calling Jamie on his complete and utter offensive bullshit is my fucking everything.

FUCKING PREACH, YOUNG IAN. FUCKING PREACH.

Put some respect on Ian Murray’s name, James Fraser. And show some fucking respect for your fucking son.

YOUNG IAN AND FERGUS, MY BROTP RIDES AGAIN!

I love this scene between the them. I really hope we get more with the two of them. GIVE ME ALL THE FRASER KIDDO BONDING, YOU COWARDS.

Marsali and Fraser are literally my favorite couple on the whole damn show. Can Young Ian move in with them and then the whole show can just be about that squad? Because ngl, I’d watch the fuck out of it.

Gah, I want to feel what they want me to feel with this scene between Jamie and Claire. This should be my brand of angst. But they made Jamie be such a twat that all I feel is sorry for Claire that she’s going through this.

I WANNA GIVE CLAIRE A HUG OK.

LOOOOOOL THE RESUSCITATIVE HANDJOB!

(Named such by Bonnie.)

Fuck you that it took a deathbed handy to realize that you should fucking live, Jamie.

Yes, I know it’s Claire that made him live, but she was literally there all day begging to save him and he fucking blew her off. Fuck that guy.

Fergus is a fucking adorable father. Fergus is fucking adorable in general. I just fucking love Fergus a lot.

His face when Marsali goes into labor is fucking hilariously precious.

Oh hey, Jamie realizes he was a dick! I can’t remember the last time that happened. Notice how he doesn’t actually say he’s sorry though. He never, ever does that. That’s just asking too much of our oh so glorious king of men. *vomits onto keyboard*

MIT to the rescue! (Did they ever say Bree transferred in the show? Or are they still pretending like women went to Harvard at that time?)

Claire talking to babies is my kink.

Aaand just like that, the toxic masculinity is back in full force. Le sigh.

I’m so tired of men, tbh.

Except Adso. And Fergus. And Jem. And Germain. And Young Ian.

Ok so Jamie resigned himself to die after Culloden. And I get that. I fucking 100% get that. He thought Claire was gone. Him being alive was a risk to Jenny and Ian’s family. But here? He resigned himself to die? Instead of fighting like hell to survive? To stay with his wife? His daughter? His son? His nephew? His grandkids? Fuck you, Jamie Fraser. Fuck you that fighting for them wasn’t your first choice.

I came back because I have to fight in a war. God says so. Ugh.

Like yes, there is a war coming. And as we’ve been beaten over the head with for years, ThE pAsT iS dAnGeRoUs FoR tHe LaDiEs so he needs to be there to protect them. But like come on, dude. That can be a secondary reason. I know he’s like oh I don’t need to say I came back because I love you because you know I’ll always love you. But like, maybe fucking prioritize it here, bro. Just a thought.

Ugh, men.

#EternalMood

#*#outlander starz #outlander 5x09 #drunj!der yells about outlander

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