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theycallmebecca · 1 year ago

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Drabble: Sweet Delights (Colin & Penelope AU)

Hello! I have no idea how many people are going to see this. So if you've followed me for awhile, hi, I'm back. Sort of! And if you're new, hi!

It's been 8 months since I've written and posted anything due to too much stress and writers block. But yesterday I saw that @the-slumberparty was hosting a summer event and I looked at the prompts and it just seemed like fun.

I chose Cookie Dough (bakery AU) with Cherries (meet cute) and paired it with a modern day AU Bridgerton.

Title: Sweet Delights

Fandom: Bridgerton AU & Modern

Pairing: AU Colin Bridgerton x AU Penelope Featherington

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: suggestive

Author's Note: The characters are the following ages, Colin - 33, Daphne - 32, Penelope - 28, Felicity - 21 (she's the youngest Featherington sister in the books)

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context.

"The things I do for you," Colin Bridgerton mumbled as he walked down the street with his sister Daphne.

She shot him a peevish look before replying, "And who else was I supposed to ask to go with me to sample cake for mum's party?"

Colin considered that for a second before sighing. She was right, damnit. Of all eight Bridgerton siblings, his palette was the most like their mothers. Not to mention the fact that he was always hungry.

"Here we are," Daphne said, gesturing to a sign that read 'Sweet Delights'.

Ever the gentleman, Colin opened the door for his sister and let her enter before he followed.

A tall, skinny redhead was behind the counter and Colin opted to stand to the side, letting his sister introduce herself. He let his eyes wander around the shop, taking in the mix of modern and antique decor.

Spotting a frame with several news clippings, he wandered over to look at it. Learning that the shop had been in this building since just after World War II and the original owner, Penelope Thomas, had recently retired and sold the business to her granddaughter, Penelope Featherington. Both women were pictured side by side and Colin felt drawn to the younger one despite knowing he'd never met her before.

"Colin," he heard his sister call.

Colin turned and collided with someone.

There was a shriek and then cakes went flying.

Acting on pure instinct, Colin grabbed the woman, trying to steady them both, but then his foot slipped on frosting and he felt himself falling, the woman with him.

They landed with a crash, the woman landing on top of him as cake splatted to the ground around them.

"Oh my god," the woman said once everything was silent. "Oh my god. I am so -"

Colin opened his eyes and found the woman, Penelope, from the clippings, laying on top of him.

"Are you alright?" Daphne's worried voice reached Colin's ears.

"I'm fine," Colin assured her. "Are you ok?" His eyes met Penelope's and felt his heart skip a beat.

"Y- yes," she replied. Her eyes remained locked with his for a second before she shook her head, as if finally remembering that she was on top of him in the middle of the floor. "Oh my god."

"Careful!" the other redhead exclaimed. "There's cake and frosting everywhere."

Then she and Daphne were there and helped Penelope untangle herself without making things worse.

Finally, Colin sat up and rubbed the back of his head, only to pull his hand away and find red.

He tilted his head and studied the substance that clearly wasn't blood. Bringing his hand to his face, he sniffed it.

"Colin?" his sister asked, concerned.

"It's strawberry coulis," Colin and Penelope said at the same time.

—

Most of the time, Penelope Featherington felt like she was the owner of a bake shop. But there were sometimes when she felt anything but.

Today was one of those days. It felt like nothing had gone right all day.

Then, to top it all off, her younger sister, Felicity, had forgotten to tell her that she'd scheduled a last minute cake tasting for a new customer named Daphne Basset.

Penelope had had exactly twenty minutes before the appointment to scramble everything together, thankful that most of their flavor combinations were featured in their cupcakes, before the appointment.

She heard the bell on the door jingle as she put the last cupcake on the tray and breathed a sigh of relief.

She took a minute to clean herself up and then left the kitchen with the tray of samples.

Everything was fine for the first five and a half steps. She saw the woman talking to Felicity and then saw the man looking at the news clippings. She couldn't see his face, but he was tall and had gorgeous chestnut hair that she just wanted to run her fingers through.

"Colin?" The voice came out of nowhere and he turned unexpectedly.

She tried to avoid the collision, but it likely made the situation worse. Her overcorrection had left her unbalanced and he'd tried to save her, but it had led to them both ending up on the floor.

She'd landed on top of him, all her wobbly bits pressed against his solid body. His strong arms wrapped around her, still holding her close.

"Oh my god," she said, once the room had fallen silent. "Oh my god." She felt his hands drop from around her. "I am so -"

"Are you alright?" the woman's worried voice asked, interrupting her. Penelope assumed she had to be Daphne Basset.

"I'm fine." She could feel the vibration of his words as he assured his companion before he asked her, "Are you ok?"

Their eyes met and the anger that Penelope had suspected to see wasn't there. Instead, his eyes were filled with nothing but kindness and a hit of surprise. There was something else in his look, but Penelope wasn't sure how to interpret it.

"Y- yes," she stammered, unable to pull her eyes from his. There was something about him that seemed so familiar and yet different all at the same time. Then she remembered where she was. On top of him in the middle of her bakery. "Oh my god."

She started to push herself off him, but stopped when she heard Felicity call out, "Careful!"

Between Felicity and Daphne, they helped Penelope get up without causing more damage to herself, Colin or the bake shop.

Once she was on her feet, Penelope surveyed the damage. All of the cupcakes had been ruined and they'd managed to smash a few under them when they fell.

"Colin?"

Hearing the concern in Daphne's voice, Penelope shifted her gaze to Colin who was studying something red in his hand.

Her eyes dropped back to the floor where they'd been just moments before and saw the chocolate cupcake with the chocolate mousse cupcake where his head had been. It was smashed and its filling had oozed out.

"It's strawberry coulis," Colin and Penelope said at the same time.

—

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked, concern still laced in her voice.

"I'm fine, Daph," he sighed. Then, turning to the other women, said, "Sisters, am I right?"

"Older or younger?" the one that wasn't Penelope asked.

"Younger," Colin and Daphne echoed.

"Definitely a you problem then," the young woman said with a smirk. "Us younger sisters never do anything wrong, isn't that right, Penelope?"

Colin smiled when he saw Penelope roll her eyes at her younger sister. He chose to ignore what that might mean.

With his eyes on Penelope, he saw her straighten her shoulders and turn to Daphne. "I am so sorry about this," she apologized and gestured to the mess around them. "If you choose us to make the cake for your party, it will be on the house."

"That is very kind of you, but we insist on paying," Daphne told her.

"They're Eloise's siblings," her younger sister explained. "Bridgerton."

The unease in Penelope's stance all but vanished. "You're Eloise's siblings?" she repeated.

Colin felt her eyes on him as she studied him and then Daphne. Then she nodded and said, "Yes. I see the resemblance now."

"You know Eloise?" he asked. He hadn't known that, but evidently Daphne had.

"She and her sisters went to the school as we did," Daphne told him. "Eloise and Penelope were in the same year and were roommates at one point."

"Our last year," Penelope supplied. "We've lost touch in the years since, I'm afraid."

Her sister cleared her throat, forcing all the attention to her. "It's just that, if Mr. Bridgerton has coulis in his hair, he'll likely want to wash it out as soon as possible. It is quite sticky."

"She's right," Daphne said with a sigh. "And we drove together, too. I guess we'll have to reschedule."

"Actually, Penelope's apartment is just up the stairs," the younger sister said. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if Mr. Bridgerton wanted to rinse off. Especially not since she, herself, needs to go upstairs and change."

—

If looks could kill, Felicity would be dead from the glare that Penelope shot her sister.

"Oh, that would be splendid!" Daphne exclaimed. "And while they do that, I can help you clean, Felicity."

Penelope blinked and shook her head confused. This was her bake shop, since when did her sister call the shots?

"Just go, Pen," Felicity said, waving her towards the kitchen and the stairs beyond it. "By the time you two come back down, this place will be clean and we can start over."

Penelope sighed and turned to Colin. "Come with me, I guess," she said.

"If you're uncomfortable, I can call for a taxi," he told her once they were alone in the kitchen. "It's no trouble." Then he tossed her a smirk and said, "After all, I have four younger sisters. I know how managing they can be."

Penelope studied him for a moment, giving herself time to decide. She knew two of his sisters, Eloise and Francesca, quite well and given everything that had transpired in the last fifteen minutes, she still felt comfortable in his presence.

"Come along," she said. "I think I still have some stuff my ex left here that you can wear." She paused and asked, "Assuming you don't have anything against wearing vegan, cruelty free clothing."

Colin paused and tilted his head, giving her a confused look. "Is there really such a thing?" he asked.

"According to my ex there is," she replied and then cringed. She and Alfred, never Alfie, Debling had been broken up for six months and here she was talking about him like a love sick fool. She stopped suddenly on the stairs and turned to face Colin, who was two steps behind her, but they were nearly face to face because of the difference. "I'm not hung up on my ex. I just like facts and facts are easy."

Colin tilted his head again and she wasn't sure if she found it adorable or annoying. "I like facts, too," he finally said.

Penelope took a breath, nodded her head and then continued up the stairs. She unlocked her apartment door and then stepped aside to let him in.

"The bathroom is right there," she pointed to one of the few doors in the apartment. "I'm afraid all of my stuff is rather girly," she apologized. "But you're welcome to use any of it."

"It's better than strawberry coulis, I'm sure," Colin said. "The clothes?"

"Oh right," she said and then, because it was established they both liked facts, added, "I know I said they were my ex's, but I bought them on sale and then we broke up, so they were never actually his. It was just too late to return them."

—

Colin tried not to look, but he found it impossible not to as Penelope got down on her hands and knees to pull a box out from under her bed.

She had a nice ass.

He'd noticed it on the stairs and had been caught completely off guard when she'd spun around suddenly. If she'd caught him staring, she hadn't said anything.

"I know they're here somewhere," she said, her ass in the air as she searched.

Colin opened his mouth to respond, but wasn't sure what one was supposed to say in such a situation.

'Take your time' seemed indecent, especially since his eyes kept going to her butt.

'I'm in no rush' was a lie, he could feel the stickiness on the back of his neck.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "Found them!"

Colin watched as she shoved the box back under her bed. Then he quickly averted his gaze as she stood up and made her way to him.

"Here you go," she said, holding them out. "And you can just keep them. I don't have any use for them."

"Thank you," he replied. Then gestured to the bathroom. "I'll just…"

"Oh yes, of course," she said. "And I'll change, too. But over there." She pointed to an old-fashioned privacy screen. "Uh, enjoy your shower." Then she cringed.

"Thanks," he said before giving her what he hoped was a friendly smile.

He went into the bathroom and closed the door.

He gotten as far as removing his shirt when there was a knock.

"I, uh, have a bag for your clothes," she said from the other side.

Colin glanced at himself in the mirror and then decided 'why the hell not' and opened the door.

—

Penelope had expected him to just open the door enough to accept the bag, but when he opened it fully and revealed his chests, she visibly swallowed.

Her eyes traveled up from his trim waist, up to his toned pecs and, finally, up to his face. Where she saw a heated look staring back at her.

"Here's the bag," she said quickly and then hurried away from the door, wishing like hell that she didn't live in a studio apartment.

A second later, the bathroom door closed and she waited until she heard the water turn on before she made her way to the antique privacy screen.

There was a wicked part of her brain that told her to just barge into the bathroom and kiss Colin Bridgerton and give into the desire that was evidently building between them. But the cautious side of her brain, the part that had been ever present and nagged while she was dating Alfred, told her to proceed with caution.

There was no unease, she realized as she changed clothes. When she'd dated Alfie, as Felicity loved to call him these days, there had been a sense of unease at every turn.

They'd only dated for less than a year, but he'd constantly been asking her to change herself and her world while expecting her to accept him exactly as he was. The turning point had come when he'd all but demanded she abandon her grandmother's tried and true recipes and convert the bakery to an exclusively vegan and gluten free one.

That's when she had realized that she would never be good enough for him. There would always be parts of her life that he'd expect her to change to please him. That she wasn't good enough just being herself.

Stepping out behind the privacy screen, Penelope studied the bathroom door. While she'd only just met Colin, she knew about him and his family. While Eloise hadn't spoken a lot about her family, per say, they'd been classmates from the ages of 11 to 18 and she could recall a story or two about the Bridgerton older brothers.

—

Strawberry coulie free, Colin stepped out of the bathroom wearing the gifted joggers and hoodie. They were a little loose on him, but otherwise were comfortable.

Feeling eyes on him, he looked up and caught Penelope looking at him. When her cheeks started to redden, he tilted his head and studied her.

"Why do you do that?" she asked him. "Tilt your head when you look at me?"

"I dunno," he said. "I didn't even realize I was doing it. I guess, I just find you intriguing."

"Is that a good thing?" she asked him. She hadn't moved from her position about ten feet away from him.

"Yes."

They stood silently for a moment before she gestured to the stairs. "I suppose we should go help our sisters."

They made their way back down the stairs, but instead of finding their sisters, they found a note on the workbench.

Penelope read it and then handed it to him.

Pen,

Daphne forgot she had dinner plans with her husband tonight and I have a date. You and Colin will need to finalize the flavors tonight. The party is next week.

Felicity

"This has Daphne written all over it," Colin accused. "I'm sorry about this. My sister is happily married and thinks everyone else should be too."

"Don't blame your sister entirely," Penelope said, shaking her head. "Felicity isn't innocent in this."

"Younger sisters, am I right?" Colin echoed his sentiment from earlier, which had the desired effect, making Penelope smile. "Tell me how I can help."

—

"Tell me how I can help," Colin's voice reverberated in her mind.

Alfie had never offered to help. Not even when the shop was in a rush and he was waiting for her to close for the day. He'd just sit at the table in the corner and read.

Propelled by some source within her, Penelope closed the difference, wrapped her arm around Colin's neck and pulled his face towards hers and kissed him. It took a second, but soon his arms were around her and he was kissing her back.

It was the first kiss she had always dreamed of and more.

She saw fireworks.

She felt sparks.

But more than anything, she felt wanted.

When they finally broke apart, Colin rested his forehead against hers and they stared at each other while they caught their breath.

—

One Year Later

"Colin!" Penelope shrieked as he dipped his finger into the strawberry coulis. "That's for your mum's cake!"

"She'll never know," he replied before he licked finger clean.

He knew that Penelope knew that he knew she was watching his tongue closely as he cleaned his finger.

"Colin," she said in a faux warning tone.

"Penelope," he replied in a mocking tone.

Then he grinned and dipped his finger again, this time he held it out to her.

Her eyes met his and he tilted his head, daring her to join his game.

His mother's party was until tomorrow evening, which meant he could help Penelope decorate the cake, and make more coulis, in the morning.

"Penelope," he said in a seductive tone.

"Colin," she replied in the same tone. Then she took his hand and licked the strawberry coulis off his finger, swirling her tongue in the devastating manner that she knew would completely undo him.

"You have five minutes to clean up," he told her once she released his finger. "And then I'm either taking you on the workbench or carrying you upstairs."

She only needed four and they left a trail of clothing going up the stairs.

#colin bridgerton x penelope featherington #colin x penelope #polin #polin fanfic #polin fanfiction #bridgerton modern au #becca writes drabbles

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kittydemon9000 · 4 years ago

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Okay so I was thinking about ToE and had ideas to add for my Not Today Destiny AU(tl:dr, Kai keeps Lloyd’s Green Ninja status secret from everyone and how canon is affected from there)

Also, before we get into it, because there was no Overlord messing with tech, THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE! I am fully subscribed to the theory that the Overlord messed with it in order to split the team up, and it’s stupid that it worked. So no Love Triangle and no Jay Cole Fight. That’s important later.

ANYWAY, with Zane not dead they’d be a bit less desperate to go to the island, and without that incentive of keeping quiet they’d probably immediately go talk to Wu about this weird invite and the fact that other Elemental Masters existed.

Wu would fill them in, explain how Chen was definitely up to something, which has them all go in the first place, and Nya and Wu agree to stay behind to watch Lloyd and defend against Garmadon.

How does this exactly tie into this AU? Well, there were two extra letters sent, one to Kai and Lloyd respectively.

Lloyd’s letter explained how he was also being invited, and if he won he would be awarded some info about his mom. Lloyd knows the ninja would never let him go, so he opts to sneak there and then explain. Better to ask apologies than permission. But don’t worry, he left a note for Nya and Wu

Meanwhile, Kai’s explains how they have found knowledge of who the Green Ninja is, and if he wins he’ll get that info and can do whatever he wants with it.

These two are connected and also important later.

They go to the boat, Nya gets them some hidden trackers to be safe, Kai is secretly freaking out since “How the heck does Chen know???” and then Lloyd sneaks on too. Now, at first everyone just thinks Lloyd is just really short and keeps to himself. It’s not until they land and get to the main room that it finally clicks to Kai that it’s Lloyd when Chen points him out as the Master of Energy.

He of course, is very not happy that Lloyd is here and makes that very well known. The other ninja are equally unhappy while the rest of the EM’s are given a slight Moral Dilemma since yes they want to win, but that means there’s a chance of them fighting a literal child(it’s been….almost a year since they first met Lloyd so he’s about 10 right now).

Lloyd’s room is next to Kai’s, just on the other side so he still shares a balcony space with Skylor. Maybe one of the other EM’s finds Lloyd desperately looking for a Jade Blade and “accidentally” drops it so he can pass.

Later when Karlof is dropped through the floor more than a few cast a glance over to Lloyd, each silently dreading who will have to go against him. Nobody comments when Kai holds Lloyd close and if anyone saw Lloyd sneaking into Kai’s room that night, they didn’t say anything.

It’s that night when Lloyd explains why he came, which makes Kai panic even more. On one hand, he cannot let anyone else find out about Lloyd’s Destiny. But on the other….Lloyd could finally get answers for what happened to his mom unlike Kai who has no idea what happened to his parents

So yeah. Not a fun time.

But it only gets worse from there.

You see, at first each of the ninja let out a silent sigh of relief when they learned they wouldn’t have to fight Lloyd.

Wellllllllll since there’s no Love Triangle and no fighting between Cole and Jay, Chen has no reason to pit them against each other to further split up the ninja.

What he does instead? Changes things so instead it’s Kai vs Lloyd

Now, it’s plainly obvious to everyone that those two are very close, so they’re not looking froward to this next fight at all. Camille honestly isn’t sure if this is better or worse than if she had to go against him

At first, their fight is mostly a verbal one, trying to get the other to take the Jade Blade, with only the occasionally very wide shot to try and herd the other toward the Blade. At some point Kai ends up physically picking up Lloyd and trying to carry him over to the Jade Blade, yelling about how Lloyd has a chance to find his mom and he shouldn’t that up, but Lloyd is fighting him and immediately yells back that he doesn’t want to find her at the cost of his Big Brother and god if that isn’t a knife in the heart of the other EMs.

But Chen, being the bastard he is, decides this is boring because it’s going no where and release the bikes like canon, and then these two fight like a well oiled machine.

But ofc, we can’t have nice things and the arena starts falling apart.

And Kai….as much as he’s terrified of Lloyd’s Destiny, he even more terrified of loosing Lloyd.

So with a bright smile and a good luck wish, he jumps.

That night when Chen takes away their rooms as punishment, none of them can be mad. They don’t comment either when the remaining ninja drag two of the bunk beds together a curl up around Lloyd. Instead of splitting them apart, it only lets them know that Chen is not their friend. He sees all of this as a game, going as far as to lure a child here with promises of finding his mother and making him fight the family he has left.

This actually makes their Elemental Alliance work out better this time.

(Also this time Jay fought Ash, then Cole fought Camille(I’m also 99% sure the skating thing was just another attempt to split them up, so again it’s kinda useless here).

Meanwhile Kai does not have a fun time. Clouse is upset since 1) the plan was for Lloyd to be the one to loose, either by Kai winning or making Lloyd fall, since because he’s the green ninja he’s bound to be powerful and 2) because Skylor got attached to this stranger and Chen ordered him to make Kai useful to them. So now he’s trying to keep a very annoying, very loud prisoner while waiting from the Master of Mind to be captured so he can use those powers to make Kai more docile.

Unfortunately, a side affect of Kai being as loud and obnoxious as possible means he spends a lot of his time knocked out, so he has no idea how long he’s been stuck under or if any of his family are stuck under here too. At the very least he shares a wall with Karlof who tries his best to fill him in(when he learns who Kai was made to fight he also gets pretty pissed).

Later when they’re all dropped from the plane, all of them are quick to make sure Lloyd has a parachute. This time the objective is to a “Safe Zone,” but there’s only enough for four of them. However, the Safe Zones are, unsurprisingly, traps and there’s enough for everyone. Once you step in one, it descends, then vengestone cuffs fly out and trap the Master inside.

Skylor ends up finding Lloyd and offers to help him look for one. They end up talking and joking, Lloyd saying how Kai has an enormous crush on her and kept trying to impress her, but Lloyd thought she was good and would like Kai if they didn’t need to fight each other, which accidentally slams her with guilt.

Some how she ends up slipping, maybe by accidentally revealing how she knows the locations/number of traps and Lloyd realizes she’s the spy which crushes him. He tries to fight her but she just pushed him onto the trap.

Going to the small cult area below, the remaining EMs are brought together. They try their best to keep Lloyd protected but he’s brought to the front anyway. Lloyd asks if they even knew about his mom, to which Chen reminisces about a woman they meet a few years ago who was stealing from them and how they stole some of her things, but they were mostly worthless. They honestly have no idea where she is, which just makes Lloyd mad.

Mad these people tricked him. Mad these people had the audacity to pretend to know his mom. Mad these people made Kai sacrifice himself for him.

However, they weren’t lying About having met Misako. That’s actually how they found out about the whole “Lloyd Being The Green Ninja” thing

But anyway. Chen steals their powers, Skylor is having a moral dilemma, and they start getting ready to Make Trouble in the Noodle Factory

Only this time when they go to steal the staff, they now have to fight Kai.

Only this time for real.

This is the replacement for the Staff Scene. Because of his affect under the Staff Kai…..isn’t really there. Like, he’s just a blank puppet. There’s the tiniest amount of emotion, but his eyes look empty.

At some point the staff goes flying and it turns into a mental tug of war between Clouse commanding Kai and Lloyd and the others trying to get through to him. Lloyd is luckily able to get to Kai enough for him to smash the jewel, releasing the EM powers and the control on him. It gives him the worst headache though.

And from there, canon is mostly the same for a while. The whole time this has been going on Zane has been having dreams/nightmares about an Ice Dragon and finally makes the connection to unlock it. Skylor is still captured, Chen still escapes but now Clouse is still around, Pythor is captured, TIME FOR THE END

This time around, the EMs are able to follow Chen to their base of operations and have the final battle there. They fight, and even though they’re only partially Anacondrai, they’re still hard to fight.

Clouse tries to do the whole “Banish You To the Departed Realm” thing, but accidentally summons the Anacondrai Generals as well, who are very not happy over what these humans are doing.

And yeah. That’s what I got.

I might do more in depth posts for some of the other seasons, not sure. But feel free to ask or submit ideas of your own

#if you cant tell #ToE is my favorite season #but at the same time #i love to change it #Not Today Destiny #info dump #kai #kai smith #lloyd #lloyd garmadon #tournament of elements #ninjago #long post

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thinkingisadangerouspastime · 4 years ago

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hi! i really like your posts and recently i came across some anti kataang arguments and i would like to see your opinion on that (if you want to answer because you must be very tired of answering those lol)

“i remember perfectly aang forcing himself into katara. not only once, but a lot of times. in that talk they were having during the play it was one of the moments aang was intrusive”

“i saw people saying that katara was jealous of aang with that kids in kyoshi island, which she obviously was not. she was annoyed at them”

“kataang had no development. it feels like a ship made out of nowhere”

“aang is completely obsessed with the idea of katara being his. proof is that episode were the guru tells him he has to let go of her and he choses to break the connection. it’s like: look what i did for you, you should stay with me. aang learning to let go would have been a evolution for his character”

“making them stay together in the end just because aang is the protagonist and has to stay with the girl is boring and adds nothing to the plot”

“he spend years after a girl that never felt the same for him”

hi anon! im very flattered you like my posts 🥰💛 and you’re not wrong that sometimes it gets a lil tiring addressing anti kataang arguments, but that’s because 90% of them are the same foolish rhetoric dressed up in a different costume, lol. i finally have some free time, so i’ll take a stab at these for you!

“i remember perfectly aang forcing himself into katara. not only once, but a lot of times. in that talk they were having during the play it was one of the moments aang was intrusive”

not gonna lie, this particular “argument” made me crack up laughing because they “remember perfectly… lots of times” but can only name one instance 😂 like i am on the floor, because trying to get away with that in a formal essay would earn them nothing more than a goose egg. you need evidence to support a claim, which this “claim” has none of. i mean,, when does aang force himself onto katara?? when katara initiates every cheek kiss they share?? when they are mutual participants in several shared hugs?? don’t get me started on DOBS - the Now or Never Kiss that falls under literally requires reciprocation from both parties, lol. but regarding the ever-so-infamous EIP episode they bring up:

This post talks specifically about EIP and the play’s portrayal of Aang and Katara (and how it cannot be used to define their relationship). This post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (i.e. the war itself and the risks the war presents for both of them) and why the EIP kiss did not “ruin” Kataang’s relationship. This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels. This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion. This post explains how Aang did not “threaten” Katara in EIP (with some excellent commentary in the notes, too).

the fact of the matter is that yes, aang overstepped a boundary with katara there. no one has ever contested that because to do so would be to disregard canon, and here’s the thing about kataang shippers: we love atla canon. it gave us everything we wanted and more. (imo, that’s what anti kataangers don’t understand.) the EIP episode can be interpreted as a “low point” for many reasons, but the primary “takeaway” is that the play performed was imperialist propaganda that preyed on the gaang’s insecurities and demeaned them (much to the pleasure of the Fire Nation audience), which had negative consequences, one of which was aang kissing katara largely out of desperation. no one has ever excused that! thus, what i think isn’t clicking with anti kataangers is that aang and katara’s miscommunication in EIP is not a representation of their relationship being doomed to fail. aang made a mistake and immediately backed off without question or hesitation. katara has time to make her own decision and chooses to forgive him. doesn’t it strip more of katara’s agency away to conclude that katara could never ever ever forgive her best friend for a single mistake that - comparatively - could have been a whole lot worse?

(im just saying.)

“i saw people saying that katara was jealous of aang with that kids in kyoshi island, which she obviously was not. she was annoyed at them”

honestly, i have a question for whoever came up with this jfksjdasks. okay, yes, she was annoyed. that’s a given based on her exasperated eye rolls and sighs. but why was katara annoyed with them, hmm?

here’s my thing about katara’s feelings in this ep: jealousy and annoyance are not inherently the same, it’s true. a person can be annoyed without being jealous (obviously). as such, there are essentially two possible interpretations that have validity, although one in my opinion has greater weight in canon:

1. yes, it is possible to interpret katara’s annoyance that episode as being solely related to their delays on kyoshi island. one can reasonably argue that katara’s romantic feelings for aang were not as strong so early in the series (it’s only episode 4, after all, although lbr - she was Looking at aang’s tattoos in episode 1 lmao), and therefore the primary reason she was annoyed at the fangirls is because they were one of the causes extending their stay on the island when katara felt they needed to leave. it’s a fair interpretation.

2. a different and stronger interpretation, in my opinion, is that katara’s irritation was a product of both annoyance at their extended stay and jealousy of the fangirls’ obsession with aang. because here’s the thing about jealousy: it doesn’t have to be some extreme, exaggerated emotion/reaction! when katara gets jealous of on ji in book 3, she makes a single comment about aang and on ji dancing together. when aang gets jealous of jet in book 2 (because of sokka’s teasing), he, too, makes a single comment (i.e. that it would be a bad idea for katara to kiss jet). i bring these two moments up because they explicitly demonstrate within atla canon that reactions of jealousy do not have to be dramatique and outrageous, à la zuko throwing ruon-jian across the room in book 3, lmao. jealousy can be simple! kept to oneself! as such, katara’s disgruntled manner in that episode - which, might i add, is largely if not only shown in reaction to aang with the fangirls - can certainly be interpreted as a quieter form of jealousy akin to several other moments within canon.

more than that, however, if the writers did not at all want jealousy to be an interpretation on the table… why on earth would they have bothered to mention jealousy as a possibility? here’s the relevant excerpt from the episode transcript:

Koko: [Stomps her foot in annoyance and puts her hands on her hips, while another girl happily waves at Aang; irritated.] What’s taking you so long, Aangy?

Cut back to Aang and Katara; the former enthusiastically waves back at his awaiting fangirls, while the latter raises an eyebrow at the scene.

Katara: [Slightly mocking.] Aangy…

Aang: [Enthusiastically.] Just a second, Koko!

Katara: [Sarcastic.] “Simple monk,” huh? [Annoyed.] I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn’t go to your head.

Aang: It didn’t. You know what I think? You just don’t want to come because you’re jealous.

Katara: [Close-up; angrily.] Jealous? [More high pitched voice.] Of what?

Cut to a broader shot. Aang moves back slightly, when an irritated Katara resumes to ferociously stuff the basket with more fruits.

Aang: Jealous that we’re having so much fun without you.

Katara: [Irritated.] That’s ridiculous.

(sidebar, but can i just say that seeing “ferociously stuff” to describe putting fruits away is arguably the funniest thing i’ve ever read sjkdhsjalks)

to me, this excerpt alone all but proves katara’s irritation is a mixture of annoyance at the girls’ (and aang’s) behavior/their delayed departure and jealousy regarding how the fangirls’ fawn over aang. katara clearly demonstrates frustration at aang’s seeming lack of concern for their time crunch and how he’s letting his status get to his head (and remember, y’all: this is very early book 1 aang, he’s barely begun to truly reconcile what it means to be the avatar and the last airbender, which is understandable and a-okay! can’t have growth if he doesn’t start somewhere!). that checks out. but next thing you know, katara’s reaction proceeds to dramatically heighten when aang teases the idea of jealousy to her. again: why include this moment if jealousy was never on the table whatsoever as an interpretation for her feelings of irritation? why make katara’s response intensify so strongly if she’s not jealous even a little bit?

in sum, while i don’t think katara’s aggravation is solely fueled by jealousy, the episode itself points to jealousy as at least a part of it. simple!

“kataang had no development. it feels like a ship made out of nowhere”

this take screams willful ignorance, like did they even watch the whole show?? it’s not worth addressing over and over, ngl.

This post and this post explain how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series. This post explains how Aang consistently supported Katara throughout the series. This post demonstrates how Kataang is literally ingrained in every episode.

“aang is completely obsessed with the idea of katara being his. proof is that episode were [sic] the guru tells him he has to let go of her and he choses [sic] to break the connection. it’s like: look what i did for you, you should stay with me. aang learning to let go would have been a evolution for his character”

“completely obsessed” h e l p i weep for the lack of brain cells 😭 it is so hard to just say “kataang isn’t my cup of tea” and go?? seriously?? i thought we were past making stuff up to support shipping agendas. lord help us. real quick:

This post explains how Aang never acted like he was “entitled” to Katara’s affections. This post explains how Katara and Aang do not “idolize” each other. This post and this post talk about Aang’s chakra being blocked and unblocked, and how it had to do with fear, not attachment. This post talks about Aang and the Avatar State, explicitly discussing “The Crossroads of Destiny” and the notion of attachment/letting Katara go.

okay, let’s take this claim one sentence at a time:

“the guru tells him [aang] he has to let go of her [katara] and he choses [sic] to break the connection.”

first of all. FIRST OF ALL. can you imagine the hellfire that would have rained down if aang hadn’t chosen to go rescue katara? here is a piece of the episode transcript:

… Right before he is able to completely open the final chakra and master the Avatar State, however, he hears a shriek from Katara and sees a vision of her in chains. At this, he jumps out of the energy sphere and runs away from the Avatar Spirit. The energy bridge that leads him there slowly vanishes behind him until it catches up and falls from underneath him, causing his image to plummet toward Earth. This cuts his connection to the Avatar State, which forces him back to reality.

Aang: Katara’s in danger! I have to go! [Prepares to exit.]

Pathik: No, Aang! By choosing attachment, you have locked the chakra! If you leave now, you won’t be able to go into the Avatar State at all!

Aang hesitates but leaves anyway, leaving Pathik concerned and disappointed.

aang chose to leave because katara was in danger. if he had chosen to stay,, dear god. the vitriol that would have been thrown around. “aang doesn’t really love katara! he chose not to save her!” “aang is so selfish and greedy! he chose power over love!” it’s literally a catch-22. damned if he does leave, damned if he doesn’t leave. #fandomlogic

anyways, yes, sure, aang chose to leave, which at the time broke the connection. he was indeed in avatar state limbo for a Hot Minute. whoop de do.

“it’s like: look what i did for you, you should stay with me.”

logical fallacy: ad hominem, hasty generalization, ∴ not worth our time 💛

“aang learning to let go would have been a [sic] evolution for his character”

i have amazing news for those who perpetuate this take. aang did let her go! he would not have been able to enter the avatar state in COD if he hadn’t! point blank, it is utterly untrue to pretend aang did not “let go” of his attachment to katara. now, im not going to get into the concept of “attachment” here and what it truly meant for aang to have “let katara go” in the book 2 finale (if it was good, bad, etc. etc.). there is a lot of material to work with there that would require like,, an entire post to dig into, if not more. the fact of the matter is that aang did let katara go, and the proof is that he successfully entered the avatar state before azula killed him. the above claim thus sits in complete contradiction to canon and is a moot point.

“making them stay together in the end just because aang is the protagonist and has to stay with the girl is boring and adds nothing to the plot”

“making them stay together” again, is it so hard for someone to just say “kataang isn’t my thing, im gonna stick to fanon pairings, but y’all have fun” i mean that really, really does not seem so difficult to me! also, “making” is a hilarious word to use just because,, atla is a work of fiction. in that respect, the writers “made” everything happen. you cannot escape their sphere of control.

anyways. that’s just funny to me lmao

but no, aang and katara did not get together in a romantic fashion just because aang was the lead male protagonist and katara was the lead female protagonist. i refer back to these posts from earlier:

aang and katara got together because their relationship had been developed since episode 1, duh. reducing their relationship to “lead guy + lead girl” completely disregards the legwork done and the foundation laid for their romantic partnership. like, all someone has to do is rewatch the show 😂 and i hate to break it to whoever created that take, but to say kataang “adds nothing to the plot” again ignores how their relationship is one of the two most important in the show (the other being aang and zuko’s relationship as narrative foils). it is not a cheap coincidence that kataang embodies multiple complementary themes/motifs of atla: push and pull, yin and yang, air and water, oma and shu, etc. etc. their relationship adds emotional depth! how is that not relevant to the plot! atla is a show where just about every relationship is important in some regard (this post touches upon how aang alone transforms all of his friends - think of the bigger picture, then, and how every other dynamic weaves in a crucial thread to create the beautiful tapestry we call atla!).

my point is that kataang is relevant to the plot the way every relationship in atla is, whether or not someone ships/enjoys them. you cannot have a good show without having intimate relationships (emotionally, i mean). can you imagine if someone said zuko and iroh’s relationship wasn’t relevant to the plot?? there is a reason it is such a powerful moment when iroh and zuko reunite in the finale. similarly, there is a reason yue’s sacrifice and sokka’s consequential (and lasting) grief is so poignant. there is a reason it is so heartbreaking when katara and sokka have to leave behind their father at the beginning of tsr. to tie back to kataang, there is a reason it is so hard to watch katara dismiss aang in that same episode. there is a reason so many people are moved when katara pulls aang out of the avatar state when appa is stolen. there is a reason emotional reactions are incited during atla and it is because these relationships are so important!! i don’t care if someone thinks kataang is “boring” - that’s their opinion, they have a right to it. but to insist their relationship wasn’t relevant to the plot? to the story? when in fact it was a key component from episode 1?

are you kidding me?

“he spend years after a girl that never felt the same for him”

“years” lol doesn’t atla take place over the course of a year at most? pretty sure this person didn’t even watch the show 😂 for a third time, i refer to these posts:

i hope i addressed these (nonsensical) arguments to your satisfaction, anon! a lot of them are the same tried-and-failed anti kataang arguments, smh. not to incite new discourse lmao, but it’d be nice if there was at least some variety 😂 thank you again for your kind words, my friend! 💛

#kataang #aang #katara #aanglove #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla analysis #kataangtag #amy answers #anon #amy analyzes

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southslates · 4 years ago

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loving you is a losing game

@kanejweek day three: adventure (outer space) / kanej / pre-canon - one-shot - rated T / read on ao3! / 2076 words

Kaz doesn’t understand himself, his own convictions and the way his heart changes its beat next to Inej. Or rather, he does understand. He’s Dirtyhands, and that’s why he can never let his emotions slide out of the corner of his mind he keeps them hidden in and find a home in his mouth. There is no salvation left to spare for him; not in this life, not in the next. He doesn’t want salvation, anyway.

It's so hard to convince himself that’s true in moments like this. Inej is on her stomach next to him, her arm an inch away from his. Despite the way he finds air rising out of his lungs when his gaze loiters on her for too long, her skin disgusts him as much as any other. There are no exceptions to his special kind of hell. He would do so much to beat this illness of the mind, but there is nothing left for him to do.

“You said he’d be here by now,” he growls at her, keeping his face turned away from her hooded features, staring at the street and breathing in, and then out, keeping his mind and body at ease. He has a job to do—a vase to lift—and he cannot be distracted, he cannot be distracted, he cannot—

Kaz grits his teeth. He will not look at Inej and see the stars above illuminate her features in the most dangerous of ways, like a temptation. He cannot do this, he cannot do this, he remembers Imogen. He is Kaz Brekker and he has done so much to make himself a myth but this he cannot do. He has acknowledged this as his weakness.

And if it is his weakness, she is too, by extension.

“Stoepker has been on time every day for the past week,” she says quietly. “It would just be unlucky. We should go back to the Slat, it’s too late now, anyway.”

Unlucky, it’s unlucky. Kaz had looked into the Emerald Palace through the roof while he and Inej had scaled the rooftops to lead them to the Stoepker residence and seen Petjer Stoepker playing at the tables, light in his eyes and a brunette on his arm. He’d known the man wouldn’t be here—he had downed far too many drinks to even fathom walking the stretch to his mansion in the dark. He and Inej needed Stoepker to come home so they could sneak into his upstairs safe in the moment in took him to deactivate the trip wires around his garden. The job wasn’t supposed to be hard.

They could have gone back to the Slat two hours ago, when the sun had just dipped below the wintery horizon. He could have sat at his desk and kept on going through the reports fucking Per Haskell kept delegating to him while Inej went down to spend time with Jesper or sat silently at his window.

But he hadn’t. He’d known Stoepker wouldn’t come back and yet he’d forced her to stay like this next to him, just a hand’s width apart on a freezing rooftop, silent, just so he could feel her presence next to him, just so he could be next to her and tempt himself, so he could turn to her and not his paperwork. He feels distinctly stupid, and something else blossoms in his chest. He sighs and slides off the roof. Inej follows, lithe and agile with her good legs.

“Back to the Slat,” she questions, and he nods. What else is there to do? There’s always more work. Not that he doesn’t enjoy his work, the brick-by-brick. He wants something more, but he doesn’t even know what that is.

He slides till the end of the roof and then grabs his cane next to him. He doesn’t trust himself to scale Ketterdam’s roof in the pitch-dark, especially the day after a snow. Kaz doesn’t need to break his other leg. Though Inej doesn’t have to, she joins him, feet touching the ground without noise to the ear. He can feel her steps reverberate through his chest. And then something else.

He turns to her in the dark, and he can feel the blush rise to her cheeks. “I’m a bit hungry,” she admits. “Nina said we could get waffles in the middle of night. I’m late to meet her, but Jesper has probably already told her we’re out.”

Of course he’s the monster, the boy with hands caked with blood who takes her away from her good friends—the sassy heartrender who can pull her close, the flirty sharpshooter who can kiss her cheek. Kaz is jealous of Nina and Jesper, and he knows why. He can and will have everything but what they have with Inej.

He doesn’t mean to say it. He means to let her go, to tell her to meet Nina, to erase his chapter in her night. It’s what he would do if he was a better man. Instead he says, “The Finch Inn serves hutspot into the night,” and gestures for her to follow him with a glare.

Kaz Brekker is a terrible man. He can give Inej nothing, but he wants to take so much regardless. It’s a strange sort of weakness that has him lead her to the first place he ate in Ketterdam, treasure to a newly minted orphan. Perhaps a small part of him wants to erase those memories he had with Jordie, write her smile and laugh and goodness into that crevice of his mind. He is such a terrible man.

Kaz takes kruge out of his pocket and accepts two bowls of hutspot, placing one in Inej’s hand. She winces when the bowl touches her with a small huff of air he wants to spend the rest of his life daydreaming about, and he takes it back. He can’t feel the heat through his gloves.

They walk outside of the inn. Kaz means to walk back to the Slat with her, but Inej side-eyes their surroundings closely before nodding him towards a small alley. He follows her—he follows nobody, he is his own person, not some sort of obedient dog—he follows her onto a rickety fire escape on the side of the building. Inej scales to the top and reaches to grab the bowls from his hand so he can regrip his cane properly.

She looks into his eyes for a moment, and keeps his face straight, cruel, he’s good at that. She is never disparaged from even his worse glares, and he makes the step up.

The roof of the Inn is a bit clunky, but he navigates himself upon it well enough. Inej is seated near the chimney, as though it is warm, and he drags himself on the other side of it. This is good. There are feet between them, and their hands do not touch as she passes him her bowl.

“Thank you,” she says to him as she takes a bite, stares into the distance of the sky. She is watching the Kerch stars, shining in this dark winter night, and he is watching her. He cannot stare at the heavens, lest he be reminded that the distance between the stars is the same as the space between him and everything he wants and can never have. Her.

Kaz says nothing, just takes a bite of his own hutspot. It’s warm, a nice contrast to the chill that he is now feeling keenly in his bad leg. He refuses to groan, simply stays silent as Inej stares off into the distance. He will not ask her to start a conversation, he cannot.

“My mother used to show me constellations,” she begins, his little Suli idealist, this girl with all her hope and her stories. She reminds him of a little boy who loved omelet stands, who didn’t understand the true evil of this city of greed. “They were clearer in Ravka, when the caravans stopped in the woods. They’re so hard to see here.”

He wants more. He wishes she would laugh, he doesn’t know why. “Ravka is heavily under-industrialized. It’s why in the long-term they’ll lose the war.”

She turns to glare at him, but he can tell it’s lacking severity. He knows when Inej is truly angry at him. He’s seen the look in her eyes when he raises his voice or kills too quickly. She knows he always has his reasons, so he doesn’t understand why she acts shocked every time. She cannot still have faith in him like her precious Suli constellations.

“You’re so grim, Kaz,” she complains. “They’re beautiful.”

“They’re lights in the sky,” he says, looking at her. “Made of small amounts of metal and gases. They are terrifying.”

“How do you know all these things?” Inej asks him. “You haven’t gone to university. You know about the stars and you do maths.”

“I learn myself,” he shrugs, gives her a truthful answer. “It comes easy.”

“You are infuriating. You and the way your mind works. Shevrati,” she calls him. He hopes that is affection under her voice. He has no idea where he stands with Inej, just that even he cannot fathom the depths of himself. The depths of his desire—

That is not a thought he will finish. It is not. “I could say the same about you and your saints,” he says.

Inej shifts up against the roof. “My mother once said the stars would lead me home.”

Something cruel wants to bite its way up through Kaz’s throat. The stars watched as you were taken on a slaver’s ship and at the Menagerie. Stop having faith in these stars, in these pretty words. They are meaningless, Inej. There is just you on your feet and your knives and your vengeance. That is all. He bites it down. Inej is not him, Inej is better than him. He cannot be anything for her, but he can be better than Dirtyhands.

“Keep your eyes on the stars, then,” he says, his mouth closing around his last bite, setting the plate next to him on the roof. “Perhaps they, of all things in this world, will be unpredictable.” His words bite with sarcasm, but they are not cruel.

Inej sets her own bowl down too. “Thank you,” she repeats again, and then turns to face him, that gaze which had been observing galaxies. “Do you know much about the stars?”

“I know they’re balls of gas. They’re nothing mythical, like your sun summoners and shadow summoners would have you think. If we got close, I’d think durasts could have their fun with them.”

“It’s nice to pretend,” she says with a flush of her cheeks. “You could pretend, Kaz.”

“Pretend what, Inej?” he doesn’t need to say her name but he does, hoping she doesn’t catch the way his mouth shapes her name, like a benediction. “Pretend like your prayers go to some mythical powers beyond the sky? There is nobody watching over me.”

“You’re wrong,” Inej says. “You could pretend that balls of light floating in the sky are sacred. What’s stopping you?”

“Presence of mind.”

“Sometimes I hate you,” Inej says, absentmindedly. He knows she is joking and he doesn’t know why that still stings. He cannot say the same back. He cannot even press a lie that Inej is not important to him to his lips. He is ridiculous.

“I paid for your dinner, Ghafa,” he says. She giggles a bit at that, laying against the chimney, and then fades off. He dares to look at her again and sees her leaning against the heat, her eyes half-closed in a strange smile.

“That you did, Kaz.” She says his name so often when he speaks. He’s not sure why—perhaps it’s something she does in Suli, and she is unused to Kerch language. He thinks about teaching her how to read on his floor almost a year ago, and he wants to kill into silence and cut himself out of this sky. He’s Kaz Brekker, he needs to be better than this.

They should go. He has work to do, she should meet Nina and Jesper. They should go, but they don’t. They sit on the Inn and stare at the stars in the distance together until the sun carves itself over the horizon and reminds Kaz that this cannot be his story.

#kanej #kanej week #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #six of crows #grishaverse #shadow and bone

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shuxjodie · 4 years ago

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Let's talk GOSHO AOYAMA'S POV For Movie 18' Promise (Canon or Not)!!!

What this post will cover-

The Explanation of Movie18 promise

Why Jodie is different from other agents? Answered with the reference taken from this promise.

Shuichi's current feelings for Jodie as a conclusion

The explanation that why there are High possibilities that the promise is Canon by what Gosho said about this movie in his interview.

NOTE: It's going to be a long post! Because I'm going to explain every single thing in detail. Well there is a treat awaiting for Redstarling fans too 😉

So first let's take a look at the scene of Promise. This is the scene of the Detective Conan Movie: Dimensional Sniper👇

They say this scene is not canon. But really?? If this is canon, then why? What are its possibilities that it is Canon? Let's keep in mind that this Movie is different from the movies that were previously made (It is explained later). And rather than going with the general idea of "movies are not canon" let's see what Gosho said himself regarding this movie!

Before that, let's break down what Shuichi promised Jodie and what he exactly meant.

Explanation of The Promise

The promise is made in a technical manner. So we need to understand the promise using technical knowledge. It's not what it looks like.

So what Shuichi said there?

"Don't worry. As long as I'm around, you will NEVER have to do something like that. I PROMISE."

First of all, I thought the same as many think that Shuichi said that because Jodie is unable to shoot a shot like that. But the promise is more than that.

To understand the whole situation, let's have a look at Jodie's shooting skills.

Jodie's skills as a shooter

If we compare what kind of shooter she is, it turns out to be that she is an extremely high skilled shooter! (And I will be using reference from specifically Manga not anime)

Jodie threw Vermouth's gun by shooting at it, faster than her. She is good at aiming by taking decisions within a fraction of seconds. This is a sign of a very well-trained agent.

Jodie threw the gun away without harming Vermouth, at that sudden moment. Although she was interrogating her, she grasped the situation quickly and reacted accordingly.

Jodie was able to shoot at her even when she was injured, and almost got killed ( Conan said that while talking to Vermouth and explaining why he changed his plans). Still, she had the confidence to give the warning that her next target will be Vermouth's head. Jodie would have shot at her head to save her life and other people's life involved in that case, because there was no other way around. But she stopped because her attention went towards the footsteps approaching her and she thought it's over but that footstep turned out to be Shuichi's.

Jodie shot at Vermouth's shoulder only to threaten her even when she was heavily panting, not in the condition to move either but used most of her strength to hide in the blind spot and still she shot her in that worse condition. She didn't miss the shot by harming Vermouth more. The bullet could have penetrated through her shoulder or any other part of her body, maybe hitting the vitals but it just passed aside. It was certainly a good shot to threaten. And she could have missed the shot by aiming in the wrong direction. But she made that shot successfully.

In the Kir arc, she shot very well at the sprinklers using the silencer. And she moved silently so no one noticed. Kir only noticed the sound of the sprinkler, not her moves.

Conan was caught by Kir when he was trying to retrieve the transmitter. So, Jodie was ready to shoot at Kir, to save Conan. In manga many people were around Kir, running here and there to get away from the rain. And it started to rain for real. But still, she was prepared to save Conan. It was a risky shot as people are around, running here and there.

In fact, her debut was made as she is a great shooter. Gosho can't show us actual shooting but video games and if you remember she was able to use her left hand to shoot.

And she never made a mistake while shooting.

Now one needs to complete their bachelor's degree to enroll into the FBI. Jodie must be atleast 22y by then. They need the experience of 3years. Then they have to give physical and written test followed by a background check. And after passing it they go through an intense training of more than 800 hours in Quantico. After spending 20weeks there, they get into the FBI. So she must be 25-26 years at that time. After joining it, they have a probationary period of around 2 years where they practically do nothing but observe and learn under under their assigned training agents. So she completed all these by 27-28years. And now she is 28y/o. So with less than a year of experience she did a great job!

CONCLUSION:

Jodie is extremely good at short-range shooting.

She can take decisions in less than a second and make a clear shot.

She can pull a headshot even when she is gravely injured, to the point of unable to move.

With less than a year of experience, she did a great job!

So let's keep all these points in mind as I will be using them many times.

Shuichi's promise and breaking it into fragments-

Now why Shuichi said that Jodie will NEVER have to do something dangerous like pulling a headshot, unless he is around while making the promise? She doesn't need him in the short-range shooting. She can handle things as she did at the port. She is a pro! Then why?

What did he mean with that slight smiling reaction he gave? So, let's break down his body language.

Shuichi's promise can be interpreted in these 5 ways-

1. He is a better agent and sniper. He is more confident and experienced. But-

Jodie is a highly skilled short-ranged shooter, who can pull a head shot when gravely injured. So basically she doesn't need his help in short-range shooting including dangerous things.

She doesn't like to do things without making efforts on her own either, which means she trusts herself and is very confident. That means she gives her best too!

But still, Shuichi promised her. That means he doesn't want her to get tensed about these dangerous things. He will take care of long-range, short-range or any dangerous things on his own. He promised her and this shows a sign that she can rely on him every time.

2. She won't have to kill someone facing the killer/target putting herself in dangerous situations.

There is a very high possibility that the opposition can have weapons too. Her chances of getting killed will always be there. That's why it's a dangerous job!

"Face the target HEAD-ON and aim for the tip of their nose"

That is advised by the best shooter/sniper of the DC world.

Well, it's the same strategy used in real life. Imagine the T shape between the head and nose and aim at the horizontal line of the letter. It's a perfect kill that the target won't get a microsecond to think or act! So it's very dangerous for the one who is aiming to. Because it gives a chance of killing and getting killed. This T strategy is shared by an ex infantryman of the army 👇

So her life will be at risk.

But she is willing to take risks-

Jodie faced Vermouth. The FBI didn't have much idea about her as Shuichi never saw her before but he confirmed on the port. And they were attacking each other face to face.

In the clash of Red and Black, Jodie decided to dispose of the bomb, on her will. James initially asked Shuichi to dispose of the bomb in a vacant area because he wasn't confident either, but Jodie came forward and took the job.

Jodie is willing to risk her life for Shuichi. In the mall, she knew BO men were waiting to kill Shuichi but she didn't waste a single second and ran to save him.

But still, Shuichi promised her. When he used "Never", he meant both long-range and short-range. That means he is not willing to risk her life at any cost. He doesn't want to lose her.

He will do anything and everything to save her life. Even with the endless and enormous amount of several uncertainties, he is not willing to risk her life at any cost, since it's a promise!

3.She won't have to do a dirty job and take responsibility.

Before I proceed, let me point out, Jodie can take responsibilities-

Vermouth asked her whether she has permission to use the gun in Japan. And she said she was going to accept all the charges anyways and was prepared to face them.

It's very hard to accept that this woman won't take any responsibility.

If you would look at it, killing a culprit is not as simple as it sounds. It comes with loads of responsibilities along with so many rules. If not justified, then they will face punishments and charges, even worse, it can cost their job. They can be called murderers.

Unlike soldiers who are prepared to kill men in masses, FBI agents are also prepared but not like them. They have to think before shooting and in worst case- kill, but soldiers shoot to kill. Hence, cannot be compared.

The first attempt of an FBI agent is to stop the culprit. So they shoot to stop the target from escaping. The killing comes afterwards in the worst-case scenario when they have no way around it.

FBI agents are strictly prohibited to kill until the situation demands or/and they get an order. Even when they work undercover, they are forced to obey the rules.

Killing a culprit without orders comes with a huge responsibility. If the action couldn't be justified by rules, the agent might cost their job along with mandatory punishments and charges.

If one is saving their colleague, there are two chances- to kill the opponent or to injure them so that they won't attack any further. It gets really complicated, in situations when all they get are a few seconds to decide. Because by harming, the culprit can be caught and the partner's life will be saved.

So it's a very big responsibility and commitment on a professional level and even on a personal level.

So when Shuichi committed Jodie, that he is willing to kill for her-

He is also willing to take the very huge responsibility at a professional level that will come all along.

The situation becomes worse when they get stuck in a situation when they can't or won't get any further orders.

Even when his top priority is his job because of his personal reasons, he is willing to take responsibility for her.

It's very very less likely that he'll fail but nothing can be taken for granted. He gave his commitment to Jodie when future circumstances are not known to anyone. There are uncountable uncertainties. And this can affect his job.

This proves that Jodie is a very very important person for him so he won't let her compromise her job at any cost because he is willing to take responsibility for her. As he mentioned that he won't let Jodie do anything ever if he is around, so it's a lifetime promise!

Even Gosho never made Shuichi kill anyone. Vermouth as the serial killer escaped him, Kusuda Rikumichi and Scotch committed suicide. Even in M18, he didn't kill the culprit. So to think about it from manga pov it's a very strong and big commitment, which he will fulfil in anyways and by any means.

4. Shuichi is willing to protect and defend Jodie at an emotional level.

As I mentioned before she is highly professional at the short-range shooting. Then why did she hesitate?

This is a very risky job and it's humans' natural tendency to think before acting when their life will be at stake. But that doesn't mean that an FBI agent should back off. They should learn to cope up with fear and do the job. Initially, everyone fears. But with time they learn. Jodie hesitated a little showing the "natural reaction" of any human being to save their life. But she prepared herself when the time came to eliminate the sniper. She remembered what Shuichi said and thought-" I have to do it!" So even if she hesitated, that doesn't mean that she'll never try to do attempt anything dangerous. In Manga, she prepared herself to shoot at Kir even there were people running around her.

Maybe Jodie's past is related somehow. To think about Jodie, she gets sentimental when it comes to killing someone, especially while smiling. But her past was very tragic since her father was burned by a mysterious woman. And at that time she was only 7-8years old so we can't blame her. It must be so traumatic. But now she has a strong and cheerful personality irrespective of the trauma she has faced.

Irrespective of her past, she is very professional and keeps her emotions away from her working space. Even though she has a personal hatred towards Vermouth, the FBI let her carry out the mission on foreign land, without permission. This shows her professionalism and the trust that the FBI put in her.

People get emotional when they face harsh and critical time. It was her worst time when we realised her past, before catching vermouth and about her relationship with Shuichi.

Even after Shuichi's death, she didn't have a mental breakdown. She strongly implied to Camel that the FBI wasn't scared of BO either. This shows she is a very confident woman, who doesn't rely on anyone, is aware of practical things and can deal with things on her own.

And maybe she was hesitant regarding killing someone, like that. Doing a dirty job. Generally speaking, not every FBI officer kills the criminal and they try to avoid killing criminals as much as possible because of rules and regulations and some avoid that for personal reasons but they have to do it when ordered. And along with killing someone, this thought comes along-" If I'll kill them, will I take the CHANCE away from them of having a new and different life? And what if they want to start a new life by accepting the punishment?" This is a very complicated decision and morals and values are the core of our life. That's why it is a very tough decision. Moreover, this is detective Conan in which Gosho never makes any good character to kill ever.

It's very unlikely that the FBI have the mindset of soldiers in war who are trained that way to kill thousands. It can be up to some extent the training of FBI agents is different from soldiers. Soldiers are trained to kill without thinking but FBI agents have to think before killing someone. Here another confession by an ex- infantryman 👇

Killing is not the same for everyone. Some might feel bad and some may not. It varies because of personal reasons, past, the surrounding they grew up etc.

And Shuichi knows Jodie very well without a doubt. He knows how capable she is and only he knows how worse her driving skills are. So, he doesn't want her to kill someone if he is around her. Shuichi is more experienced although he never killed someone, as far as we know.

So he asked her directly and without giving her a second to think, the next moment he promised her.

It's not like he is stopping her to do her job because a mindset to face difficulties is necessary for FBI agents. That's why he said until he is around and situations in which he won't be able to make it. But according to him, it's not that necessary either to let her kill someone if he is around or if he can do whatever he can to help her out.

Let me clear something-

Shuichi doesn't enjoy killing, like Korn and Chianti. They asked gin to let them kill because they carve killing( FBI vs BO part-1,2). Especially Chianti loves to kill.

Shuichi feels proud when he saves the people and threatens or eliminates the opponent, to serve his Nation. Even the best sniper of the (real) world said in his interview that he doesn't hesitate to kill as the opposite side are about to kill his brothers( his teammates, his friends). According to him, it's better to kill the people who can harm his side than to see his people die and their family suffer. That's what an ex infantryman stated-

So Shuichi is very different from BO men.

And by offering Jodie, to the extent of promising, that he'll kill for her, it gotta be really serious. So he is ready to kill on behalf of her which is protecting her physically and mentally.

5. He is willing to protect her life, putting his own life in danger.

With uncountable and enormous uncertainties, no one knows who can fire at him, at what time, from which direction and so on.

It's never just one culprit they will be facing, like the M18 climax. There can be more in number, increasing the level of danger.

He won't get the chance to use sniper always. Using a sniper needs a good place to aim and to find it the place it requires time and he should reach there in time. Jodie can get into trouble in any situation which may or may not be favourable for using a sniper. So he might need to shoot from any range, like short-range, which should be suitable for the situation. After all, he is going to protect her.

There can be a good sniper, that he might be facing as an opponent. So there is this uncertainty of not knowing the capabilities of the opponent too.

The bullet won't spare anyone, not even him or the culprit will not spare him at any cost. If he is aiming from a long-range then not necessarily the bullet won't reach him. And if the opposition is the men of b.o they'll definitely not!

So Shuichi is not willing to lose Jodie at any cost! Even he is ready to sacrifice himself for her life. For her, is willing to face anyone to save Jodie.

So in the trailer, what he said-

Don't make that kind of face. I'll protect you even if I have to give my life.

it turns out to be the same!

For "don't make that kind of face", he used the phrase "Don't worry / Just relax" which he usually uses when he is with Jodie.

So Shuichi is willing to risk/ give up on his own life to save Jodie's life. She is so important to him that he can't imagine risking life at all! Isn't it the reason he promised her?

Some other important points, while Shuichi made this promise-

By promising Jodie, he doesn't mean that he doesn't trust her. While working with agents, one has to trust each other on their skills because it's teamwork. He is well aware of her skills. If he had doubts about her skills, he wouldn't have let her take Haibara to the port. So he trusts her. The promise is all because he worries about her.

The promise is a lifetime promise. Using "never", means shows till he stays alive. Never letting her do anything dangerous is until he retires or if ever needed to do after the job and protection is for a lifetime.

Shuichi promised Jodie as soon as he asked her, just after the moment she hesitated, for like a second. That means he had made his mind way before to protect her no matter what and he'll do dangerous things for her. Because this promise is not some daily chores that he'll promise out of nowhere. The promise just described his feelings in words in front of Jodie during that time.

In the promise, he didn't mention specifically about headshot but he said "something like that" which implies she doesn't have to do anything dangerous like pulling a headshot. So he will do any dangerous activities in which Jodie's life will be at stake or if she will hesitate.

While promising her he said, "until he is around". That means it's not only for the mission but anytime he is around and anything and everything he can do to help her out. He is willing to go out of his way for her.

Just because Jodie hesitated doesn't mean that she will never try to do any dangerous activities. It's a human's natural tendency to think before acting when it comes to risking their own life. FBI agents need to learn things, cope up with pressure and have to act accordingly. Here, it's Shuichi who doesn't want Jodie to get involved in any dangerous activity. This shows his care and the fear of risking her life, which he doesn't want to do at all. Rather he will give up on his own life.

He is a practical and serious-minded person. So if he promised this for a lifetime, he gotta be damn serious. He is willing to anything and everything for her and he will go to the lengths of giving up on his life for her.

Body language. They play a very important role.

A. During that conversation, he looked straight into her eyes twice, even while driving-

While asking if she can do the dangerous things

While making the promise.

This shows his how much he wants to protect her. People look into eyes while saying truth and emphasising it even more. This also shows seriousness. Here Shuichi not only made a promise but made her at ease. She doesn't need to take stress for that.

B. While giving the promise he smiled. Facial expressions are a very important part of body language. And the promise is the most important part because he is talking about something really serious. And while smiling like that he clearly indicates how much important and precious Jodie is to him. He can give his life without a second thought. Well to keep an important person safe, the willingness to give up on his own life shows exactly how important they are- more than one's own life.

And Gosho makes it a very big deal when he smiles. It's rare. It is such a warm side of him to witness from a person who doesn't have a bright personality, considering his personality what James said ( FBI vs BO P-1,2 ch-504,505) and Masumi still believes that he never smiled at. Maybe he never did in those types etc but he does smile at her but she is unaware. So it's a biggie if he smiles at someone. Moreover, he smiled at the promise of risking his own life.

C. While promising, he performed a drastic activity. He pointed his fingers forming a gun at her. Why did he do that?

Showing drastic activity or any different activity from what usually one does in certain situations shows a different state of energy. Here he showed his eagerness and willingness. He didn't need to explain it by pointing at her nose. Generally, anyone can understand where to point if explained well. But he surprised her by showing how difficult the work is and the next second promised her. This shows his unhesitating mindset of sacrificing himself for Jodie.

Surprising Jodie like that had a purpose. Shuichi didn't want her to do anything like that all from the beginning. Understanding where to point, that is at the nose, is no rocket science that is difficult to understand. So he surprised her, showing the level of risk while shooting a headshot, on purpose. She got surprised at the moment which made her hesitate and the next second followed his promise. So surprising her which followed by the promise was on purpose.

This shows their closeness to each other. Shuichi or anyone ( in general) won't point his fingers like that at one who ain't close to him. But he did because it's Jodie after all. One gets more expressive and free to do things with closed ones.

10. The scene is after Vermouth arc, Japan.

Thanks @geissbock ! you can spot important things like Shinichi does! The numberplate used in the scene is Japanese.

It's matches with the time line too- 10 years ago, he was 21-22 as now he is 31-32. There is uncertainty in the age gap by consecutive numbers because we don't know anyone's birthday. So 10 years ago he informed his family in Japan that after 3 years of experience and written tests he can join the FBI. So he must have joined the FBI at the age of around 24-25 years. And Gosho said that he dated Jodie soon after he joined the FBI. Now 5 years ago when he broke up with her, he was around 26-27 since he is 31-32 now and had long hair back then. Now it would be impossible that his hair grew so long, covering his back within a span of a year. Imagine this situation- he promised when he was 25-26( his hair were short)and at 26-27(his hair covered his back) he broke up. And since he used the word "sacrifice" he should have dated for some time to the point of loving her that deeply. So it's impossible that he promised her in NY but he did in Japan.

This proves that Jodie is a very close and important person in Shuichi's life and he cannot afford to lose her even at the cost of his life. Even that, so much has happened between them.

That past wasn't in their favour and nor the present is.

Past involving that he used a very kind-hearted woman for his mission + that woman played all along with him for God knows how long, which must be so terrible even just to think + she risked her own life + did a huge favour for Shuichi's mission when this mission was his personal goal+and she died. Then Shuichi failed his promise which he gave to Shiho back then + Shiho lost her only family. And most importantly Akemi's life purpose didn't fulfil- to take her sister out of BO. Moreover, almost every FBI agents know that he was affected by Akemi's death. This is so complicated!

This means Jodie holds a very important place in his heart and she plays a very important role in his life. His feelings are really at a deeper level for her that he didn't hesitate to promise something so big! Hence the past is not interfering between them up to the extent of him to admit on his own that how much she still means to him! To add more to it, he smiled! Gosho makes a huge deal when he smiles. And it's a promise for a lifetime!

He won't do this for everyone, because he promised only to Jodie.

There will be many agents who are trained and willing and inclined to carry out difficult operations and might hesitate a little. Not necessarily he will always take the charges. Hesitation is a natural tendency, not a sign of never trying to attempt. Everything is done for the first time in the beginning and sure they would have felt nervous. But that doesn't mean they won't do things. It's just a part of learning.

He will take charges when the job comes to the best sniper in the world. He can't take away other's jobs and chances.

He won't go out of his way, that is besides missions to save every FBI agent. He is not everyone's saviour.

In fact, it's impractical to save every FBI agent every time. It's a very risky job to do that can cost lives. He knows the reality very well.

That's why in the clash of Red and Black he suggested not to focus on Esuke's life that much, although he was the one who saved him at the end.

In the recent chapter of the FBI serial murder case, he didn't go to shoot before, while they were trying to capture BO members. He went after, was required to, that is as the best sniper who can shoot for more than 1300yards and saved Camel's life by shooting at the torch while he was literally running.

Now for Jodie, according to his promise-

He won't let her do something dangerous like pulling a headshot, either on a mission or not, in any condition except it's impossible for him to be with her.

He'll protect her no matter what! By physically and mentally.

He is willing to give up in his own life.

So he is willing to stay with her after all, for a lifetime!! By promising this, he gave her the exact picture of how much she is important to him and what she means in his life.

And let me point out very clearly - He is not a jerk who is maintaining this relationship just to work with her. He can work without getting closer and she is highly professional. If he can work with Bourbon who hates him to death( Asaka case and now he is even willing to work with him since he and Yusaku proposed to him something, the Tea party ), he can work with an ex without faking anything. So he ain't faking anything with her and that's not his personality either. So they have to stay in contact and have to work together in future and maybe they will possibly hang out too.

Now, how Jodie should perceive this? What should she think about this promise considering their current relationship and future? His lifetime protection, the friendship, his act of care. How long should she take this and how long she can? Is he implying that he is stuck with his past but doesn't want to leave her either BUT with the condition of being friends? Did they ever decide this?

WHEN?

When did they agree by exchanging words to stay ONLY friends forever? Did Shuichi ever tell her if he has feeling for another woman? Did he ever ask her to stop hoping if they can get back together? DID THEY HAVE THIS IMPORTANT TALK EVER?

NEVER!!!!

If we look at the panel of clash of Red and Black, Jodie assumes that he still thinks about her. And they knew this because of the expression he gave after Akemi died. That means he never told Jodie anything about his exact feelings for Akemi.

"And when she died, you could tell from Akai-Kun's expression that..."

"Probably Shuu, still thinks about her."

So after coming back he never said anything about it.

Jodie started to work on this mission when Sharon died. It was around or less than a year before Akemi's death. And at one point in time, they agreed to work together. And sure it must be uncomfortable in the beginning. So in those months, he didn't have time to have this important conversation with her especially IF he never wanted a relationship in the first place? It would be foolish to assume by anyone, that an ex who hasn't moved on yet for god sake 5 years, won't seek anything in future. And it's even stupid if the ex would just want to be a friend forever without any talk or any clarification.

So we can clearly say that it's just their mutual understanding that they didn't speak about it, moreover a common sense at the moment because-

He was on a run, and it was the time when he should avoid getting close to her so that enemies won't have a clue. Imagine if he would visit his family at that time. No, he won't, so he stayed away from her for her safety.

They both, especially Jodie, were mostly focused on the mission. The mission was connected to their life's purpose!

It wasn't the right time to talk about their relationship when the time was about life and death.

So basically, they never talked. But that doesn't mean denial. Just because one can't be in a relationship in the present time, doesn't imply that they don't have feelings of love. There wasn't a little hint ever if Shuichi ever told her that they can't be in a relationship ever or neither he showed any hint like he tried to avoid her INSTEAD here, he showed her that she means to him more than his own life.

In Jodie's flashback, all she recalls is the breakup and straight after that, she thinks that she was happy to work with him anyway. This doesn't show any refusal for the future. It just shows that they broke up but she was happy to stay with him again while working with him.

Feelings and context don't give the slightest hint if he ever denied their future. Honestly, refusal becomes a very important thing in these kinds of situations especially when people want different things from each other. And people get uncomfortable n this type of situation so they talk, clarify or give hints by body language like maintaining distance etc. But there is no slight hint if he ever denied or had that important talk ever instead it shows other things way around. Rather he has never shown a little discomfort around her, the way she behaves and how he promised her something really important.

And Jodie can actually tell things from people's expressions.

In the Kir arc, she saw Conan's scarred face and she continued to investigate( ch-500).

In the Scarlett investigation, she noticed Conan's expression and went to Raiha Pass.

In the clash of red and black (Ch-599) it was Jodie who caught Shuichi's reaction that he looked excited. Even James had to confirm what she implied before-"about what?"/"what can I say?").

So if Shuichi would have shown a little hesitation, Jodie would have known. But we have never seen anything from Jodie's side if he is keeping a distance because of the relationship. And if he would have done that, Jodie wouldn't have hoped anything ever and would have kept her distance by herself. She never said anything from her side and focused on the mission. She knew this is no time to speak about their personal matter. So from the flashback, it's clear he never denied anything for their future.

And Shuichi knows how much he means to her. He knew how much she would suffer when he was about to fake his death. He knew from the beginning that she still loves him. So why is he showing two different emotions? But is he? We can say that he won't want to be in a relationship at that time for various reasons like-

It's not the right time to get back together when they both are on this important mission which is their life's purpose.

There is this uncertainty of if he'll live at the end or not. So giving her hope and taking it away when things aren't in his hand can make it very hard in future. He surely hates to hurt her.

They both don't have time right now to date each other.

Shuichi got many things to do, before personally getting involved with her again. He has to repay the debt by saving Haibara.

But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have feelings for Jodie. They are working together, are in contact with each other so it's satisfactory according to the critical circumstances they are facing now.

So without any CLARIFICATIONS, this can be complicated way too much in many ways-

If he doesn't want a relationship at all so she should move on according to him when he deeply cares for her feelings.

He can lose his friendship with Jodie, which he has right now. Which he surely won't like as she is very important for him in his life.

But if she didn't move on when he wasn't around her how will she if he is promising such a big thing!? She never stopped loving him, even after knowing that he broke up with her because of the mission and he had to date another woman. But still, she loved him then and still loves him unconditionally for more than 5 years.

Now, how Jodie should perceive this promise as? An ex, who gave her this promise in which he doesn't want to lose her, to the point of willingness to lose his own life, but probably thinks of another woman, maybe mainly because of guilt, but don't want to lose her either at any cost?

The feeling of being so important to him, even more than his life, without any important talk can become so complex that it is way out of imagination.

It becomes so hurtful to stay with someone you love on the terms of friendship. And this becomes worse with time. And by promising her, Shuichi clearly stated to her, that how much she still means to him, in his life, his willingness to stay by her side, especially after they broke up.

Jodie's feelings are her responsibility but Shuichi has his responsibility too. He should not make things harder for her. And he will never make it worse or even hard since he hates to hurt her.

Honestly, it can become really hard for Jodie in future and the present can leave her in a dilemma. And these things contradict so much when he gates to hurt her. It's clear from this post that he doesn't want to her at any cost 👇

And Shuichi is well aware of everything. He doesn't take part in any complex things if he has no interest in them.

Denying to act as a father figure, wasn't easy, especially after knowing that there is a little kid, who will never receive fatherly love at such a tender age. She will not only miss her father but also her big brother.

Leaving his whole family wasn't easy.

Reducing his communication, even cutting the communication completely, with his family, especially his little sister, wasn't easy. In ch-1035-38 it's clear that he loves his little sister so much!

He was well aware of the fact that his decision will shock and hurt Mary so much. As a mother, letting her child investigate something so dangerous, the decision was no easy at all.

But he wanted to catch them and give them the punishment they deserve because they made his family suffer. His sister never saw their father, his mother suffered as she lost her husband and he and his little brother lost their father. So he denied it straightforwardly to Mary. And Mary, with time, wanted the bad guys to get punished too, so she agreed and let Shuichi do what he desired.

So, if he is offering from his side something like that, he must have thought about everything in his mind from the beginning! Because the promise he made is no child's play. It's serious as fuck! Well, he doesn't like it when she gets hurt emotionally. He felt so bad and disappointed when she didn't take him seriously and was worried for her in the clash of Red and Black. And he never showed that worried of face ever (till now) in the manga. He was worried for her because she will get hurt because of his stunt.

So if he doesn't want anything except friendship terms then he should have told Jodie sometime or at least, should have implied indirectly. If she agrees, stay friends and if not then maintain a healthy distance. Instead, he told her he is willing to give his life for her.

Idk what kind of ex who doesn't seek things himself but will never clarify directly or indirectly especially when they don't want to hurt their ex-partner and doesn't participate in complicated things when they don't have interest at all. That means they have to be on same the page regarding these feelings considering he never denied their possible relationship especially if he never intended to have it in future. That should be taken care of first when promising something so big like that.

Some Important things to be noted-

He broke up for his job, not because his feelings changed. Since he replied just after she asked that he has to crush this organization by any means, it's clear that he did for his mission. Well, that's what Gosho said in SDB.

It must be so heartbreaking for himself as he was really sad while saying that, to leave a person he was so serious. The word "Sacrifice" is way beyond to explain. This word is used when people have to give up on something which is very precious to them, close to their heart that they personally don't want to lose but have no other choice.

He wasn't able to look at her until he admitted his inability to date, two women.

He closed his eyes while saying he has to break up with her, like his heart was resisting to say that but he did for his family and for her safety. He looked so unhappy there. It's tough to lose first love after all whom he dated for real.

Let's make this clear, he won't date unless he won't be really serious and will never waste a single second in the first place when he joined the FBI to catch the people who are responsible for his father's disappearance. So he was really serious with her while dating.

That means his feelings never changed for her in the very first place because he won't fall again for anyone after suffering through that horrible incident. He loved her back then and he still loves her to the point he won't lose her.

Conclusion:

Shuichi still loves Jodie, more than his own life!

Now that we understand the promise which helped us to know about Shuichi's current feelings for Jodie, it's time to decide whether it's non-Canon or not.

Let's see what Gosho Aoyama has to offer!

Before that let's see first how much Gosho is involved in the process of making movies. This will show Gosho's dedication to movies in general- ( it's from Gosho Aoyama interview 2014, for Movie 18 . You can find it just after the Lupin III interview on detectiveconanworld website.)

Actually, Gosho showed Shuichi's feelings for Jodie on a larger scale! Since the trailer mostly focused on Shuichi and Jodie, especially his promise, it's obvious that that the promise scene was the most important scene of the movie!

Even though Monkey Punch's motto is to let them do everything, he still gets involved! There is no chance that he will change an important and famous character's feeling like Shuichi just because it's a movie!

Even if the staff tries to add anything they want, they end up changing everything. And after completing it, Gosho checks and reviews it👇

He checks the storyboard and scripts and he even ends up changing god knows how many things if it doesn't get matches with the Manga!!! Since he said all scripts that mean he does that for almost every movie! Then surely for this dialogue, he would have agreed before they can animate anything. Gooood how much work you do so that we can enjoy Sensei!!!!! Seriously people need to stop criticising him!!!

Now the question arises: What does Gosho think about this MOVIE in particular?

Well, he mentioned that IT'S THE FIRST TIME, THE MOVIE HAS THE SAME STORY AS MANGA!!

There is nothing new in the story that hasn't been shown in MANGA !!!!

So no question arises if he changed Shuichi's feelings for the sake of fans and he altered them because this is particularly a movie! Well, the spoiler was there anyways. So we can safely say from his statement that this story is the SAME as the ORIGINAL story. And by the same, I am saying some particular scenes, the feelings of the character, not all the events that occurred in the movie like destruction etc. It's up to Gosho if he wants to make the whole movie canon or not. And we can also conclude that the warning Shuichi gave was nothing like a friend, although they are on terms for NOW.

It's the first time and the story is the same as Manga!!! ( Read the last line. It's the interview taken from 2014 interview that was taken before the movie release) So this movie is different from other movies that were released before!

He said that it can't be done in manga. That means it cannot be drawn in Manga as art. He didn't say that it can't be in Manga. He said it can't be done as Manga but only in anime! Here he meant by action scenes. It's very difficult to draw in manga each and every move." And since it'll be done as an anime they added tons of action scenes to it. " Many action scenes like Ran beating the culprit so that he can get caught alive, Jodie firing the car of the culprit while saving Conan and Masumi and so that the culprit can run away, Conan chasing the culprit and Masumi picking him up on the road are important for the story to proceed! And since it's an anime, they added more like bike stunts and blasts etc. Actions scenes are something that can only be shown in anime, mentioned by Gosho. Well, he told the same for Movie20, where he wanted to show Shuichi and Amuro fighting. Imagine how difficult it is to draw every single move to show the fluency of the fight. And he said in movies he likes to blow cars which gives his assistant a hard time! ( His assistant starts crying - that's what he said to be specific. I wish I could upload that SS but 10 pictures are the limit on Tumblr) He also said the same when he was questioned about yaiba and about the action scenes involved in the series. ( The interview was published around 2014-16 and can be found on detectiveconanworld website as well)

And he said there are a lot of ties with the original story! Now, what can be the ties? Whatever that can coincide or fit in Manga. If we consider Manga, Shuichi always followed Jodie when her life could be at risk. And he saved her 3 times in manga.

Vermouth arc. It was unplanned that Shuichi will go. Jodie didn't know he would come. She was surprised as he came. She thought that she would die but he came and saved the day. And he went there because he got worried as he didn't get any updates.

In the bus hijack, he went there. In the end, he said the target didn't appear, it was for Sherry. If Jodie was going anyway, why did he go there? It was because this time she was going outside of the school premises where Vermouth can easily harm her. Shuichi and Jodie had no idea that Vermouth was well aware of the fact that FBI agents sneaked into her house. Vermouth thought the FBI can help her find out Sherry, so she decided to act like she didn't notice anyone sneaked into her apartment. Similarly, if she would have found Sherry and if she would have got a way to kill her at that time, she might have done that. But he went there instead of letting any other FBI agent follow her, who came to help Jodie. The fact that he was working with Jodie should be hidden at all cost but for Jodie's safety, he took the gamble. Well, it's clear from this post that he did his best to hide himself from Vermouth while he was working with Jodie.👇And he did his best, especially for Jodie!

3. In Red T-Shirt omen, Shuichi said he saw someone familiar on TV. But in Scarlett's prologue, he explained why he visited the Mall. He was referring to Jodie there. ( In Manga it's only Jodie in the background) So what did he do? He saw scar Akai but followed Jodie to know the whereabouts of scar Akai. He knew that Jodie would be BO's first target. And after Jodie and Conan asked the saleswoman, he asked about what Jodie asked her too, to grasp the situation. Then he spotted scar Akai. And after the case was solved he was waiting near the exit because he knew Jodie is highly willing to follow scar Akai. So he saved her life again.

4. In the car chase, he said that Bourbon would try to capture ONE of his close colleagues. And they knew that Jodie would definitely come once she started to doubt the death. So they wanted to catch her there. And Shuichi was well aware of the fact that she will definitely go to investigate. So he followed there too and since Camel went all along so he saved both.

Saving Jodie has always been canon no matter what the situation arises as written in point 1,2,4 and the promise is related to her safety. And since it is so connected with the original story and that scene is one of the most important scenes of the movie, this is one of the things that have ties with the original story! Well, don't expect he'll tell this directly. He is a mystery writer after all. He only gives clues and makes us deduce.

Conclusion:

From what Gosho said, it is clear that this promise can be categorised as CANON or has TIES with the original story! Especially when at the end he said the movie lots of ties with the original story, considering it's a promise made by an important, serious and famous character like Shuichi!

Gosho drew Shuichi there. He was the one who came up with the scene and even he wasn't, then he 100℅ agreed with the scene as he checks and changes the script before it gets passed as a storyboard. Because they needed the vision to animate before, Gosho gave them a perfect picture of how Shuichi should talk and smile. Now Gosho made him smile that much( look at the one above the snap of the animated one) given that he rarely smiles, and he makes a big deal when he smiles so it's a biggie!

Here is the treat ;) Gosho actually loved that scene! He was so much excited to see the scene of Jodie and Shuichi and he loved it! Here is the article 👇

I believe it was said by Monkey Punch, the one who draws for the movies. Here is the translation- again thank you @geissbock ❤️❤️

"Gosho loves the scene of Akai and Jodie most. He was really excited. He is some kind of weird person that loves that scene right?(laugh). When I write something different from him he's not that excited. I think he feels good when he sees something new and fresh"

Mark Gosho's love for the scene and his excitement! Now that scene is iconic for Shuichi himself! It's very important for Shuichi considering his dark past with both the women especially when the scene is after Akemi's death. Then Gosho must be really careful about doing something like that. But he even included that scene on his own, we can say that from the translation part, drew Shuichi himself and checked the script and what not, to pass on the storyboard to animate it. He could have simply added something while they were dating but...he didn't. So? Yep, it's very very safe to say that Shuichi still loves Jodie, from Gosho's POV and his works( isn't that how we perceive the ultimate truth of the DC universe?).

Fan services

Fan service is a broad term. After collecting information is from various sites like Wikipedia, Medium daily, qoura and every other sites that appeared after googling it, here is what I analysed and here it is summarised-

Fan services are the scenes in Anime as well as Manga, which are done to please the audience which has no relevance with the actual story whatsoever. Example- Zero's tea time. It has no connection with the Manga as it doesn't contribute to the original story. Similarly, the plot of movies is considered non-canon because they are for fans to enjoy, a type of fan service and doesn't contribute to the original story. Fan services are also there in anime, as well as manga which may or may not contribute nothing to the main story. For example, bikini shots of female characters etc. These kind of racy sexual scenes are fan servises. Conan blushing at Ran's cleavage, his nose starts to bleed etc are fan services but it is 100% Canon. It was purely done for fans to enjoy the chapter. If we take out this scene, the case of Masumi is from Akai family, Conan noticing child form of Mary on Masumi's phone and the murder case would have proceeded without any disturbance. Masumi getting impressed by Momiji's bust size is fan service too. Actually Momiji's bust size doesn't even contribute to the BO investigation XD. Now take an important note that fan services aren't negative thing what usually comes in our mind and not necessary that it's not canon. In manga, it's canon but only for the sake of viewers to enjoy, presented in a flow with the story.

But for this movie, specifically it was mentioned by Gosho that there are a lot of ties with the original story. There is nothing new shown in this movie that hasn't been shown in the manga. And the story is similar to the original story. Okay, I'm not saying the whole movie is considered as canon but from what Gosho said that this movie has lots of ties with the original story. Saving Jodie has always been an important part of the original story and has been contributed to the investigation of BO. She appears only when BO chapters continues. A serious character like Shuichi promising something is not a joke! Also it has been 100% Canon that she does hold an important place in Shuichi's heart. She is an important part of his life, in his past, in the preset and now that I have already proven that how much she is important to him so also in future. Its undeniable that she is different from other agents. So Jodie's safety has always been canon, important for the main plot of BO, and her importance in Shuichi's life. It's not only canon but it contributes to the main story, that is BO. HENCE IT'S NOT A FAN SERVICE! So it's certain that this scene is one of the things that has ties with the original story which is not done just for the viewer to enjoy but will contribute to the original story. But the whole movie, blasts, accidents Jodie meeting Masumi, these are non-canon.

Summary-

It has been proven that, Shuichi still loves Jodie, more than his own life. He is willing to go to any lengths to save her life. His terrible past didn't make him hesitate a little to practically admit in front of Jodie, that how important she is to him. This means his feelings for Jodie never changed! That's what his CURRENT feelings for Jodie. Finally, and most importantly this particular scene from the movie, is Canon! Said and hinted so many times by Gosho himself!

And now, here is a short clip of all scenes of Restarling from the M18 trailer! 😉❤

And really really, thank you for your patience.

❤R❤E❤D❤❤S❤T❤A❤R❤L❤I❤N❤G❤

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mst3kproject · 4 years ago

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Battle of the Worlds

Several times on this blog I've featured movies that have more than one title. In almost every case, the new titles were better than the original one, and this is not an exception. Battle of the Worlds is fairly bland, but it tells you that you're going to be seeing a movie about some kind of space-based conflict, without giving away the details. The Italian title was Il Pianeta degli Uomini Spenti, which is a fucking spoiler.

An earlier draft of this review contained a couple of jokes about the classically phallic 60's spacecraft in the movie, but I went back and took those out. Bezos has really set a whole new standard for Giant Dong Rockets and I can no longer accept anything less.

A group of astronomers have just discovered a rogue planet, which they have dubbed the Outsider, is entering our solar system. Everybody is worried about it hitting Earth except for nasty old misanthrope Professor Benson, who says it'll be a near miss. As it turns out, nobody's exactly right – the Outsider doesn't hit us, but it doesn't just pass by, either. Instead, it settles into orbit, and when humanity attempts to explore it, it responds by sending out squadrons of flying saucers to blow our rockets out of its sky! After one of these crashes on Earth, Benson is able to learn how to deactivate the Outsider’s defences and land on it, where humanity can finally confront its inhabitants... or can we?

Well, if you speak Italian, you already know the answer, because this is The Planet of Extinguished Men. The aliens are all long dead and their spaceship has been following its programming for millions of years without them, including the part telling it to destroy the Earth. Bummer.

I actually have quite a bit to say about this movie. It centres around some interesting musings about human emotion and curiosity, though it never comes to any solid conclusions. As a movie, unfortunately, it's not very well-made. This is a story in which the world as we know it nearly comes to an end more than once, and yet very little seems to happen in it.

The opening sequence is terribly clumsy and does very little to place you within this world. We start off with two characters kissing and being excited about starting a new life together, but we have no idea at this point who they are or why they want to leave this place. When the Outsider is discovered, the scientists beat around the bush and try to keep it a secret, even from the audience. Only Benson is willing to be upfront about it. This does establish him as a realist while making his colleagues seem spineless, which is what the movie wants, but it's also terribly frustrating for the viewer.

Later there's a sequence in which a craft attempting to land on Mars is nearly destroyed by the gravity of the Outsider, and some quick thinking saves the astronauts' lives, but this is directed like the battle sequences in Invasion of the Neptune Men. We have no idea where any of these craft or planets are in relation to one another, and have to rely on characters sitting at desks to tell us what's happening. Even worse, we never see the chaos the looming end of the world wreaks on society. Astronauts who have recently returned to Earth note that they've heard there have been suicides and riots as people fear the Outsider will impact our planet, but we never see any of this.

The movie does a little better later, when the Outsider's close approach causes disastrous tidal forces... these are represented by black and white footage of floods and volcanic eruptions tinted red to try to make it match the rest of the colour film. As always, this fails, but at least they tried. Other special effects are equally pathetic. There are the inevitable plastic model kit rockets with their flame exhaust that rises in what's supposed to be a zero-gravity vacuum. The 'flying saucers' the Outsider launches to defend itself look like nothing so much as giant fried eggs.

The Outsider itself is particularly sad to look at. They have a model they use for it in a few shots, but this is about on a par with the original MST3K spaghetti ball. In other shots, the Outsider is represented by a photograph of the Moon. Absolutely no attempt is made to disguise it, and so of course the effect is a dismal failure because everybody knows what the goddamn Moon looks like. They couldn't even, I don't know, turn it upside-down or something?

On the other hand, the inside of the Outsider is actually pretty cool. The sets aren't exactly believable, but you can see what they were going for. Upon entering the caverns, the explorers find themselves in a series of tunnels full of strange red tubes and textures that look more organic than geological. Entering the Outsider is like wandering around within a living organism. My favourite part of this is that absolutely nothing we see here is comprehensible. Professor Benson, the genius, claims to be able to figure out what's going on, but his declarations seem arbitrary and nothing we're looking at makes visual sense. Even the aliens don't look like anything in particular. Were it not for Benson, we would not recognize them as living (or dead) creatures.

Like First Spaceship on Venus, Battle of the Worlds is much more interested in its ideas than in anything else, including what is supposedly its plot. The characters are important mostly as the embodiment of those ideas, rather than as people in themselves, and the ideas the movie wants to study are about logic and emotion and how they affect human priorities.

The character of Dr. Fred Steele finds himself facing the potential end of the world, and decides that the most important thing to him in this situation is the love between him and his fiancee, Eve Barnett. Professor Benson, on the other hand, thinks the most important thing is to understand the threat they're facing. Partly this is so that humanity can save itself from destruction, but knowledge for its own sake is also important. In between these two men is Eve herself, who thinks love and science are both important and tries to find some middle ground between the two. This is difficult for her, because Benson wants her to stay at the observatory and assist him, while Fred wants her to leave with him so they can get married. When Eve tries to convince Fred to stay with her, both men see this as her having chosen Benson, and it poisons the relationships between all three parties. Only with Benson dead are Eve and Fred able to strike a balance again.

But the movie doesn't want us to think that there is no middle ground. The movie's other romantic couple are the two scientists from the Mars Base, Bob and Cathy. They got married because they were both lonely and a psychological evaluation suggested that they had compatible personalities. As the story progresses, however, they find that they have indeed fallen in love and want a future together that would include things like children – but this is ultimately denied to them, as Cathy is crushed by falling debris while exploring the Outsider.

Benson dies when insists on staying aboard the Outsider to try to decode its computers despite the fact that the military is about to destroy the entire object. As the others escape, Fred intones the movie's beauty killed the beast line: “poor Benson, if they opened his chest they'd find a formula where his heart should be.” And yet Benson died happy – as the Outsider explodes he is triumphant in his ability to understand its secrets, and laughing at the foolishness and cowardice of his fellow man. It is the survivors who are miserable, mourning the loss of Benson himself as well as of Cathy, whose death was entirely meaningless.

I'm not sure what the movie is trying to tell us about these different approaches to life. It seems to present them as ultimately incompatible, that attempts to give logic and emotion equal weight can only end in tears. Only Benson, who was unswerving in his devotion to science, is ultimately satisfied. Perhaps the take-home message is that whatever your principles are, happiness lies in following them to their conclusion.

There's a second message, too, in different approaches to science itself. Modern physicists will often describe themselves as either theoretical or experimental... the two fields do compliment each other, but they often take place in different rooms, and one will be seen as leading the way for the other. The search for the Higgs Boson was theory-led: people were pretty sure it existed, they just had to find it. A great deal of astrophysics, however, is result-led: what we see tells us that there are things going on, like dark matter and dark energy, that we know nothing about, and the theorists must do their best to figure it out.

For most of his life, Benson has been a theorist. He sits in his greenhouse chalking on the floors, spinning theories out of other people's results or out of pure mathematics. Until the arrival of the Outsider, he had no interest in going out and exploring or experimenting. But it quickly becomes clear to him that he cannot understand the Outsider through pure theory, as his calculations cannot account for the decisions of its makers. In order to know it, he must see it for himself, so he grandly announces his intention to leave his 'den'. Nobody ever asks him if it was worth it, but his maniacal smile at the moment of his death suggests that it was.

Battle of the Worlds had potential to be a really interesting movie, but ultimate the way its shot and edited make it mainly a very dull one. Like its own characters, it fails to find the balance it needed.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #battle of the worlds #60s

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thephantomessoftheopera · 4 years ago

Text

Notes on Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera” - Chapter 14: “A Masterstroke by the Lover of Trapdoors”

<< Previous chapter

Raoul and Christine are still running away from the shadow on the rooftop when they encounter the Persian, who tells them to run in the opposite direction. Raoul makes another try at getting Christine to run away with him on the spot, but once again, she refuses and repeats that Raoul will probably need to make her go against her will if he wants to elope with her (what is he supposed to do though? Drag a screaming and kicking Christine through the opera house? Drug her or knock her unconscious and roll her up in a carpet?).

She tries to convince him that Erik has not overheard their conversation on the rooftop because he is working on „Don Juan Triumphant“, but doesn’t seem to quite believe it herself. When Raoul bitterly says how brave she was to play his fiancée, Christine reveals that she had actually told Erik all about the engagement game she was playing with Raoul, and that he was willing to tolerate it under the assumption that Raoul would be leaving for the North Pole soon.

It is also obvious that despite the kiss Christine has given him in the preceding chapter, Raoul is still unsure of her feelings, which might also be due to her speaking of it like a one-time thing:

“Are people unhappy when they’re in love?” “Yes, when they’re in love and aren’t sure of being loved.” “Are you saying that for Erik?” “For Erik and for myself”, answered Raoul, shaking his head with a thoughtful, forlorn expression.”

To a certain degree, Christine might be asking that first question for herself, too, since she is obviously unhappy and has shown signs of crying before. Keep in mind that this is the last interaction we see between Raoul and Christine before her abduction. Raoul is still uncertain at this point if Christine actually loves him, which means that he is soon going to risk his life for a girl whose feelings remain a mystery to him. We’ve got to give him some credit for that…

In her conversation with Raoul, Christine calls Erik a “man of heaven and earth” - not a ghost, monster or demon. She has seen his face, and even though she feels horror, she apparently also sees him as a man here. Raoul is once again taken aback by how Christine talks about Erik, making him question her determination to leave. She also tells him that no matter where she calls, Erik will always hear her. This is certainly due to the acoustics of the building and its secret passageways, since Erik apparently used similar techniques in the palace he built in Persia. On a deeper level, this is a symbol of how strongly they are still bound together, and seems to extend into the supernatural.

We also learn that Erik has promised Christine to stay away from her dressing room and her bedroom in his house, and that she trusts what he says. It is quite poignant to see how far Erik and Christine apparently trust each other, and how each of them is not fully deserving of the trust put into them even if they seem to be trying. In „Apollo‘s Lyre“, Christine also mentions how she instinctively trusted Erik.

Erik has given Christine a key to his house, which must be a pretty big thing for him as he puts his own safety into her hands with this. Christine shows Raoul the key but refuses to give it to him when he demands it because it “would be a betrayal” (apparently, she doesn‘t consider what happened on the rooftop a „betrayal“ and is also unwilling to betray Erik). But then she realises that she has lost Erik’s gold ring, probably while she gave Raoul the kiss on the rooftop - which is symbolic, of course. When Erik gave her the ring, he told her that she would be safe as long as she wore it - but if she parted with it, he would take revenge. She is greatly distressed, fearing what Erik might do to both of them - but even that is not enough to get her to run away. As she seems to have lost the ring on the rooftop, and Erik has it back in his possession two days later, saying that he had found it, it is likely that he directly picked it up after Christine and Raoul left the rooftop.

Raoul then goes home, cursing Erik and resolving to save Christine while he goes to bed. In the darkness, he thinks he sees Erik’s glowing eyes watching him from the balcony, and turns on the light to see if the eyes disappear. He takes his pistol and fires a shot at Erik’s eyes, which wakes the entire household including Philippe. Philippe thinks Raoul, who is rambling incoherently, has gone completely mad and asks him who this „Erik“ is that Raoul seems to be so obsessed with. Raoul states:

“He’s my rival!”

That statement is significant because it shows that Raoul views Erik primarily as a romantic threat to himself - not just as a threat to Christine’s safety or a general nuisance that he needs to get rid of, but as a serious contender for Christine’s hand. Raoul considering him his rival also puts them on more or less equal footing. Raoul also starts to worry that he should not have been so rash because if it really was Erik, Christine might not forgive Raoul for hurting him after all.

From Raoul’s description of his glowing eyes and the fact that there really is blood on the balcony and the drainpipe, we can conclude that it was indeed Erik standing there, and that he has been wounded by Raoul’s shot to a significant degree, considering there was enough blood to have seeped through his clothing and dripped onto the balcony in a very short time. The explanation of Raoul having shot at a cat doesn’t sound very likely, given that cats wouldn’t usually slide down drainpipes to get off a balcony.

Raoul and Philippe go on to quarrel over Raoul’s plan to elope with Christine. Philippe will not tolerate Raoul marrying a girl from the opera, but Raoul seems to be determined to go through with his plan anyway and defy Philippe’s wishes.

The next morning, there is an article in the newspaper “L’Époque” revealing that Raoul and Christine are engaged and about to marry. It is somewhat strange though because we never see Raoul and Christine actually getting engaged in a serious fashion. There’s the “engagement game” of course, but it cannot be considered the same as a serious marriage proposal. In addition to that, the last time we saw Raoul and Christine discussing their elopement, there were distinctly no plans of marriage included, as Raoul promised to take Christine away and then leave her to herself, as she has decided *not* to marry. It is not clear when that plan changed, or if Christine is even aware that his plans have changed. Philippe is very much embarrassed by Raoul’s behaviour, and swears that he will stop Raoul if he still plans to go through with his plans of elopement with Christine. Raoul leaves without saying anything more to Philippe, and spends the day making preparations for the elopement until 9 pm.

There is a curious detail that Leroux draws attention to, but I’m unsure about why he mentions it at all: Raoul’s carriage is driven by a coachman “whose face was largely hidden by the long scarf he wore” (They might have picked up on this in the 2004 movie). It cannot be Erik here though, as he now appears on scene to observe the carriage while the coachman is still sitting on it. In this scene, Erik is wearing the attire we have come to associate with him because of the musical mostly - the black cloak and felt hat.

During that night’s performance of Faust, Christine appears in the role of Marguerite again, but this time, the rumours about her engagement from the morning paper cause the audience to react with hostility to her since they see her as a social climber. This gives her (and us) an idea of how Parisian society would have reacted to her if she had ever become the Viscountess (or Countess, if Philippe is dead) de Chagny (and it would most likely have been far worse if she had married the man suspected of having killed his brother over her in public). Christine is quickly losing confidence when she suddenly sees Carlotta appear in one of the boxes, and her defiant nature is awakened. Not wishing to appear weak and succumb before her enemy, she regains her confidence and sings with all her soul again.

In the final scene of „Faust“, Faust and Mephisto come to rescue an insane Marguerite from her prison cell, but even though she and Faust confess their love for each other, she refuses to escape and asks the angels to take her soul to heaven instead (you can watch it here, for example: https://youtu.be/i2C4ezHUF1I).

Final scene from „Faust“ performance at the Metropolitan Opera (image from bruzanemediabase.com)

When Christine pleads with the angels in the final prison scene, Leroux makes use of the ambiguity of the „angel“. Raoul stands up from where he has been sitting in the amphitheater (not the de Chagny box where Philippe is sitting), but the Angel of Music is quicker: the entire stage is plunged into darkness, and when the lights return, Christine is gone. A great commotion ensues, with everybody trying to explain where Christine could be, but her co-star Carolus Fonta then announces publicly that she has disappeared, and that no one knows what has really happened.

Erik’s action here is both daring and desperate. From his perspective, he needs to act now before Christine will be out of his reach forever. He has overheard the escape plan, and I guess he also saw the newspaper speculating about her impending marriage, and now sees his hand forced before it’s too late for him. The chapter‘s title calling it a „masterstroke“ („coup de maître“) highlights the extraordinary skill and boldness that were necessary to stage his abduction of Christine in the fashion that he chose. The „lover of trapdoors“ is a nickname that was given to him in Persia, as we will later learn from the Persian.

Image from wikipedia

Next chapter >>

#phantom of the opera #leroux phantom #lerouxreadingguide #the phantom of the opera #poto #erik the phantom #erik x christine #christine daae #raoul de chagny #raoul shoots erik #gaston leroux #classic literature

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reachexceedinggrasp · 5 years ago

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Would love to hear about your beefs with Lucas because I have beefs with Lucas

(Sorry it took me three thousand years to answer this, anon.)

They mainly fall under a few headings, with the third being the most serious and the thing that I am genuinely irl furious about at least biannually (and feeling unable to adequately sum up The Problem with it after yelling about it so often is a huge part of why this post has been in my drafts for such a long time):

1. His self-mythologising and the subsequent uncritical repetition of his bullshit in the fandom. Obvious lies like that he had some master plan for 10 films when it’s clear he did not have anything like a plot outline at any point. We all know the thing was written at the seat of various people’s pants, it’s blatantly self-evident that’s the case. There’s also plenty of public record about how the OT was written. Even dumber, more obvious lies, like that Anakin was ‘always the protagonist’ and the entire 6 films were his story from the beginning. This is preposterous and every time someone brings it up (usually with palpable smugness) as fanboys ‘not understanding star wars’ because they don't get that ‘the OT is not Luke's story’... Yeah, I just... I cannot.

Vader wasn’t Anakin Skywalker until ESB, it’s a retcon. It’s a brilliant retcon and it works perfectly, it elevated SW into something timeless and special it otherwise would not have been, but you can tell it wasn’t the original plan and there’s proof it wasn’t the original plan. Let’s not pretend. And Luke is the protagonist. No amount of waffling about such esoteric flights of theory as ‘ring structure’ is going to get away from the rigidly orthodox narrative and the indisputable fact that it is Luke’s hero’s journey. Vader’s redemption isn’t about his character development (he has almost none) and has no basis in any kind of convincing psychological reality for his character, but it doesn’t need to be because it’s part of Luke’s arc, because Vader is entirely a foil in Luke’s story. It’s a coming-of-age myth about confronting and growing beyond the father.

All attempts to de-centre Luke in RotJ just break the OT’s narrative logic. It’s a character-driven story and the character driving is Luke. Trying to read it as Anakin’s victory, the moral culmination of his choices rather than Luke’s and putting all the agency into Anakin’s hands just destroys the trilogy’s coherence and ignores most of its content in favour of appropriating a handful of scenes into an arc existing only in the prequels. The dilemma of RotJ is how Luke will define ethical adulthood after learning and growing through two previous films worth of challenge, education, failure, and triumph; it’s his choice to love his father and throw down his sword which answers the question the entire story has been asking. Vader’s redemption and the restoration of the galaxy are the consequences of that choice which tell us what kind of world we’re in, but the major dramatic conflict was resolved by Luke’s decision not the response to it.

And, just all over, the idea of Lucas as an infallible auteur is inaccurate and annoying to me. Obviously he’s a tremendous creative force and we wouldn’t have sw without him, but he didn’t create it alone or out of whole cloth. The OT was a very collaborative effort and that’s why it’s what it is and the prequels are what they are. Speaking of which.

2. The hubris of the prequels in general and all the damage their many terrible, protected-from-editors choices do to the symbolic fabric of the sw universe. Midicholrians, Yoda fighting with a lightsabre, Obi-wan as Anakin's surrogate father instead of his peer, incoherent and unmotivated character arcs, the laundry list of serious and meaningful continuity errors, the bad storytelling, the bad direction, the bad characterisation, the shallowness of the parallels which undermine the OT’s imagery, the very clumsy and contradictory way the A/P romance was handled, the weird attitude to romance in general, it goeth on. I don’t want to re-litigate the entire PT here and I’m not going to, but they are both bad as films and bad as prequels. The main idea of them, to add Anakin’s pov and create an actual arc for him as well as to flesh out the themes of compassion and redemption, was totally appropriate. The concept works as a narrative unit, there are lots of powerful thematic elements they introduce, they have a lot of cool building blocks, it’s only in execution and detail that they do a bunch of irreparable harm.

But the constant refrain that only ageing fanboys don’t like them and they only don’t like them because of their themes or because they humanise Anakin... can we not. The shoddy film making in the prequels is an objective fact. If you want to overlook the bad parts for the good or prioritise ideas over technique, that’s fine, but don’t sit here and tell me they’re masterworks of cinema there can be no valid reason to criticise. I was the exact right age for them when I saw them, I am fully on board with the fairy tale nature of sw, I am fully on board with humanising Anakin- the prequels just have a lot of very big problems with a) their scripts and b) their direction, especially of dialogue scenes. If Lucas had acknowledged his limitations like he did back in the day instead of believing his own press, he could have again had the help he obviously needed instead of embarrassing himself.

3. Killing and suppressing the original original trilogy. I consider the fact that the actual original films are not currently available in any form, have never been available in an archival format, and have not been presented in acceptable quality since the VHS release a very troubling case study in the problems of corporate-owned art. LF seizing prints of the films whenever they are shown, destroying the in-camera negatives to make the special editions with no plans to restore them, and doing all in the company’s considerable power to suppress the original versions is something I consider an act of cultural vandalism. The OT defined a whole generation of Hollywood. It had a global impact on popular entertainment. ANH is considered so historically significant it was one of the first films added to the US Library of Congress (Lucas refused to provide even them with a print of the theatrical release, so they made their own viewable scan from the 70s copyright submission).

The fact that the films which made that impact cannot be legally accessed by the public is offensive to me. The fact that Lucas has seen fit to dub over or composite out entire performances (deleting certain actors from the films), to dramatically alter the composition of shots chosen by the original directors, to radically change the entire stylistic tone by completely reinventing the films’ colour timing in attempt to make them match the plasticy palate of the prequels, to shoot new scenes for movies he DID NOT DIRECT, add entire sequences or re-edit existing sequences to the point of being unrecognisable etc. etc. is NOT OKAY WITH ME when he insists that his versions be the ONLY ones available.

I’m okay with the Special Editions existing, though I think they’re mostly... not good... but I’m not okay with them replacing the original films. And all people can say is ‘well, they’re his movies’.

Lucas may have clear legal ownership in the capitalistic sense, but in no way does he have clear artistic ownership. Forget the fans, I’m not one of those people who argue the fans are owed something: A film is always a collaborative exercise and almost never can it be said that the end product is the ultimate responsibility and possession of one person. Even the auteur directors aren't the sole creative vision, even a triple threat like Orson Welles still had cinematographers and production designers, etc. Hundreds of artists work on films. Neither a writer nor a director (nor one person who is both) is The Artist behind a film the way a novelist is The Artist behind a novel. And Lucas did NOT write the screenplays for or direct ESB or RotJ. So in what sense does he have a moral right to alter those films from what the people primarily involved in making them deemed the final product? In what sense would he have the right to make a years-later revision the ONLY version even if he WERE the director?

Then you get into the issue of the immeasurable cultural impact those films had in their original form and the imperative to preserve something that is defining to the history of film and the state of the zeitgeist. I don't think there is any ‘fan entitlement’ involved in saying the originals belonged to the world after being part of its consciousness for decades and it is doing violence to the artistic record to try to erase the films which actually occupied that space. It's exactly like trying to replace every copy of It's a Wonderful Life with a colourised version (well, it's worse but still), and that was something Lucas himself railed against. It’s like if Michaelangelo were miraculously resuscitated and he decided to repaint the Sistine Ceiling to add a gunfight and change his style to something contemporary.

I get genuinely very upset at the cold reality that generations of people are watching sw for the first time and it’s the fucking SE-except-worse they’re seeing. And as fewer people keep physical media and the US corporate oligarchy continues to perform censorship and rewrite history on its streaming services unchecked by any kind of public welfare concerns, you’ll see more and more ‘real Mandela effect’ type shit where the cultural record has suddenly ‘always’ been in line with whatever they want it to be just now. And US media continues to infect us all with its insidious ubiquity. I think misrepresenting and censoring the past is an objectively bad thing and we can’t learn from things we pretend never happened, but apparently not many people are worried about handing the keys to our collective experience to Disney and Amazon.

4. The ‘Jedi don’t marry’ thing and how he wanted this to continue with Luke post-RotJ, so it’s obviously not meant to be part of what was wrong with the order in the prequels. I find this... incoherent on a storytelling level. The moral of the anidala story then indeed becomes just plain ‘romantic love is bad and will make you crazy’, rather than the charitable reading of the prequels which I ascribe to, which is that the problem isn’t Anakin’s love for Padmé, it’s that he ceased to love her and began to covet her. And I can’t help but feel this attitude is maybe an expression of GL’s issues with women following his divorce. I don’t remember if there’s evidence to contradict that take, since it’s been some time since I read about this but yeah. ANH absolutely does sow seeds for possible Luke/Leia development and GL was still married while working on that film. Subsequently he was dead set against Luke ever having a relationship and decided Jedi could not marry. Coincidence?

There’s a lot of blinking red ‘issues with women’ warning signs all over Lucas’s work, but the prequels are really... egregious.

#sw #salt #more unhinged rambling #anyway dowload the despecialised editions #unsubscribe from Disney+#be free #usually we'd be having a big family thing for Boxing Day but you know #so God bless us all at home separately #I hope everyone had as happy a Christmas as possible in keeping with the situation #I should see if I can drag my brother outside to build a snowman

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deiliamedlini · 4 years ago

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WIP Wednesday 1

I’m posting two WIPs today because they’re both currently being absorbed into another fic and will never again see the light of day in this form! So here is the first one!

This BOTW scene, but written in a modern fantasy way is: Link saves Zelda from a Guardian with a pot lid, which is a scene from Zelda’s diary.

Goes along with this other scene that happens a little later with this same Link and Zelda where Link gets assigned to guard Zelda personally.

~~~

“Hrmmm,” Robbie hummed to himself as he looked through Zelda’s notes. “This is interesting, I’ll admit that. But the way I read it, it’s too flawed. Tell me more. Let’s think this through.”

Robbie was the lead researcher on Project Guardian. His posture was perhaps the most telling part of his personality; his hands were always on his hips, straight backed, almost like a superhero. When others would cross their arms to think, Robbie would go straight into his superhero pose and hum loudly to himself.

His goggles held his white hair back from his face. The goggles were a staple of every one of his outfits. He worked more with the large machinery, building prototype after prototype until he was forced onto a break by anyone higher than him, or Purah, who technically matched his position.

Both were young, doctorates before they were even out of their twenties and neither yet nearing thirty. Both Sheikah, ensuring that the artifacts were treated with the respect and reverence that their culture demanded. Both the brightest minds in all of Hyrule.

Zelda felt intimidated near them, but she was learning from the best. So when the Robbie asks you to tell him more, one tells him more.

“Okay, my idea is that we come up with some kind of injectable serum that we place markers in. When the Guardians go to attack the threat, but they see, say, me rather than a Yiga for example, they’ll scan for the presence of that marker and cease to fire on me. Instead, they’ll attack the real enemy.”

“Hrmmmm,” Robbie said, though he’d just read all this in her notes. “Money and funding for such a task aside, how do you propose we go about injecting nearly 30 million people?”

“Mandate it, of course.”

Robbie scoffed, forgetting for a moment that he was speaking with the Princess of Hyrule. If she wanted to mandate the injection, of course she could.

“You will have those who refuse,” he said instead. “Or those too unhealthy or who reject the serum for whatever reason. Perhaps it’s toxic to our first trial participants. Perhaps it won’t work as well on a Sheikah or a Rito as it will on a Hylian. You must also think of some other, faster, more effective ways.”

Zelda sat at the desk, resting her hand on her cheek. “I suppose it could be a type of paint. Something that goes onto a person rather than into them.”

Robbie surpressed a laugh at the Princess’ expense. “Well, perhaps someone forgets their paint? Maybe the weather will wash it off. Or someone cannot afford it. Or runs out. Perhaps the Guardians attack them, and their children. What then?”

“Fine,” Zelda hissed, getting his point but feeling frustrated. It had been such a good idea, she thought. “I don’t know. If only we could set them to auto-pilot, then we could—”

Robbie smiled, knowing where her mind was going before she even got there.

She stopped, her mouth open. “We need pilots. We need a conscious mind to control them. The large ones we excavated… those would be too wild to use without a pilot, even if we theoretically could. A pilot would negate those fears. They’d see friend from foe.”

“How many pilots can we afford to train?”

That had Zelda stop immediately. “I… I don’t know.”

Robbie didn’t expect everything from her. “I don’t think we can have each Guardian with their own pilots. We start with four, one for each of the four larger ones. We take samples, record data, and see if we can synthesize a program for an autopilot. If we can, then I think we should work on incorporating that into the smaller Guardians. Perhaps we can have a lead Guardian each time, and those would have its own pilot, and a string of others will follow?”

“See,” Purah said, looking up from her phone where she’d been taking notes in the corner of the room. “Told you she had a good idea.”

“You did indeed, Princess,” Robbie said with a winning smile. “I’ll get straight to work on it. I’ll draft a proposal and send it to your father immediately so we might be able to recruit the first pilots who will champion this project. I’ll have it in to him by tomorrow.”

“Dr. Robbie,” a researcher said, coming in with a tablet. “You asked for a briefing on the latest trial run?”

Robbie hesitated, not wanting to ignore the presence of the Princess.

But she read the room. “Don’t worry,” Zelda said, standing up. “We should be going anyway. I look forward to hearing how the proposal goes.”

“I’m sure you’ll know before me, Princess. Good night.”

“Night, Robbie.”

Purah led Zelda out from Robbie’s office, taking the route past the prototype Guardians.

Researchers were mulling around, some in lab coats, some in street clothes, all of them looked busy. And most of them had their eyes on her as she passed by.

“Next time,” Zelda muttered, “we take the quieter route.”

“Understood and agreed. Come on, let’s go to my lab. I can show you the Slate I’ve been working on.”

But they didn’t get the chance.

A deep scream rang out, crying “look out!” to anyone within earshot. Perhaps it was instinct from being in the dangerous lab often, but Purah took a flying leap forward behind one of the pillars that held up the balcony of the second floor, unsure what she was looking out for.

But Zelda didn’t have that reflex.

Instead, her head shot around, looking for the threat so she could hide in the most appropriate location. Was it a Yiga attack? Should she find something to defend herself with? Was it a chemical spill? Did she need to take heed at all if it was simply a broken glass that someone nearly stepped on.

So she didn’t see the red laser aimed in her direction, and worse, she didn’t see the blue beam of energy that followed it.

When she was knocked backwards, she was surprised to find herself on the ground at all, let alone to find someone lying on her, covering her entirely from the blast.

The white sleeve of his lab coat was smoking, burned nearly clean off and exposing singed skin beneath it, fabric melted into his flesh, and hairs on his arm gone. His hand shook, and he dropped a large piece of Sheikah tech that looked far worse than his arm, a hole burned clean through the thick piece of metal that had taken the brunt of the impact off them both, though his arm appeared to have suffered regardless.

When Zelda noticed those two things, her eyes widened, and her heart sped up. “Oh Goddess!” she breathed, her head falling backwards with a harsh thud before she remembered the man on top of her. “Are you okay?”

Her hand went to his chest to help push him up, and she felt something hard under her hand. Something hard that she knew... something like the body armor her guards used. She let her fingers move. Solid, not human flesh; definitely the armor. Her eyes darted immediately to his ear next. And above his blue earring, she saw that her suspicions were confirmed. His ear wasn’t empty, but a very familiar earpiece with a wide hidden by his disheveled hair and low ponytail that had hidden it.

He was not a scientist. He was one of her undercover guards.

“How did you get to me so fast? Where even were you?” she asked, finally understanding why some strange scientist had risked his life to reach her. But she and Purah had been alone on this side of the room. Everyone kept their distance. Everyone stayed out of reach, and he’d been there in an instant.

He stood up, off her almost as quickly as he’d dove in front of her in the first place. “Are you alright, Princess Zelda?” he asked, oozing formality and professionalism, as if he hadn’t just nearly died. He offered her his hand before wincing and retracting it, offering her his other, non-singed one. As if nothing had happened. As if she’d simply tripped.

Now, she was stunned into confusion, trying to put the events in order, to relieve them and understand. She blindly accepted his hand and felt a shockwave of energy pass between them, sending a harsh shiver down her spine that had her attention immediately shift to the man who’d saved her.

He was slightly older than her, though it couldn’t be by much. She was almost surprised her father actually employed any of the younger agents to be her guards. She’d only ever really noticed the older ones. But this man was familiar somehow, though she was sure she’d never seen him in person before today. He could have been her guard in the past, expertly blending in as was his job. But she suspected something more.

His blue eyes were brilliant and captivating. Alert and on her, like he was thinking something about her rather than simply waiting for her to answer him, his eyes were straight out of a crayon box, like the lightest and purest of the blues had been picked for his eyes, one that a child would use for the daylight sky. But the color wasn’t all that was intense about them. It was in the way he looked at her, like she held the answers to the world. His gaze was that intense. It was unnerving.

“Yes,” she finally managed. “I’m fine, thank you.”

He managed a short nod and stepped backwards, allowing her to pass. Purah had grabbed onto Zelda, rambling about how she needed to get checked. But Zelda’s eyes drifted to the burned Sheikah tech on the ground. A hole had gone through the metal. His arm had been burned. And he’d gotten to her in time.

He was good, apparently. Good at his job. Too good. She’d have to be more alert to the locations of her guards.

“Was he near us?” was all Zelda could ask Purah as they headed out of the building, the other researchers proceeding to clean up the mess.

“I don’t know. Your guards are always near us. But Zelda, are you okay? That could have killed you! That was nearly the end of your life!”

Zelda chuckled nervously, rubbing at her hand, still feeling the agent’s in hers. But what she didn’t realize was that the attack from the Guardian hadn’t nearly been the end of her life, but it was the start of it.

#wip wednesday #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #botw #botw au #link #zelda #purah #robbie #writing

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of-tatooine · 4 years ago

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mercy. | chapter 3 - reverie

waking up was never this different.

Sounds of water trailing down the pool waterfall echoed as drinks poured and barbecue was served.

Everything felt so good, so normal, almost mundane. It had been a cheerful, sunny day of summer, warmth seeping into your bones, making your skin shine as you lounged by the pool. Droplets of cool water splashed on your face, a crisp interlude to your reverie. Fingertips loosely wrapped around the ice cold drink, taking occasional sips from it. Kids laughed and cheered as they played, splashing you with water in the meantime. You did not mind. You had always been fond of them.

“Think she’ll walk again?”

“Hell, I’d be surprised if she lived.”

Children lured you to play with them in the pool. You could not be anywhere near bothered from your comfortable spot with the mango-flavored drink in your hand, cooling you. Their squeaky voices had been so excited that you gave it a second thought. Playing in the pool sounded like a lot of fun, certainly more fun you had in a while at your stressful job. You wanted to go back, at least for a little while, to the peaceful times when you were a little girl, how you would jump from floaties and giggle and spread happiness. Oh, how you loved summer, spent at the shore, without a single care in the world, enjoying everything the beautiful weather offered you.

"I'm jumping in!"

Drops of water from the cool rag placed on your forehead woke you up, in more ways than one. The dried blood and bruises on your face appreciated the feeling, sending a relaxing tingle over your skin. Your could feel, feel your fingertips, the humid air engulfing them against their dried texture. Consciously breathing, your lungs getting filled up with air once more. Your eyes took their sweet time in fluttering open, a blurred vision welcoming you into reality.

It would have been the epitome of a peaceful resurrection if it was not for the two strangers staring you dead in the eye from above.

It was ironic, really. A gruff, dark-haired guy and a much smaller, green-eyed, young little girl staring you down like you were the odd bunch in this scenario. You dealt with much worse, held captive by far more terrible, dark souls.

Were you at the mercy of this odd little survival gig now?

“Where -” your lips moved, with the pathetic excuse of a voice you have left. Your vocal cords didn’t want to co-operate either, apparently, as you spoke in a low, raspy tone. All of the limbs in your frail, undernourished body screamed at you not to move, as you laid on an old, dirtied mattress. “…where am I?” you managed to ask. Your lungs fought for air in a desperate inhale as you gasped uncontrollably, taking in the stuffiness mixed in with the linger of mold in the room. As your vision cleared out gradually, you find yourself trying to look around where you were holed up in.

Just how long had you been out?

Sweat was forming on your battered skin and the room felt stuffy, so your instincts told you it was late summer still. Another question to add to the growing list to ask these...hunters? Fireflies?

No, you would have recognized them if they were. There were not many left flying around.

Your conscience was beginning to come back into you, slowly but steadily with every single heartbeat and breath taken, like waves in a lazy ocean. You almost didn't want to be conscious - wanted to be left alone, just sleeping in a safe place, without a care in the world.

Yet, it looked like this cruel, relentless leftover of the universe had more in store for you.

It took a couple of moments of steadying your breathing - then it hit you. Pain, lots of it, invading your mid-thigh like a swarm of ants all over your skin. It was the kind of pain that almost-healed, sore wounds created, nevertheless, you hadn't been able to feel any sort of sense during the time you were asleep - God knows how long - and it was making itself known alright. You let out a hiss, your eyebrows furrowing as your gaze directed itself to your bandaged wound.

The lower half of your pants were missing, cut-off right below the bandages... how the hell? Last you remembered, you had a bullet in your thigh, almost dying of blood loss in a tenement high-rise on your way out of the state, and your pants covered your lower leg.

Why, on the damned scorched earth, would anyone help out someone like you?

"You're in safety," the gruff man spoke, a vague answer to your question, his voice sounding low and threatening beneath that peppered beard. "for now."

The two little words he added at the end with such a tone that you just knew he would shoot you on the spot if you tried to do anything stupid by his books. You could not do anything but nod, and gulp. Even that hurt.

Your worried expression seemed to go unnoticed as an exasperated voice intruded your thoughts. "Yeah, Joel, this is a terrible idea," the girl who was looking down on you earlier with bright, green eyes scoffed, shaking her head, her hand flying out to gesture at you. "The hell were you thinkin'? She cannot even walk - what are we gonna do with her?"

Just what was this little girl talking about? You could not help but look in between the two survivors, the man supposedly named Joel shooting the girl a side glance, his flannel-covered arms folded in front of him as he kept his gaze on you. He looked strong, very strong - the type of hardened survivor that could snap your dainty little neck in half if he wanted to. There had been just something about him, something that you could not quite place a finger on. It took you another look in his green eyes combined with the familiar crimson patterns of the flannel that stretched on his chest to finally come to your senses. Was this...

"Wait," you called out, trying to lean yourself on your forearms with a hiss. "You're the guy who saved me from the hunters," you continued, as if trying to make yourself believe rather than ask the guy, couple strands of hair falling onto your damp face as you propped yourself up. The scoffs and the little murmurs of you gotta be kidding me coming from the teen, ringing in your ears.

"Thank you. Not a whole lot showin' mercy these days."

"Damn right, y'hear that Joel? We've heard that before," the kid started talking again, this time in a little mocking tone as she crossed her arms and walked over to your figure, her eyebrows furrowed and her fiery green gaze focused on the gruff man.

If anything, this had to be a rather unusual dynamic between a father and a daughter you had ever seen - made you think that he had taught her well, not to trust strangers and all. Oh, she surely had to be his daughter, judging by your first impressions of her - fiery, headstrong. But what the hell was your fault? The man had helped you himself, carried you to safety and she sure as hell wasn't there when those damned hunters ambushed you in that high-rise right when you was about to escape Pittsburgh.

What were they going to do with you? You were surprised when the man had left you some supplies back in the city, you supposed he had cleared out the damned infected scraping at your door but compared to the level of surprise that you had looking at the little girl and her father, arguing about what they were to do about you - the former had been nothing. Even in your weakened state, it did not make sense in the survival mindset that you all had grown so accustomed to over the past twenty years, to take in a damsel in distress simply because you wanted to play the hero for a while.

It was a hard-learned truth that there had been no heroes left in this empty shell of the world - it was the survival of the most cruel, most resourceful and the most violent.

Hell, if you had been in his position when he found you, you would be quick to put a bullet into your head - without glancing at the dead look in your eyes.

You had done it many times before. You were damn sure he had as well, else he would not be surviving this far into the outbreak. Why was this one time different?

The man in front of you, standing all tall and broad, had a contrasting troubled expression in that rogue face of his. Just one look at him could tell you he had seen the worst of the outbreak, killed and tortured. That strength he seemingly possessed and that recluse surrounding his aura did not come from simple blind luck. His eyes assessed you, every single movement you made - almost as if he was judging whether to spare you or kill you right there on that ugly mattress based on what your next moves entailed.

It was not like you could even raise your hand to throw a punch - the strange pair knew you could not harm them even if you so wanted to. You had been down the road of recovery before, getting shot many times in the course of a pandemic, a couple days of rest would get you back on your feet. Before, you had always been alone or with people you somewhat trusted. Not with complete strangers who acted out of their sheer leftover notion of mercy to save you.

You were vulnerable, in such a state that you depended on them, on someone if you wanted to continue the little survival gig you had been on for two decades. Over at the corner of the room, you could spot your familiar backpack with your supplies staying intact in it, your trusted guns resting on the floor beside. Unarmed and weak, you slowly rose yourself up to sit on the edge of the bed, dragging your injured thigh along as your feet touched the ground, your jaw clenched all the while to avoid screaming out of pain. It was not the time to show weakness, to emit even the slightest grunt of misery - even a small sound, a little indication of you not being able to tolerate pain would decide whether they left you abandoned there or not if you were deemed useless in their eyes.

"Look," your voice would echo across the wooden panels of the room, making the little girl in front of you move her hand to the pistol tucked into the waistband of her jeans. Your hand rose up in defense, indicating that you meant no harm, your tired orbs moving back and forth between the pair as the stuffy air in the room felt even more stale with the added tension of the unknown.

"I don't know who you both are but I know you saved me from that mess," you would speak slowly, your tone softening ever so slightly as your gaze rested on the man. "If it wasn't for you, hell, I'd be long dead from blood loss. I'd like to repay you in some way."

To your surprise, the little girl's expression grew even more grim as her eyebrows furrowed in doubt and distrust, however, her hand left the revolver she had been holding onto earlier only for them to be placed on her hips as her green orbs bore daggers into you. If only you could look in the mirror then, you would see the helpless expression your delicate features harbored, an unusual feat by itself.

With the girl's watchful eyes over him, the gruff man crouched in front of you, couple feet away to match your gaze due to his towering height. Your eyes immediately focused into his amber green ones, with glints of doubt and fear in them, as well as determination. One of his large hands would stroke his peppered beard slightly, lost in thought yet his gaze never faltering from your orbs, his elbows resting on his bent knees.

"Think you can handle a gun once you're walkin'?" he asked, though he already had an inkling of an idea that you had been a decent marksman based on the body he had found on the first floor of the high-rise with a bullet lodged in his skull.

To which, you could only nod with a strong look in your eyes, making it clear you were not playing around.

Much to the little girl's dismay, Joel would nod pensively before getting up and breaking your gaze.

"We leave in a couple of days, and you're comin' along. If you want to pay what you owe me, you're gonna have to protect us. "

#mercy #val writes #fanfiction #chapter 3 #the last of us #tlou joel #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel is such a daddy

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viktors-fckass-bob · 5 years ago

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Echoes: In Another Life

Hey y'all! I'm bouncing around @arcana-echoes to bring you a glimpse into these Ayitians' alternate lives:

Tiny hands dug into the rich soil. It was days like this that Andrico remembers that he could be happy. It was hard otherwise. Sure he was a hero, damn near a national treasure but the people’s adoration did little to quell the unrest in his heart. Almost 13 years after the war the smell of blood still lingered wherever he went. His fallen men still visited in his dreams, angry and rotting. He should have done more. He could have done more. If he wanted to win so badly he should have sacrificed himself. Instead he led his men to slaughter while he lived the cushy life. No matter how tormented he lived it, how unfulfilled. A life full of politics and policy when his soul craved sweat and soil.

But out there in his garden that didn’t matter. All that mattered there was him, his little Fabienne, and the sunshine. Her wide gapped-toothed smile could chase away his most stubborn demons. It was a shame that she could never stay.

“Are you ready to clean up for lunch Fabi?” He asked as he pet her hair.

The little girl began to pout. “But Papa, you promised me we would plant all the flowers today!”

“Your mother would be very cross if I let you go hungry.”

Not that she wouldn’t find something else to be cross about, he thought bitterly.

“You don’t usually stop for anything when you’re in the garden,” Fabienne argued as she crossed her arms.

“Haven’t you heard Fabi? Se yon neg andeyo mwe ye!”

“Maman says that you are a country bumpkin.”

Andrico could feel his eyebrow twitch.

“Good thing she found a nice city boy to marry, hm?”

Fabienne made no comment as she stuck her hands back into the dirt. He should press harder, be a little more authoritative. But everyone, including the girl in question, knew that Fabienne had him wrapped around her little finger. There was no point in fighting it. All she had to do was look up at him with those coffee black eyes, eyes that were so like her mother’s, and he was a goner. Moreover, he wanted to pretend just a little longer. He didn’t want to be General El-Saieh. He didn’t want the nightmares, or the panic attacks, or the failed marriage, or the strained relationships with everyone around him. He wanted the sweat and soil and for his little daughter to remember her papa as a man who loved the earth and the people on it. Who kissed booboos and chased away monsters and sang her to sleep on the nights she stayed with him. So Andrico kissed the top of her head and handed her another bulb.

Lunch could wait a moment or two.

She should head left. There is nothing stopping her from going left. It wasn’t like there was anything worth staying here for. She was tired. Tired of the expectations, the lessons, the everything. She should leave her teacher behind, go left, and see where life takes her.

Jasna took a few steps and stopped. She could go left.

But what about my family?

Could she live with not seeing them again for years? Possibly ever?

The path she was on was irritating at best, stifling at it’s worse. But it was sure. Jasna knew where she was going, where she would end up. The idea of starting over was tempting. All her life all she ever wanted was the option to choose. And there it was, presenting itself as a caravan heading to a city called Vesuvia.

She could go left.

“Jasna,” her tutor Frantz called out from their wagon. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “Just needed to stretch my legs.”

With that she turned on her heels and headed right.

Jai, Andrés, and Marie-Carmel under the cut

They watched as the shoreline got smaller. The Augustine Regime had fallen Their uncle was dead, beheaded by a ‘young upstart who just learned to wipe his own ass.’ Jai felt no sympathy, no remorse. They did not bat an eyelash as their family uprooted themselves in the middle of the night, fleeing onto a boat towards hopefully friendlier lands.

It’s what they deserved really. Their uncle for being an absolute tyrant, their parents complicit to the horrors, and them… and them for their silence. But not any longer. No, they refused to hold their tongue ever again.

They could hear light footsteps come up behind them. Their mother called out a name that never fit, never belonged to them. They squared their shoulders.

“Jai,” they called back.

They could feel their mother’s confusion.

“What?”

“My name is Jai,” they continued. “That person you’re looking for is not here. My name is Jai, I go by they, and you will address me as such.”

Their mother walked up and stood next to them. From the corner of their eye Jai could see their mother’s exasperation, anger, and grief.

“Must you do this now?” She practically spat.

“Yes. If not now, then when?”

They could feel her eyes bore into the side of their face.

“I have lost my home,” her mother said quietly. “ I have lost my home, my friends, and my country. Must I lose my daughter too?”

Jai could feel giggles and tears war in their gut. They could argue how their mother has not lost her child at all, that they were there, it was just that she had refused to see them for who they were. Jai could laugh in her face because all that her mother mourned was gained on the backs of a suffering nation. Instead they turned to look her in the eye and parroted her words from years ago.

“You cannot lose something you never had, cheri.”

The High Priestess bathed the infant in a tub full of hibiscus petals and fragrant oils. Blessing babies was meant for the acolytes, a routine job regarded beneath her station. However, Andrés could hardly find it in herself to give two shits.

As the human embodiment of the All Mothers, was she not to embody them? Was she not to walk in humility and kindness? To treat everyone with respect? If the All Mothers hadn’t hidden their spirits away in their realm Andrés would find the sisters that came before her and give them a tongue lashing. As if any task at the temple was beneath her. As she would ever pass up giving out The Mothers love. Idiots, the whole lot of them. But those were worries for another day.

Andrés gently wrapped the squirming baby in a soft linen cloth and handed them back to their parents.

“Go, my children. The love and the light of your Mothers will see you through to the end of your days.”

Teary eyes looked up to her gratefully. Often she wondered what people saw when they looked at her. Did they see a living goddess? Did they see power? Did they see The Divine Feminine in her?

Or did they see her, Andrés? A young woman thrust into adulthood too soon? Someone without all the answers but who tries her best for everyone? Do they see her regret?

“High Priestess,” an acolyte called from the doorway of the shrine. “The next family is ready.”

Andrés nodded as the previous family left, praises to the All Mothers and their Chosen Daughter heavy on their lips. She stood tall as the next family walked in, took their tiny baby in her arms with confidence, and began her blessings. In the presence of her children, there was no room for doubt.

“I love you,” he said as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. Marie-Carmel smiled lightly, enjoying the sun and the fresh air. She rested her head against her husband’s shoulder. It was a beautiful summer day. Her dear husband decided it would be the perfect day for a carriage ride. It was nice. It was romantic. She could not stop the words from spilling out.

“I love you too,” she said quietly and today it felt like she meant it.

It was terrible, she knew. Martine was not a bad man, not by a long shot. He was kind, generous, and smart. He was what anyone would want in a spouse. It was what she wanted in a spouse. And yet.

She does her best not to think of the loves of her past, the gentle Claudine or the funny Francois. They were all kind, generous, and smart but Mimi always found them lacking. And now Marie-Carmel was there, married to a man her Mimi adored but she found herself loving only on occasion.

Marie-Carmel does her best to not think of the notice on the community board.

Best Divorce Lawyer in Town!

Jean-Jacques Deroleaux Esq.

5555 Gardenia Street, Port Joyeux

Get your appointment today!

Her ‘friends’, all people of high society as her Mimi intended, were properly scandalized. She played the part, titterting behind an open fan at the depravity of it all but in her heart she wondered.

Her Mimi would be so disappointed! She would lose her friends! And Martine, poor sweet Martine. Oh he would be so heartbroken!

And yet.

Marie-Carmel rested her head on her husband’s shoulder, the flyer burning a hole in her dress all the while.

#the arcana #fan apprentice #the arcana mc #andrico the soft chaos boy #jasna the reluctant magician #jai the rebel #andrés the chosen one #marie carmel the runaway #arcana eotp #arcana echoes #we are in our feelings tonight lads

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sinjata · 5 years ago

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Inuyasha / Kagome Fanfic : When Your Heart Makes a Wish - Chapter 2 - Memories from somewhere far away

Here’s the second chapter, it’s all yours! :) Hope you like it! Oh, you really should listen Inuyasha soundtracks, when you are reading this story. Those are so good!

Chapter 2 - Memories from somewhere far away

Kagome cannot help it, sometimes she just has to let her memories to be heard, no matter how painful it is. At one point, she realized she had to try to learn to cherish her memories. They did not stay in her mind just for fun. How could I ever forget? Every place is reminiscent of Inuyasha, even the market where we went together... Kagome had to avoid that place too for some time. It has been difficult for her to protect herself from crushing memories, but gradually it succeeded. Until now, when Kagome’s mind fills up for a long time with questions, to which she has not dared to think of answers.

Has Inuyasha forgotten me, went on in his life? Did he ever think, that our time together might be coming to an end? Is everyone alright there? Did Sango and Miroku get married? Shippo and Kirara, how I would love to hug you both now. I miss you; I miss you all so terribly! Sota misses you too, Inuyasha, but he doesn’t say it out loud, because he’s afraid that he would hurt me... Kagome just sees it from him every now and then and when she hugs him wordlessly, Sota understands.

Suddenly, memories - good and more painful ones - makes a return to Kagome's mind, as if someone had opened the huge gate, that protected them. Kagome has tried to push certain memories, especially those which were like one big monster, somewhere very far from her mind. But now they seem like to suffocate her, unless she will release them. She can't help but give up.

Kagome remembers the moment, when after surviving the attack of the centipede demon, she got up from the well and ended up in the woods. Thinking that she had found the Holy Tree and her home yard, but then she saw a boy, Inuyasha, nailed to the tree with an arrow. She remembers rubbing his dog’s ears, totally unable to resist the temptation. Such ears... Those doesn’t belong to a human. She remembers thinking, waking up from her thoughts only, when the villagers shot them with arrows.

Suddenly Kagome does wince and almost drops her tea mug. She now realizes that she actually instinctively protected Inuyasha from the arrows of the villagers, by throwing herself in front of him, without even considering that she could be hit by herself. I could have jumped to the ground for being safe or something, but for some reason I didn't do it... She wonders.

“Thanks for that, you were just trying to kill me,” Kagome says sadly.

But Inuyasha took very good care of me too... Kagome is thinking and smiles a little for her memories. When this got sick at the Feudal era and she returned home, Inuyasha followed her. He prepared medicine for her using his mother’s prescription and kept watch at night, that Kagome was able to sleep. And he didn't even get a jealousy attack, even though Hojo was here... Maybe he was more focused on thinking about ways to get me in better shape.

Inuyasha often called her an idiot, and yet at times he behaved like one, however, he remained by her side in such moments, helping to the best of his ability. Like she was doing same for Inuyasha, there was no doubt about it.

In Kagome’s mind is now a very distant memory, of how Inuyasha was not at first allowing her to go back to her own time, when she wanted to and tried to block (or destroy) the well with a large rock. Kagome became enraged and repeatedly used the sit -command on Inuyasha, so that he tumbled to the ground and the heavily stone striked to his back. Later, a mask demon attacked Kagome and Sota, but Inuyasha rescued them by destroying the demon. However, Inuyasha was really offended about what happened with the stone and rudely refused to help them, before apologizing. As dawn came, before Kagome left for school, she vowed Inuyasha to go his own time and so he did - for a moment.

When Kagome came home from school, she found Inuyasha from her room, who was sitting on the bed while Buyo was sleeping next to him. At first Kagome was angry, because she knew how impossible it was to study while he was around. Inuyasha got bored insanely fast, if he didn’t come up with anything to do, and Kagome didn't always have time to keep him company. Fortunately, Sota helped her sometimes with that, but now he was not home yet.

“You! Why are you here? I’m not coming back yet, you know -” Kagome asked, dropping her backpack from her shoulder to the floor.

Soon, however, she saw that he was not okay. Inuyasha sat unanswered with his ears down, holding his side while his face distorted in pain.

"Inuyasha, what’s wrong with you?" Kagome asked, sat down next to Inuyasha, while concern swept over her when seeing him like this.

“Back”, grumpy hanyō growled, looking accusingly at Kagome. I hope I didn't come here for nothing... What if she doesn't want to help? Inuyasha thought somehow worried.

“Oh no - still? It seems to get a bad hit then...” Kagome muttered nervously, feeling a small sting of guilt. Somehow, it’s weird... Inuyasha often gets worse hits with demons, as those wounds healed very quickly. But now one stone cause such terrible pain? She wondered, without daring to inquire about the matter any further.

“Why didn’t you show it to Kaede? She would surely have found the right herbs for your pains -”

“As if I would show anything to that old hag! Hngh... Stop nagging and do something!” Inuyasha groaned in pain.

“Well, once you ask so kindly...” Kagome said in a sarcastic tone, sighing deeply.

“Take off your clothes”, Kagome ordered.

“Shirts, I mean”, she clarified quickly, seeing Inuyasha’s look.

Inuyasha then nodded quickly and put his Tessaiga sword from his lap to the floor, to lean on the bedside table. He turned his back and began to carefully take off his kimono. To his surprise, he felt Kagome helping him, her noticing that every move seemed to hurt him.

“Thanks...” Inuyasha said quietly. Damn, even just this feels painful...

After Inuyasha got his shirt off too, Kagome saw many big bruises on his pale back, but some of them were already healing. However, the sight gripped Kagome's stomach kind of nasty way, because Inuyasha's back was looking as if this had gotten beated badly.

“I’m sorry...” Kagome said quietly, touching his back lightly with her fingertips.

“Well now you sounded more, like you really meant it too. Last time you didn’t really convince me”, Inuyasha muttered and shuddered slightly, when he felt her gently touch on his back.

"Hey, do you even realize, that you were going to break the well permanently?!" this made Kagome flicker angrily and crossing her arms.

“How did you imagine me getting back to my own time without the well, huh? Here, back into my own life?? It’s little bit hard to apologize anything after that! Fine, I’m not making you sit under a stone or anything else anymore, but you can’t assume -”

“Okay okay, I understood!” Inuyasha interrupted, turning around and nailing his golden-yellow gaze at Kagome.

“Maybe I overreacted just a little bit, but what else should I do, when you always leave at the wrong time! We have to look for Shikon shards, but you seem to always have something hell more important here -“

"I would probably have stayed there for the rest of my life, if the well had broken!" Kagome tries to make him see, how serious the situation was.

“It doesn’t sound so bad though...” Inuyasha muttered, no longer looking at her. Damn, what I’m saying?!

“What...?” Kagome stared at him for a moment wondering, if she had heard wrong.

“It wouldn’t have broken down so badly”, Inuyasha said now louder.

It was as if you had said something completely different... Kagome was still wondering in her mind.

“Inuyasha, I also have to go to school here or I’ll get kicked out from there! My future depends on it, it’s very important to me. When will you understand that?” Kagome huffed, shaking her head slowly.

Seeing Kagome's face like that, Inuyasha understood not to be so stubborn, if he wanted help from her now.

“Maybe I’ll try it now”, Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and turns his back again to Kagome, leaving her there with open mouth for a moment. As long as you don't kick me out, but help me...

“I don’t know if massaging would help or would it only make it worse...” Kagome did wonder out loud, while she also decided to let the dust settle and focus on caring his back.

“Try”, Inuyasha decided on her behalf.

“Lay down, it’s easier that way”, Kagome instructed, and he obeyed lowering his head on Kagome’s pillow.

"You say right away if it hurts too much, is that clear?" Kagome adjured and Inuyasha mumbled approvingly, while Buyo took a new sleeping place next to his feet.

She moved closer to him, moving Inuyasha's long, silver-white hair aside and gently pressed his back searching painful spots. The bruises gave a good clue about those, but it was also easy to find those because of the noises, he made. At least his shoulders are little tight, no wonder though... Kagome noticed as she used more force.

How can it feel so... Kagome's hands, her sweet scent in this soft... I guess I've never been able to relax like this before... Inuyasha was thinking somewhat sleepy.

"Does this relieve any of your pain?" Kagome asked after a moment.

“Mm-mh...” was the only answer Inuyasha, who had closed his eyes, gave her.

Did he fall asleep? He at least seems to trust me a little bit more now... Kagome thought, and couldn't help but smile. Inuyasha seemed to relax moment by moment, making Kagome’s job easier. I didn’t want to cause you such a pain like this, but why you have to be so stubborn... Otherwise, I would now be wondering by the remains of the well, how to get back home. Kagome thought, then getting an idea. Hmm, would I dare try that to him... Yes, it might really help!

“Inuyasha, I’ll be right back. Just wait here, quietly.”

“Mm...” answer came from the pillow again.

I guess he's somehow awake. Kagome smiled, then headed to the bathroom. She took a mint green tube from the mirror cabinet and returned to her room. Kagome carefully sat back next to Inuyasha and opened the tube. Buyo woke up fast like a flash and its horrified look told, what that thought about the smell. The cat jumped to the floor and found safer place from Kagome's chair. At the same time, Inuyasha woke up too.

“What the hell stinks so strongly?! It burns my eyes!” he rose suddenly to sit, stared at her with narrowed eyes wondering, what she was doing.

“I’ll put you a cold gel, it will relieve the pain. But its effect may seem a little strange to you at first, I just warn you”, Kagome gently let Inuyasha smell the open tube and his reaction was reminiscent of Buyo’s reaction, which couldn’t stand the smell of menthol either.

"You're trying to poison me with that stuff, just admit it!" Inuyasha argued holding his nose and retreated next to the wall on the bed, kicking with his feet. Just when I was about to trust her...!

“This isn’t poison, you fool. Just watch...” Kagome said and put some gel on her own hand, while Inuyasha was about to attack to stop her.

Crazy woman... How dare you put that anywhere near your skin?! Inuyasha thought, glancing eyes wide at Kagome, then stared fixedly at her hand, as if waiting for the skin to corrode.

They both just waited for a moment and while still nothing significant happened to her hand, Inuyasha pondered his options. He moved back to Kagome's side and pushed his hand to her.

“On your own risk, woman,” he said, while Kagome just nodded smiling, applied gel to a small area on his hand and waited for the gel’s and Inuyasha’s reaction.

Inuyasha stared at his hand, tapping his knee with his fingernails. With an impatient nature of his, he was already asking, what they were actually waiting for. Until...

“Gaaah! What...! What...? It feels - cold... No, burning?!” Inuyasha was panicky for a moment, until he somehow restrained himself and sniffed his hand, then he was about to taste it too.

"No! You can’t do that!” Kagome grabbed his hand at the last minute, trying to pull it out of Inuyasha's reach, but accidentally pulling the whole patient closer to herself.

Clearly not... Inuyasha thought looking at their hands and then Kagome, while his tongue was already out of his mouth just a little bit.

“You really shouldn’t put that thing in your mouth, it would hardly even taste good...” Kagome said, then released Inuyasha’s hand in a quick motion and retreated a little further away from him, while her cheeks flushed.

How can he look sometimes so... And why I’m blushing?? My thoughts are wandering far too much now... That's Inuyasha, wake up woman! Kagome thought and felt how her hands was getting sweaty. She closed her eyes tightly for a tiny moment.

“Just trust me now. Turn around”, Kagome ordered again to avoid Inuyasha’s gaze.

What just - happened? Inuyasha thought, when Kagome's look somehow disturbed him. He nodded slowly and turned his back somewhat reluctantly. He grabbed Kagome's pillow in his arms feeling a little excited and gave her a permission to apply that substance called gel, to his back.

Kagome continued her work again and Inuyasha was remaining silent. I really hope this helps you... She thought watching the bruises, while cold gel cooled her fingertips.

It was secretly fun for Kagome to follow, how Inuyasha was squirming and twisting, when he tried to understand what he was feeling in his body at that moment, as the gold gel began to seem to gradually show reactions here and there on his skin.

This feels somehow different than before. As if her touch would burn... But it doesn't hurt, but quite the opposite. Funny feeling... Inuyasha thought, staring at the cork board hanging on the wall in front of him.

“It’s ready”, Kagome snorted as she closed the tube.

Oh... Already now? Inuyasha found himself thinking.

“Such a strange poison... That - actually helps”, he said after a moment looking relieved, when he peeked over his shoulder.

For some reason Kagome felt blushing again. She felt good while she helped, and the fact that Inuyasha took help from her, she felt like the direction was right.

“You're welcome... Still, don’t mess with it too much now. Give it some time to heal”, Kagome advised as she got out of the bed, while Inuyasha was wearing his light shirt.

“Keh, let’s hope then there won’t be any surprises on the way home. You wouldn't - come along already?” Inuyasha suggested from the windowsill, after grabbing his Tessaiga from the floor, though he already knows her answer.

“Not yet, I have to pack and -“

“Well, as long as you will return soon!”

Kagome watched, how Inuyasha leaped into the invisible. And he’s gone again... Well, let’s hurry up then!

She decided to take a bath and then pack her yellow backpack. The backpack became a little too heavy from schoolbooks and other necessities, as usual. Kagome said quickly goodbyes to her grandfather and mother before stepping out the door, then colliding with Sota.

“Bye then, Sota,” Kagome said to him, without stopping her way.

“Sister, isn’t there too much stuff? Are you leaving again?” the boy asked, when he saw her weighing a backpack.

“A girl can’t travel by empty-handed. You never know, what you’ll need there”, she justified.

“Okay, by the way I already saw -“

*CRASH*

“...Inuyasha”, Sota ended his sentence after Inuyasha interrupted him, as if he would have fallen from the sky.

“What are you doing there??” Kagome breathes in fright, as the silver head crashes on her backpack.

“Dumb head...” Inuyasha said, grabbed Kagome’s backpack on his shoulder and headed for the shrine.

“Let’s go already!” Inuyasha said bustling, but stopped abruptly his way and turned to stare at Kagome.

“Oi - you didn't happen to pack that poison -“

“Oh that, I have it”, Kagome smiled at him, patted her backpack, knowing her travel company was talking about the cold gel and Inuyasha also nodded with a smile.

At least he waited, but here...? He really carries my backpack... His back also seems to be much better. Kagome thought contentedly, following him to a new adventure, forgetting everything else for a moment.

He finally started to trust me, even just a little... She thinks while lifting her tea mug to her lips, remembering how difficult the start was with Inuyasha, but how she decided not to give up on him. No matter what. How she was able to do that, she does not know even herself. How long a human can miss someone? The rest of this life, or is it possible to get used to it somehow? At least I'm not used to it yet, if I ever will... Kagome stares at the bottom of an empty mug in her thoughts.

Kagome wonders, how her nerves burned with Inuyasha’s overflowing jealousy because of Koga, however, usually enduring it somehow during their clashes.

It was kind of sweet to be jealous of me, but... Did he take me as for granted? It just felt like it at times... He immediately ran to Kikyo, if he got her scent somewhere nearby. As I turned like into air to him. Until she didn't show up for a while. Or did I just imagine it? But even Koga noticed it and that too, how I felt when Inuyasha did that... And Inuyasha also just wondered, why I was so tense somehow after those times.

I couldn’t help it... And when someone showed some signs of interest in me, he got pissed, even though I did nothing. As if I were just his property. You - you selfish...! Urgh... I’m not some rag doll to play with, just when he or anyone else wants! But he couldn’t help it either. That's just the way he is; always trying to save everyone, even if it’s impossible... Kagome thinks feeling little bit sad and how her pulse is rising, but then calming herself down.

Eventually, something just snapped in her head and she could not help, but explode right into Inuyasha’s face, that he can’t take her for granted. And that he always disappeared into his own little world, when he heard about Kikyo. Inuyasha did not notice any signs of danger in the air, as he said wrong things at that moment and angry Kagome used the sit command on him several times. But saying it out loud seemed to purify the air - at least for a brief moment.

However, even before that, Kagome’s heart went totally broken, when she found Inuyasha and Kikyo together in the forest, knowing Inuyasha had made his choice - and it was not Kagome. When he was ready to say goodbye for good, to focus on protecting Kikyo. However, she was not ready to hear it yet, so she went back to her own time. Kagome then realized, why she couldn’t just let it be; would return Shikon’s shards and return home, permanently. She finally realized, that she loves Inuyasha.

I didn't meet him by chance. I couldn't have abandoned him, no matter how many knife blows my own heart would have felt... Kagome wonders, until she suddenly covers her mouth with her hand and collapses into an almost silent cry. Why does the heart remember this same pain so well even now, over and over again? Is that why it feels, like my heart is little bit tilted? It just hasn’t forgotten yet...

Kagome lowers an empty mug to the ground and lies down on a bench. She crosses her hands on her stomach, trying to calm down. It’s all gone by now and behind, has been already a long time. It would finally be a good time, to forget all the bad... She looks at the tops of the tree and tries to get her thoughts in a more positive direction.

...To be continued...

So, now you have second chapter. Kagome and Inuyasha shared their memories, each in their own minds, in their own time. That’s why there are perspectives on both points of view in the memory part. Just for clarification, why it’s like that. :) Have a great week!

#inuyasha #kagome #inukag #inukago #fanfic #fanfiction #timetravelling #travellingintime #anime #manga #romance #Drama #inuyashafanfic #inuyashafanfiction #kagomehigurashi #lovestory #yashahime #yashahime princess half demon

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amaltheeia · 5 years ago

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Another writing warmup, because Proteus gives me the creeps and I’m projecting that onto Shockwave.

warnings for: stalking, threats of violence (implied), just proteus

His first mistake is taking the balcony exit.

For those with aerial alt-modes, it provides a quicker escape from the noise that is the interim conference centre. Meetings here are rare--usually only for the select few that occupy what he’s started calling the inner circle--but the Senate building is under modification. Something to do with Sentinel and the guard introducing tighter security measures. Cameras, audio equipment, the whole brigade.

He’s not one to lay down on these things, but Proteus has him beat. Argue against them, and you’re apathetic to the safety of the general public. As he’s pushed out of the fold, he’s had to learn some hard truths about what the future is going to be like. A lot of giving, not so much taking.

But speak of the undertaker: there Proteus is. He can’t be missed, not with his gold trim that reflects every ray of light that crosses him. He’s glowing like some kind of deity. To many, he is: he’s become a symbol of malfeasance, the protector of the corrupt.

He hopes to sidestep him and be on his way. Unluckily for him, Proteus turns just as Shockwave exits, and waves away the mech he’d been talking to, mid-speech.

“Senator Shockwave,” he calls out. It’s loud enough for everyone in the general vicinity to hear. “Come join me.”

He knows what he’s doing. To ignore him would make Shockwave look rude. Proper social etiquette leashes him, dragging him over to Proteus.

He walks close enough to be heard, and then spits out the first excuse that comes to mind. “I have work at the Academy, I’m afraid.” He forces a smile onto his face. “Another time, maybe, so I can fully appreciate what you have to say.”

“Oh shush. Spare a click, come here.” His voice hardens, as if to push Shockwave into believing it’s an order. As if to make matters more humiliating, he points down at the ground to where he wants Shockwave to be.

Shockwave tests the weight on his pedes, then walks over. He eyes Proteus with suspicion, keeping a reasonable, but far, distance between them.

Proteus takes note with a soft grunt that pushes hot air out of his vents. The exhaust fans over Shockwave, a brief pause in the cool night air.

“I’m sure you don’t scoff and moan as much when you’re asked to speak to Dai Atlas.”

“Because Dai Atlas and I are friends.”

“Ouch,” Proteus says, smiling. “No time like the present, however.”

Shockwave can’t tell if he’s joking. To play it safe, he doesn’t chuckle. Proteus doesn’t like being made into a humorous subject.

(He’d hate hearing about the jokes the outliers make. They get pretty creative.)

He hopes the pursuing silence will convince Proteus this is a waste of time, but for the second time that night, he doesn’t get lucky. Proteus is still circling his kill.

Proteus eyes him thoroughly. “What colours are you thinking of next?”

“What?”

“You scratch at the finish on your fins when you’re thinking of a colour change.”

It stabs at something deep inside of Shockwave, a fear he didn’t realize he could have until the words left Proteus’ mouth. The other Senator wastes no time elaborating on it either.

“What’ll be this time--oh, let me think,” he raises a hand to his temples, “what colour haven’t you done in a while? It’s getting hard to remember, with how often you change it.”

Shockwave pauses. It’s an odd question, one he’s not sure is asked with complete innocence.

No point in lying though. “Blue and red, if you must know.”

“Blue and red,” Proteus repeats. His mouth curls. “It’ll be hard to tell us apart.” As if it’s supposed to be a compliment to him.

“Not your shade. Something lighter,” says Shockwave, almost overlapping Proteus before he can finish.

A dark shadow passes over Proteus’ face, taking the humour along with it. The Proteus he knows from the closed Senate sessions comes out, and gone is the benevolent persona he wears for his constituents.

“I don’t see why you’re so,” he grits his denta, “hostile to me. You do all this work to counter us and always leave with nothing to show for it.”

“You wouldn’t understand why I do it.”

“I don’t. You turn on the very system that gives you what you have now.”

Shockwave shrugs. “I’m afraid we were never meant to compromise. You see what you’re doing as justified, as I do my own ambitions. That won’t change. Respect our differences, and there shouldn’t be any trouble.”

“That’s what you choose to believe. We all have a choice.”

“Not when it’s concerning what’s right.”

Proteus’ face twists. “Cut the slag,” he snarls. “We don’t exist in a binary. It’s not good and evil, it’s just better or worse. Good mechs do horrible things all the time, but it’s for the greater good. You just never learned that.”

“Or maybe you just can’t see it, because it wouldn’t fit your vision.”

On cue, Proteus looks up at his sky spies, no doubt with a few lenses pointed at them. “You do right by the criminals and leakers that come to you for help, instead of what’s best for everyone. That’s why our visions are different. If you had your way, the whole of the Senate would collapse.”

Shockwave flexes his fingers, saying nothing.

“Speaking of criminals: that cop of yours, Orion Pax, was out by the Ark-1 Monument a cycle ago. He seemed happy to see you. How about that?” says Proteus, with only a hint of glee. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s back from the dead.”

Shockwave flinches, though he keeps his faceplates clear. “Were you spying on me?”

“It’s not spying if it’s in public, and you’re a very distinctive mech.”

Proteus has the added size to intimidate him with. Shockwave takes a step back from the balustrade.

“What I do outside of the Senate is none of your business.”

He can’t move much farther back without drawing the attention of others, which is exactly what Proteus wants. An audience only ever benefits him.

“Not when you’re a Senator.” Proteus’ voice has turned deep. “What’s the concern? If you’re not doing anything wrong...”

“It’s an invasion of my privacy! You have no right.”

“We’re living amid the Clampdown.” The words spatter like acid. “No one has the right to privacy. Since you’re always so up our afterburners about practicing what we preach, I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Pleased? Forgive me for not finding the thought of you hanging over my shoulder reassuring.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m protecting you.”

Shockwave tenses up. The urge to shout profanities is off the scale, but he knows it will only give Proteus ammo.

Proteus takes over: “Call them what you will--I think Decepticons has become the universal term. Someone like you--high profile--is at risk.”

“Well, call it luck that I befriended a police chief then.”

Shockwave looks over his shoulder, trying to discern whether it’d be a good idea to depart from the conversation now.

Proteus advances on him, forcing himself into Shockwave’s line of sight. The look of satisfaction on his faceplates Shockwave’s tanks churn.

“Orion Pax cannot protect you. It would be wise to reassess where you have put your allies.”

“I don’t need the protection of anyone, thank you.”

“Really? In times like this, you need more than a police chief to be sure that those conspiring against you aren’t about to get the upper hand.”

“Meaning you?”

It tames the other mech’s expression. “Oh, come now. As I said, it’s not too late to give up this pursuit of yours.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Proteus takes him by the arm before he can step away. Shockwave pulls, but Proteus won’t release him.

“Don’t test my patience. I’m giving you a chance here.” He leans in close. “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll darken that shade of blue, Shockwave, and accept my offer.”

“I don’t need handouts, especially not from you,” he growls, taking his arm back.

He prides his ability to keep his voice stable, considering it’s Proteus he’s talking to. There’s something larger than them that’s being propositioned here. Accepting anything he says, even something minor, will spin into some big conflict, he’s sure.

He quits while he’s ahead, turning his back on Proteus in a way he’s sure will be bruising to the ego. Leave Proteus without the last word and he combusts on the spot.

Which he does.

“You fancy him!” Proteus shouts, as if an accusation. The words singe his backstruts. It makes Shockwave turn, out of fear someone else will hear and speculate if Proteus continues.

Proteus’ grin is not kind. He shortens the distance between them once more. “You always did have a thing for dissenters. A shame; power should be kept in the Senate.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s an Autobot, yes?” Without waiting for an answer, he proceeds. “Self-proclaimed, and all. Mechs like him, they won’t last long. He’s going to keep speaking up, and it’ll be the death of him.”

The thought of Orion and death in the same sentence makes his spark ache. Anger quickly replaces it, surging up and out of his voice box before he can hold it back.

“You don’t touch him.” He shakes with fury.

“Always so emotional.” Proteus smirks. “How about I make you a deal: I don’t touch him, and in return--“

Shockwave points a finger at him. “There’s no ‘in return,’ you don’t touch him.”

Proteus grabs his hand and takes it in his own. His grip threatens to disfigure the joints. Trying to provoke him, no doubt. Or at least, that’s what he chooses to believe. The other option is a lot less pleasant.

“You don’t call the shots here,” he hums. “So you should probably think about being nicer to me. For both his sake and yours.”

Shockwave doesn’t humour him with another word. He’s down the winding steps and headed Primus knows where before Proteus can say any more. Consequences be damned, he won’t subject himself to another minute of that nonsense.

His first thought is to go to his sanctuary, his School, but armed with the knowledge that Proteus has been following him, it isn’t a risk he’s wanting to take. Those ice-cold optics pierce him long after he’s gone, following him into the next cycle and then on.

He doesn’t know the extent of Proteus’ envy. His anger, he’s familiar with. It's made to look restrained, but can easily be minded if you know him personally.

Envy? Oh, it makes bigger mechs devolve into an entire moral upheaval. And Proteus never had morals to begin with. He loathes to think about what he’ll do to Orion, and how he’ll justify it when the dust has settled. All in the name of a conquest.

Suffice it to say, he’s more worried about Orion than he is himself. That’s his second mistake.

#tf shockwave #senator shockwave #senator proteus #tf proteus #my writing #my stories #transformers #fic

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