#; The Truth Catches up to Us Eventually ( Redemption Arch )

[heart-ruled-moved]

🌸 - “Sorry! Was I too loud? I can whisper exclusively from now so I won’t scare you ever again!”

[dem-obscure-imagines]

The Prince’s Girlfriend

Prince Zuko x Reader

Note: You voted! Here it is! I’ve lowkey had this idea bouncing around since I wrote the other one lmao hope you like it!! (This is the sequel to Time Traveler’s Daughter)

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 1.5k

Growing up the way you did, with a childhood split between worlds, you had a few groups of friends. You had the witchy group of friends that you celebrated solstice and other witchy holidays with, your dimension-hopping friends, who came to visit whenever it was convenient, and then, there were the mortal friends you had who lived in constant awe of your crazy life.

It was the third group that was assembled in your living room.

Given the recent events in your life, your mortal friends, who still didn’t know quite everything had proposed an Avatar marathon, and really, who were you to refuse? Zuko, who had moved in after jumping to your dimension, was currently in your room, playing the Sims on your computer. It was cute how obsessed he was with it. He’d made you and himself and moved you into a house and started a little family. It was heart-melting, really.

You were only on the first season when the boyfriend question popped up.

“I heard you’re seeing someone!” Your friend Devin said, smiling.

“I am!”

“Could we get some details, maybe?” Logan prodded, reaching over you to take a handful of popcorn from the bowl.

“Well, he’s handsome, first of all.” You giggled, blushing. “He’s got this really fiery personality, you know? Pretends to be all tough on the outside, but he’s got a heart of gold, a real prince.”

“Treats you like a princess?”

“Of course.” You nodded, grabbing some popcorn for yourself.

“Where’d you meet?” Devin asked, intrigued. Little did either of them know that the guy you were talking about was currently on the screen in all of his season one glory, ponytail, temper, and all.

“This little tea shop out of town.” You answered, smirking. Technically, nothing you’d said so far was a lie. Were you dancing around the truth? Of course. But that would only make it more fun whenever Zuko finally wandered out of your room and you got to officially introduce them.

It was pretty rare that your mortal friends got to meet people from the other parts of your life. The exception was the one time Tadashi Hamada had popped in to ask your dad a question about an assignment he was working on while you were having a movie marathon. Needless to say, they had been pretty surprised.

“How did he ask you out?”

“It was kind of a mutual thing. I liked him, he liked me…the rest is history.”

“Haha, that rhymed.”

“She’s a poet in love…” Logan sighed. He looked back to the screen in time to see Zuko yelling at someone about his honor. “Oof, I can’t wait for his season 2 hair.”

“Listen, fire boi ages like fine wine. Glow up of the century.” Devin agreed.

“Oh yeah. Big time.” You nodded. When you looked out of the doorway of the living room, through the dining room, and into the kitchen, you spotted Zuko standing at the fridge, getting a glass of water. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over his head, so from the side, he just looked like some dude standing in your house. Certainly not the prince of the Fire Nation, and definitely not the handsome boyfriend you boasted so proudly.

“How’s the Sims going, babe?” You called and he looked over at you, grinning. From where they were sitting, Devin and Logan couldn’t see into the kitchen.

“Your boyfriend is here?” Logan asked, anticipation spreading across his face.

“Taking a break. My hand hurts.” He chuckled. “Mind if I come out there?”

“There’s a spot over here.” You scooted over and patted the spot beside you. “Come meet my friends.”

So, he walked into the living room, lowering his hood so your friends could get a better look at him. Devin paused the episode, his mouth hanging wide open as he looked back and forth between the prince’s cartoon form and his living, breathing one.

“Um, hi. I’m Zuko. (Y/N)’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”

“You’re kidding. No fucking way.” Logan stared for a long moment before finally looking at you for confirmation. “You’re—He’s—What the fuck?!”

“You never tell us when you go on cool dimension-hopping adventures!” Devin whined. “You’re dating Prince Fucking Zuko?!”

“Well, technically, he’s the Fire Lord now…” You chuckled to yourself, motioning Zuko over from his spot in the doorway. He was grinning, still not quite used to the idea that you and your friends had grown up watching him on your magical image boxes. Well, TVs, as you had taught him. “I meant to tell you sooner, I really did, but I thought it would be too funny to surprise you.”

“Good call, princess.” Zuko nudged you over the tiniest bit, sitting down next to you with his thigh pressed against yours. “That was hilarious.” He was about to ask what you were watching when he finally looked up at the screen to catch sight of his past self. He cringed. Ugh, he couldn’t believe there was ever a time he had…looked like that…acted like that. It was embarrassing that you had grown up seeing that version of him, even if he did change over time.

“Please tell me my redemption arch starts soon.”

“Well, we’re in the middle of the first season, so no. Not for a little while here.” You tugged Zuko’s arm around you and draped your legs over his thighs. “You’re so warm…” you mumbled into his hoodie, reveling in the rumble of his amused chuckle.

“Why are you always so cold, baby?” His fingers playing with your hair, he kissed your forehead. He looked up to find your friends still gawking at him. “You can…ask questions if you want.”

“Yeah, sure, how did this happen?” Logan cut to the chase, motioning between the two of you.

“Well, you see, for my graduation, Dad gave me a dimension-hopping watch and the first place I crash-landed was Zuko’s world. Sometime during season 2, I think, while he and Iroh were running the tea shop in Ba Sing Se.”

“And I fell head over heels in love with her, so once the war ended, I used her Dad’s tech to make an alternate ending for us.”

“You literally changed the timeline for her.”

“Yeah.” Zuko shrugged, winding his arm further around you.

“Love that for us.” You chuckled, nuzzling against him.

“Wait, but…didn’t you get with Mai after season 2? You were dating in season 3…” Devin was always the one to start fact-checking things when they seemed off. Honestly, you hadn’t even thought about that? Had the events of the cartoon played out the same way even though you’d interfered?

“It didn’t happen that way when I did it. I can point it out and tell you what happened when we get there,” he looked to you, “if you let me stay for the rest of the marathon, that is.”

“Of course you can stay, Zuko.” You giggled, kissing his cheek. “I’d like to hear your side of the story.”

And so he did. The marathon ran for what seemed like eternities, but it got more interesting once you finally reached the point after you left Ba Sing Se.

“I never went back to the Fire Nation. Iroh and I ran off and went on the road for a while. All of this…” He watched as the alternate version of himself made all of the choices he never would have made. “I can’t believe that’s the way it would have happened…”

“Sure, you got a little lost, but…you found your way back eventually. I think that’s why I liked you so much growing up. You made mistakes, but in the end, you learned from them and became stronger because of it.”

“Yeah?” Zuko looked down at you with that amused glimmer in his amber eyes.

“Yeah.” You nodded, a smirk slowly stretching across your features. “Well, that and you got really hot in Season 3.”

He snorted, nearly choking on the popcorn he’d been attempting to eat. “God,” he coughed, laughing, “don’t say things like that, you’re gonna make me choke. I didn’t come all the way from another dimension to die eating popcorn.”

“She’s not wrong.” Logan laughed, still absorbing what he and Devin had learned that day.

“Can confirm. Glow up of the century.”

“Oh shut up.” He shook his head, his cheeks getting redder every second.

You reached up and pinched one of them, laughing before pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re a real Prince Charming, you know that?”

“For you, princess, I’d be anything you wanted me to be.”

“Quit being cheesy, the hot firebender is talking.” Devin shushed the two of you as Zuko’s cartoon counterpart started to say something.

You grinned softly to yourself, leaning against Zuko, listening to his breaths, his soft laughter, taking in how good it felt when his fingers brushed through your hair. Your seven-year-old self and you were united in that moment, wrapped up in his strong arms with his lips pressing tender kisses to your forehead.

At long last, your prince had come for you, and you never wanted to go back.

[wizardsandglitter]

So I have been begging for a Jasper Redemption Arch the moment I saw her perfectly chisled face and I think there could be a pretty good way to go about that in Future now.

Remember in Rose's Fountain where all the corrupted Gems that had been bubbled at that point were healed along with Jasper? When Amethyst calmed her down from immediately going into fight mode?

So here is my idea.

Steven catches Amethyst running off and confronts her and knows she isn't being truthful. He follows and finds her heading right to Jasper's little cave and watches worried that Amethyst might get hurt but knowing if he just shows up it could set Jasper off so remind hidden in case his sister needs backup and watches. At first, Jasper is stand-offish. Talking down to Amethyst, even perhaps becoming hostile but we watch as the two begin to actually talk. Amethyst using what she learned from Steven and her own experience to deesculate the situation and calm her down. They talk about how Jasper feels, why she hasn't left earth yet, and even a little bit about Pink Diamond before the topic becomes too painful for Jasper or even both to bare. Kind of a time lapse, seeing the evolution of the conversation and coming into important parts. Eventually the sun begins to rise and after a long night of soul searching and possibly even tears, Amethyst has to say her goodbyes. Jasper tries to pretend she wants her to leave, "About time, runt." crossing her arms and trying to put up her walls again. Before amethyst leaves she hugs Jasper. This surprises the Big Buff Cheeto Puff but instead of pushing Amethyst away and getting angry or hostile, it's a small return of the gesture. A pat on the head, a one arm hug. It doesn't matter, Jasper accepts the affection even if reluctantly and with confustion.

And it's enough.

They fuse and it's someone wonderful, beautiful. And giant, cause quartz. Sadly, the fusion and all her glory doesn't last long and destabilizes and we see Jasper become hostile once again unable to cope with a POSITIVE fusion. It scares her, she's never felt like that before. Cared for, LOVED. She yells at Amethyst and lashes out but only verbally leaving the little purple goblin to feel like the progress they made was ruined and is dejected. It would be a good way to look at other sides of abuse, how people can mistrust kindness and genuine affection as they have no real experience with it or have only known it to be a guise of manipulation. Like a parent who only shows affection and pride when their child is being successful or just out right emotionally neglectful.

The episode ends with Steven understanding something good here has happened. A real positive interaction with Jasper even if it ended poorly. A real opening and stepping point for Jasper. Steven could also get jealous of this interacrion as he wants to help Jasper but he can't, there is too much anger and resentment and hate putting a rift between Amethyst and Steven as he's refusing to open up about his problems and feelings.

At least that's what I want.

[permian-tropos]

all right I feel shy posting this but you remember that fictober fic from last year, now on AO3 as Seed

I did do another section of it! I am fighting with all my heart not to say something self-deprecating about it

16 - “This is gonna be so much fun!”

————

“You’re awake, I see,” Rae comments, once Brentin, sprawled out on his cot in the infirmary, forms a lucid expression. He makes eye contact and creases his forehead with clear acknowledgement — ready to talk.

“And so are you,” he says. “Erm. You seem pleased about things.”

His throat sounds scratchy and his voice is thin and, while not plaintive, measured in a way that shows he’s preserving his energy. His feet must still ache, since the anchorites don’t have the means to accelerate the healing much.

It has been a full day since the two of them reached the habit house. Rae has needed the time to recover but found it dreary to lay around in bed. The anchorites suggested she join the children in their daily chores, and the pure consternation Rae’s in expression brought out the first laugh she heard from the one-eyed woman who seemed to be her appointed nurse. But she didn’t refuse, and a couple of officious little boys taught her how they boiled surgical tools and soaked bandages in diluted bacta. While bold about micromanaging her every action, they kept glancing purposefully at her as though they wanted to ask questions about her life, the war, the Empire, the galaxy beyond, but could not find an appropriate way to do so. Eventually those tools and bandages were used to treat Brentin, since his chance of recovery was deemed to be high.

Rae crosses her knees, smiling confidently at her wanner ally. “As it turns out, we might have had a lucky break. I thought this would be a setback, but…” Perhaps try not to overwhelm him with details? “We have a lead.”

But Brentin turns his head away and slumps a bit further into the meager bedding. “Oh, we do?” he says, as if it’s a further complication. Maybe he needs a few more moments to adjust.

“It was worth it,” Rae goes on, hoping he’ll catch on eventually. “You’ve been through a lot, I know, but it hasn’t been for nothing. There’s a man among the anchorites who might know why this world is important to the Empire. Well, I say he’s a man…” Sloane pauses. “He is a man. Not to the people here, to them he’s something else. We’ve found their Consecrated Eremite.”

“So that name isn’t just some legend?” Brentin tries to sit back up again. “There’s a living person attached to it?”

“He’s a strange character, from what I’ve seen.”

Rae considers inviting Brentin to join her when she meets with the Eremite, but her ally needs his rest. It would be a bit unnecessary, too. Brentin Wexley has got his own reasons for accompanying a former Imperial admiral, and they’re more personal.

What happened to him was a terrible shame, more underhanded and devious proof that the Empire could never have kept the promises it made to the galaxy. The man was brainwashed in a secret prison on the enslaved world of Kashyyyk. Rae can assume his reasoning behind his choice to work with her. If his programming got the better of him, at least he’d be far away from anyone he cared about. Over the course of their journey she did consider that they had something in common — they were looking for redemption. Like Brentin, Rae knows she isn’t who she thought she was. Like Brentin, she feels she has been controlled. She understands why he doesn’t trust himself even after the control chip in his brain was removed.

But Rae has a bit more in mind than a trial of self-discovery. This is her mission, because it is her Empire on the line, and she ought to be the one to put an end to it. Nothing else could absolve her of what she’s done, whereas Brentin did the Empire’s bidding entirely against his will. He has nothing to atone for.

So, if the Eremite is looking for someone to fulfill that prophesy, it probably refers to Rae Sloane.

“And from what you’ve seen, he’s offering information?”

“More peculiar than that. It seems I’m part of a prophesy.”

Brentin whips his head round and squints at her as if he heard her squawk like a monkey-lizard.

“Well, that’s what they think,” Rae scoffs, amused, “so I’ll just go on with it and see what it all means.”

“I’m sure you will.” He winces. “Right, now I get why you were looking so smug.”

“Oh, come on. Jealousy isn’t very mature here.”

“That’s not what I’m… ah…” Brentin is concerned, at least he’s trying to give that impression. He struggles for words. “You really think I’m jealous and not, maybe, worried about plans that were expecting us? We’re trying to break the sequence, not follow it.”

Rae hesitates as she rises from her seat. “Break the sequence?” The phrasing strikes her as odd, and it even unnerves her, because it has her wondering briefly if she’s forgotten something else she must do.

“Of the Emperor’s plan. We still don’t know what it is. I guess I thought being unpredictable was the only way to…” He shudders. “Not be someone else’s puppet.”

“You’re saying you have a bad feeling about this,” Rae offers. “I’ll be careful.” But she’s not the one who’s bedridden with an injury. Perhaps Brentin is paranoid about being put through another invasive, secret surgery now that he’s vulnerable. She deliberates, then lowers her voice. “Keep your eyes and ears open. Escaping a trap takes perceptiveness, not just blind suspicion.”

He sighs. “That’s what I’m telling you.”

“If this is a trap, we can’t turn back now. The last trap the Emperor laid got him killed, if you remember, because his enemies were much bolder than he imagined.”

“He might not be as cunning as he wanted everyone to think,” says Brentin. “But if he imagined his defeat, he may have imagined our boldness. I just feel something, like when came home but I knew I wasn’t in control of myself.” He shudders and then stills, rubs his upper arms, like he’s brushing away threads of web woven around him by a stealthy silk-spinner. “They sure put something in that sedative, didn’t they?”

“Ah.” He must mean the gas the anchorites used on both of them to keep them still. It left Rae with more of a high, while Brentin seems more anxious. “Yes, I thought so too. Let it wear off.”

Rae leaves the bedside not sure whether to pity him or admit he’s probably right to worry.

Presently, the one-eyed anchorite woman approaches her and asks if she’s ready, then leads her outside upon assent. Surprisingly, there’s no one sitting under the awning of the tent-like shrine. The anchorite takes Rae past it instead to the slope she vividly remembers crawling up with Brentin clinging to her back. The speeder remains where it was parked at the bottom, still intact as far as can be seen from here. No roaming scavengers started taking it apart for scrap, as they might have elsewhere, perhaps out of respect to the anchorites. People came here to make offerings to that god of theirs, not to steal.

“I didn’t get your name,” Rae says to the woman.

“Narawal. Come, there’s a route down.”

“Oh, frag, is there?” But it’s only a narrow, uneven, easy to miss line of steps cut into the rock, and might not have made the climb much easier. “Sorry,” Rae adds, when Narawal clicks her tongue in such a recognizable way. “No cursing.”

“This world’s cursed enough,” the anchorite says. She lets Rae walk first, and trails behind slow enough to seem almost reluctant.

“As a matter of fact,” says Rae, “that’s just what I’d like to know more about.” There’s enough of a pause that she changes the subject. “And where are we going? I thought the Eremite never left that one spot.” A possible answer comes quickly. “He’s nocturnal, isn’t he?” It’s easy to think of him as another desert animal moving as they do from a warren to the surface when the sun sets, and back in when it rises. Just like the mice.

“Yes, he is. He stays underground until the evening.”

Narawal points to a bulk of rock near the base of the hill. From this angle, the hollowed entrance on the side, rather than the outward face, is visible. If it were split into two holes by a partition across the middle, Rae thinks a bit whimsically, it might look like a nose lying on its side. Then she imagines the effect from a plume spraying from it, the gout of steam as the whole plateau sneezing.

But now all of the plumes remind her of that, as if the planet blinks up at its own harsh sun or catches grit in its sinuses and lets out that tickle in a violent burst. This world’s cursed, Narawal said, but is it sick, allergic to itself?

The Gorse system and Rae’s first captainship has always stayed fresh in her mind, but being on Jakku has brought even more of it to the surface of her thoughts. Gorse’s rocky tectonic relationship with its gorgeous crystal moon Cynda led to regular groundquakes, yet it was the moon that held the world in balance, and the mining efforts by the aggressively efficient Count Vidian — enforced by Rae Sloane — would have pulverized the satellite and brought it crashing down in pieces.

Captain Sloane, young and eager and self-important, would have allowed it. Her older counterpart can reach back easily and recapture in her mind how sensible it seemed to compromise: it would be unthinkable to bring an apocalypse to Gorse, but she was told — lied to, of course — that the planet would be bombarded slowly over the years, while its people dispersed, watching their home die by degrees. She once could believe that would be better somehow than the truth she discovered, that it would all go at once.

Jakku, too, shakes like a lie about to be exposed.

“Narawal,” Rae says, before she steps inside the nostril on the side of the plateau. “What did you expect when I showed up?”

The woman descends the roughly hewn steps with her hands clasped dutifully in front of her, face in shadow from the sun up above. “I expected you’d have a purpose here and would seek our guidance.”

“I do, and I am.” Rae puts a hand to the arch of the entrance and holds out a bit longer. “As you know, I didn’t get along well with that Niima the Hutt. I offended her. Am I likely to offend anyone again?”

Narawal draws herself up stiffly. “To speak with the Eremite, one must be cleansed in two chambers, first materially, then spiritually. First their attachments, then their preconceptions. The impatient and brash do not proceed further.”

The heel of Rae’s palm digs into a shelf of sandstone, which promptly cracks away from the tunnel archway. She drops the rock into the dust between her feet. “Right, right, right. Cleansing. Of course.” They’re going to have her sit through another dull ritual, and by now she should have learned to keep herself in check no matter how degraded she feels. I will sit this time, I will shut my mouth for once, I will be patient because there are really more important things than—

“Just go in and talk to him,” the anchorite snaps.

“What?”

“You see, Rae Sloane, if you were going in to pray to a mute hermit, you wouldn’t have anything better to do than ablutions and rites. Gives you all the time you wanted to get out of the sun and the drudgery. But he wants a conversation. He made that perfectly clear when he came out and spoke with you.” Narawal sounds a bit choked up; her eyes flash. “I know what you’re asking, no, I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect to see my friend again.”

“He’s your friend,” Rae repeats. If she doesn’t grasp this situation firmly it will probably run away from her. There’s already too much going on.

“Just make sure he tells you the truth. Squeeze it out of him if you have to.”

“Out of your god,” Rae says, almost with a level tone. It is still spoken with disbelief, without being a question.

Narawal, unmoved, peers down at her. “He’s not your god, is he? Why should you care?”

“I don’t understand anything,” Rae says. “Consider my preconceptions abluted.”

“As they should be.” The anchorite waves a hand, not bitter but resigned. “Go in.”

That’s all Rae’s going to get, then. At first the tunnel is narrow enough that going further than a few feet involves arching her back and sidling through a passage when she realizes her hips will get stuck. The tight squeeze brings up unsettling concerns about what might happen to an injured or disoriented person down here in the caves. Surely there was another way out, that decrepit Eremite himself didn’t seem up for wiggling through a crevice twice a day, and what if he needed emergency medical attention? Despite the proof that the man was surviving the arrangement, Rae worries today could be unlucky for either her or him, because you’ve got to think like that after so many brushes with danger.

Still, she duly entombs herself.

The first chamber, where she was meant to cleanse her body, is of middling size, and lit by vertical fluorescent light sticks wedged into the walls, a strange shoot of modernity growing out of primitive cracks, and the floor is a maze of finger-width grooves, like a worm-eaten slab of wood. There is nothing else in the chamber but a few tall amphorae by the walls.

“Come right through,” suggests a voice emerging as a sourceless echo from the walls, as if this cave is a cozy, presentable foyer. It’s the Eremite. After one meeting Rae already finds his voice utterly recognizable.

“You don’t mind if I skip your rituals?” Rae has no idea where to direct her reply, and turns slowly on the spot.

“We’ll come back to them later, if you wish. I want to see you first.” His voice is wistful as a curl of mist in the morning. “I’m afraid I’m impatient.”

It’s a performance. He was expecting her, and he’s prepared for the moment. Rae would like to say she’s honed paranoia to an effective art, flattery never having lulled her into an inescapable trap (some escapable ones, admittedly), but that’s what audience volunteers tell themselves as they step on stage with a hypnotist.

Remember when you thought you fancied him, first time he showed up? Rae scrapes a fingernail against her palm, unwilling to be too agitated with the recollection because it was hardly a visible moment of weakness — comes of that anesthetic gas making her so lightheaded. Heading deeper into the cavern, rounding a curved passage, Rae finds the next chamber completely unlit, a murk of pure black. Her hand immediately goes to the leftmost wall. Can’t lose her bearings.

“You’re meant to find your way by faith alone,” murmurs the bodiless voice. “Or wander for a while until you reach one of the exits. Oh it’s very tricky, actually, I really like the design of this one. I think you learn something about people from how they solve it.”

“You’ve got a maze in here?” Rae is incredulous.

“If you really want to try it,” the voice offers, sounding perked up, like he’s realized he can be patient a bit longer.

“You just said—“

“Ah, but there’s an easy way out, you could solve it in an instant, and you might just be the sort to do it.”

“So a carnival funhouse way of making me feel like the main character of my own story.” She crosses her arms. “Testing my mettle.”

“This is going to be so much fun,” the Eremite purrs. “Go on, do whatever comes naturally.”

“I’m not your brand new pet,” Rae snaps, with the dreadful tickle in her belly that assures her she’s not protesting at all, she’s bantering, and she never planned for this when she turned herself in to the New Republic, when she burned her authoritative edges to a cinder in the fire of shame. Worse than karmic punishment would be a universe that treated her with affection. She might preen under affection. She might lean into it after being starved for approval for years. “How like a god of you to be so capricious.”

“You have barely seen capricious,” he warns.

Rae turns on the spot and is about to return to the last chamber, say why not do the whole damn ritual, then? Then she sees the trick: the corridor connects two paths that lead into this dark chamber, one she came by and one leading, perhaps, to the god’s chambers. Shadows turn the slightly curved dividing wall of the fork into a trick of the eye.

Do whatever comes naturally meant get petulant and leave. Rae is rankled she’s been read so cynically, even if it was the right answer. The true believers stumble about in the dark. The ones who balk at the challenge win by giving up.

“You win by giving up?” Rae says aloud. “I hate riddles like that. It’s so cheap.”

“That’s faith for you. A maze to be transcendantly lost in until you try looking around. Yet when you know the truth, you can choose to get lost again. To take a few steps back into the dark.”

Rae takes the hidden path, which curves deeper into the earth. The voice she’s hearing starts to come from one particular direction and not echoing everywhere.

The Eremite, face hidden by a cowl, is kneeling in the center of a chamber much like the one Rae passed through before, domed roof with grooves forming ornate swirling patterns on the floor, the couple of tall clay pots standing by the wall. The two differences are the shaft of natural light that beams down on the hooded figure, and the snaking depression in the ground filled with smooth stones, like a dry riverbed cutting across the floor. The air is unusually moist for Jakku.

“Be seated, Rae Sloane,” the god-man says.

[aion-rsa]

How Wonder Woman 1984 Treats Its Villains Sets the Movie Apart

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Wonder Woman 1984 spoilers. Our spoiler free review can be found here.

It’s widely acknowledged that between DC and Marvel, DC has the best villains. From the volatile anarchy of the Joker to the delicious anti-heroine of Catwoman, some have even become worthy of their own spin-off movies. So it was a fascinating decision by co-writer and director Patty Jenkins to take a different route with the baddies for Wonder Woman 1984. Namely, that neither are truly villainous.

Max Lord

Ok, Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord is a selfish, greedy con man who doesn’t care about what he does to society in the pursuit of money and power. He’s not evil per se, isn’t out for revenge, doesn’t actively wish death upon anyone; he just doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. He is the embodiment of corrupt ‘80s capitalism and the pursuit of more, more, more, regardless of the harm this might do to the environment, to society, or to the world as a whole. 

Lord might nearly bring  about the apocalypse, but he can’t be held solely to blame. He doesn’t force the President to ask for more nukes. It’s not his fault the Egyptian oil baron wishes for land restrictions. He didn’t make the sex tape the televangelist wants erased, right? Lord is completely self-serving and amoral, but it is society as a whole – the ‘80s society of which Lord is a product – that ultimately causes its own downfall, and eventually its own redemption, too. It’s Diana’s job to remind us to be our better selves, the film says, but she can’t do it for us; we, ultimately, have to take action and responsibility for ourselves and for the world. 

By the close of the movie, Lord has learned his lesson just like every other citizen who has made a wish. And just like them he is delivered – he survives the movie and is reunited with his son, who still loves and needs him. Diana may have been the reminder of kindness and reason that most of the world needed, but, for Lord, it was Alistair who is the tangible reminder of the abundance he always had. And, in the world of Wonder Woman, Lord, despite the chaos and pain he has caused, deserves that chance at redemption.

Barbara Minerva and Cheetah

The character of Cheetah is far more complex.

In the comics, Cheetah is often considered Wonder Woman’s arch nemesis. She’s had various incarnations but Barbara Minerva from the comics is powerful, wealthy, and ambitious and, rather than being given powers thanks to a wish, she gains them via a plant god on an expedition to an ancient African tribe. This comics-based version of Cheetah wants to steal Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth and sometimes goes head to head with her because of her damaged pride. 

But the Barbara Minerva of Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t like that at all.

Embodied by Kristen Wiig, Barbara is instead a good hearted dork. She is highly educated and specializes in a number of different disciplines (it’s hinted at that this might be because she didn’t have much of a social life at University), but she’s often forgotten or overlooked. This Barbara wants to be friends with Diana, and when they do spend an evening together both women have a good time and a good laugh. 

Despite being beautiful and strong, it turns out Diana doesn’t have much of a social life either. These two women could be firm friends and allies, and indeed for most of the duration of Wonder Woman 1984 they are just that, with Diana calling on Barbara for help to investigate the mysterious citrine that appears to grant wishes. 

Barbara, though, has allowed Max Lord to take it, who has now become one with the stone in order to wield power over anyone who uses it to make a wish. Barbara is attracted to Lord and her judgment is clouded, but she is not a “less actively developed” woman, as Wonder Woman and Cheetah creator William Moulton Marston once described the character. While his Cheetah embodied the dangers of jealousy, our Barbara, at first at least, doesn’t want to beat Diana, she wants to be like her. She wants to be strong, sexy, cool, and special. Who doesn’t want that? 

Before Barbara even really realizes the extent of her new powers, the way they manifest is in the way people respond to her. Suddenly her colleagues at the Smithsonian listen to what she’s saying. People notice how she looks. This isn’t a ugly duckling to beautiful swan transformation. This is Barbara putting on a tight dress and learning how to walk in heels, and having the confidence to do so after a shop assistant is nice to her. Barbara already was sexy, cool, and special, she was just never treated that way. 

Diana, on the other hand, has always been treated that way. It’s worth remembering that Diana grew up entirely among women. She has no confidence issues, she is not used to being objectified, insulted, or rejected, she takes her strength and power for granted and has no reason to ever feel inferior to a man, or indeed another woman. Barbara is a product of society just as much as Max.

However, it’s notable in the film that while she is obviously beautiful and a total clothes horse, even in the ‘80s, Diana isn’t exactly cool. In WW84, Diana is almost willfully unfunny. The exchange that she and Barbara have when they agree to go for dinner about the citrine is hilarious in its crapness. Neither woman has nailed small talk. Diana eats alone, has few friends, and presumably hasn’t dated since the first world war. 

Both women make a wish that they desperately don’t want to undo and both struggle, together and apart, to prevent ever having to do so. Barbara is not evil. She has no villainous intentions. She does not plan to use her power to do harm. And although she commits an act of violence on another person it’s a guy who has harassed her and other women in the past; it’s a flavor of on-screen vengeance that is not only becoming increasingly encouraged to root for, but that is deeply and recognizably human. 

It’s only when Barbara is threatened with having to give up her newfound power that she becomes monstrous. In this desperation, it’s not enough for her to be the same as Diana, there’s too much risk of being bested (she doesn’t have a lasso of truth, for starters). Barbara becomes an Apex Predator so that there’s no one above her that can take her down, put her down, and make her feel like prey ever again.

The downside of wishes made with the stone, we understand, is that there’s always a catch. For Barbara, it’s that, in gaining powers, she loses the warmth of her humanity. Or that’s what Diana reckons, anyway (the rules of the stone are wooly at best). 

But Barbara’s fights with Diana comes from a place of desperation to keep her powers rather than any malice. It’s telling then, and important, that Barbara/Cheetah survives the film. She’s not evil. You can’t even really call her selfish, for just wanting to be seen – she’s certainly no more contemptible than all the city boys who wished for Porsches and it would feel terribly unfair to her if she were punished that much more harshly. It is important she is portrayed with compassion (and Wiig is perfectly cast) not vilified. 

This is Cheetah’s origin story, as much as Wonder Woman was Diana’s. It is what she will do next that will define her path – villainous or otherwise. At the end of the movie, after Diana has convinced the world to take back their wishes, that unearned success comes at a price. As the revelation comes that we must behave as a society and not just selfish individuals, the camera lingers on Barbara. Max takes back his wish, and in doing so is allowed redemption with his son. Did Barbara take back hers though? 

“We didn’t want it to be this typical mousy girl turned villain” explained Kristen Wiig at the Wonder Woman 1984 press conference. “What is it about her that makes her so lonely and so invisible, and then what does she really, really want? She goes through three really big stages.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Barbara’s villain arc does not end with the third stage, instead that could be only just beginning. If she takes back her wish, she will be Barbara again, deserving of Diana’s forgiveness and perhaps even friendship. But if she doesn’t – even after seeing the damage done to the world, even after seeing Max rescind, even after Diana’s impassioned speech – then Barbara has made a choice that might lead her to becoming actually villainous, rather than accidentally so. It’s a fitting way to introduce an iconic baddie with the nuance she deserves.

The post How Wonder Woman 1984 Treats Its Villains Sets the Movie Apart appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2WKaFCS

[jonathanleobl]

WORLDVIEW

Related Texts

1 Cor. 2:16; 1 John 5:20; 2 Tim. 3:18; Psalm 53:1-2

“In God’s economy, egalitarian is about people. We are all equal before Him. Elitism is about idea. Some ideas are wrong and needs to be dealt with. What happens in the counter cultural worldview is they make people elitist and all ideas egalitarian…”[i]

-Ravi Zacharias

Opening and Introduction

Worldview is a person’s interpretation and perception of reality that signifies a certain measure. Everyone has a world view and one may have the capacity to articulate it or not. A person may even have mixed worldviews that he/she may not be aware of.[ii]

The world has numerous worldviews and there is an existing battle of worldviews carried out through various institutions and avenues of society and religion. Worldview is where an individual derives his/her own conviction and interpretation of reality that appears to be coherently plausible.

Analogy of the reading glass: Reading glass helps the eyesight read clearer. This must be in relation with the eyesight and the grade of the lens. Poor match up would not provide the function of letting the person in need of the eyeglass see clearer. Worldview is the lens in which we see and interact with reality.

Christian apologists Norman Geisler identified that there are 7 types of worldview, namely[iii]:

Atheism (affirms the non-existence of God)

Polytheism (many finite Gods)

Panentheism  (God has two poles, the actual and the ideal – God is in the process of being perfected)

Pantheism (impersonal God – all is in God)

Deism (God has created but left creation to function without God’s intervention)

Finite Godism

Theism

However, this can be further subdivided into three general families. According to Os Guinness, the major divisions are the Western, the Eastern, and the Secular views.

This proves that there are plenty of worldviews. General Worldviews extend to have offspring that manifest of of their subsequent character. These include philosophical and religious elements as extensions and possibly conclusion of such worldviews.

The case of “postmodernism”

Postmodernism is a view that says “what is true for others may not be true for some.” This highlights individual story and relativism that centers on individual experiences or personal truths which stems from existential thinking.[iv]  However, when a person sees himself/herself the center of meaning, this would only lead to despair. It is acknowledged by theologians that a person cannot be the source of meaning for himself/herself.[v]

Discussion

Worldview is:

Influential. It can be acquired and at the same time it can be transferred.

A person has the task to check what kind of worldview one is to accept or to reject. Usually this impartation happens in close knit surrounding such as the initial inputs of immediate institutions to the individual like family, religion or media. If a person is concerned with the proper development of positively good worldviews, then one must find lessons to learn from proper influences pertaining to good virtues, and credible beliefs.

Formational. It is formed in the individual and it forms the individuals.

It molds the individual with its deepest affirmations that becomes the foundation and principles which will be the guide in dealing with aspects of life. Formation takes place as individuals catch on and sustain perspectives based on notions that makes one adhere or adjust in a way that seems possible. It is not plausible to cater unfitted pieces to form fittingly together. Full formation must have a holistic view that fits reality.

Operational. It is identical with its manifestations.

The lifestyles portray the kind of worldview being held in relation to cultural and social norms as culture and social norms may provide vehicles for its expression. Incoming experiences are processed and contradictions or non contradictions to it in personal affirmations yield to certain reaction. Worldview attends the person on their values and the kind of worldview embraced by the person will eventually be carried out. The person being true to what he/she holds as principles will be the principle’s main advocate, whether he/she is conscious or not through the manifestation of words and actions.[vi]

Consequential. It gives affirmations that can lead to a correspondingly meaningful or tragic condition.

Since worldview is the core on how a person relates with reality, when it is applied and operated, it produces results and effect. Eventually, the fruits of the worldviews being operated will be ripe and this can affect a scope larger than just the individual. If worldviews have presence from the outset in the outcomes of actions (that they be acquired and carried out) – whether valid or invalid – then their effects are real.

The Christian Worldview

The Christian worldview is just one of the worldviews and it must have something that is can stand on as the most viable worldview that a person can accept. Theism is the Christian worldview.

Corresponds to Reality. The Christian Worldview corresponds to reality without violation on how human and non human condition is interpreted, evaluated, treated and affirmed. The Christian worldview tackles issues and elements in life that adheres to what can be experienced and known.

The Christian Worldview affirms the Biblical God is the primary cause of all creation and through His power, creation is sustained.  The Christian worldview affirms God to have concern for Creation and intervenes in human history by revealing His fullness in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the work of grace for the salvation of humanity from fallen condition and judgment due to sin, which extends for the redemption of creation affected by the curse of sin of humanity(Cf. Romans 8:19). In this worldview, God has given us the highest compliment without putting humanity at the highest center[vii] and this comes with responsibility for the dignity of one another and creation.

Coherent in its Assertions. The Christian Worldview is consistent with its elements as part of its over-arching claims.

A noted Christian apologist Ravi Zachariah asserts that there are ”four fundamental questions that every religion seeks: origin, meaning, morality and destiny” and that “only the answer of Jesus corresponds to reality. There is coherence among his answers unlike any of those Religions.”[viii] The Christian worldview provides meaningful reflections of different areas of existence whether temporal and immediate, and God is the only one suitable basis for life and purpose.

The Biblical God differs from gods of other worldview since the Biblical God is infinite, perfect and personal God who reveals God-self while other worldviews provide a finite, imperfect, aloof or impersonal view of God or even the non-existence of God. Worldviews that affirm a certain god or multiple gods which differs from the theistic affirmation of God provide a finite, imperfect and even impersonal “God/s” which cannot be ultimately God at all.  The Christian Worldview differs from deism since the Biblical God is a God who intervenes with human history through self-revelation and through creation. In the case of atheism, there would be no strong basis for the foundations of morality, the sacredness of life, and the purpose of creation. Therefore, in an atheistic worldview, ideals become based on what people think and not on what God says.[ix]

People who have mixed worldviews who claim equal validity of every other worldviews for toleration and accommodation is characterized as syncretism,.[x] Syncretism will dilute the message of the Gospel,[xi]so in the end this would prove to be false since it will not do justice for contradictory claims from different religions or worldviews to be equal or the same with each other without compromising their foundational essentials.

Reasonable on its foundation and pursuits. The Christian Worldview includes reason for the objectivity of its faith and it makes proper use of God given gifts for holistic progress.

One of the God-given gifts to humanity is the rational process. Faith must be objective and it must not betray proper reasoning. This has been the affirmation of numerous Christian thinkers, apologist, writers and serious believers. The affirmation of God doesn’t stop us to know more about the facts and reality of life. Instead it is there to push humans for further examination of their world.[xii] God given capacities and capabilities are encouraged to be used within the limits of proper stewardship. Through-out history, Christians has contributed to the progress of social laws, scientific endeavor and the arts – both musical and literary. [xiii] It could also come to mind that Christianity has contributed educational progress – many outstanding universities were formed from Christian roots – through Christian mission with the attempt to spread the Gospel.[xiv]

Relevant in its implications

The Christian worldview gives discernment on what is ultimately good and gives courage to call evil for what is, since there is a moral standard, having God at the highest center.  Within this worldview we can find the sacred basis of life where human functions within God’s intended purpose as both human and non-human worth are properly acknowledged.

When the horrors done in the name of Christianity are used to attack the Christian faith, we are assured that those horrors are done against the Christian tenets. The horrors done in the name of Christianity are done not in accordance with its message but by people acting out against the values and virtues upheld by Christian morals, though they want to carry the name Christian. But when horrors are attributed in the name of atheism, then it only acts out what that worldview has rationally accepted to do.[xv],[xvi] There would be no moral strongholds to restrain actions . On the other hand, other worldviews attempts to portray the problem of evil to be just an illusion, especially for some eastern religions.[xvii]

History acknowledges the impact of Christian people on social aspects as they carry out their convictions based on their faith – such as advocating civil rights and demolition of social oppression.

Closing and Application

Are there contradictory elements in you deep-seated personal beliefs?

Is it okay (possible) to affirm the non-existence of God and existence of God at the same time just to be on the safe side? Why?

[i]Zacharias, Ravi. Chapter 12: “America’s Liberty on the Crossroads” interview by David Limbaugh. Persecution. Harper Collins.2004. p.343

[ii] Barna, George. Think Like Jesus. Integrity Publishers.2003 p. xviii, 5

[iii] Geisler, Norman and Victor Brooks. When Skeptics Asks (A Handbook of Christian Evidences. Victor Books. 1990. p.36

[iv] Barna.p.35

[v] Tillich, Paul. The Courage to Be. Yale University Press.2000.

[vi] Conversation with Ptr. Jonavern Lungub. 2009.

[vii] The writer attributes this from the Christian apologist Ravi Zacahrias. For more of Dr. Ravi Zacharias expositions, visit www.rzim.com. There are also excellent videos onwww.youtube.com for defense of the Christian faith.

[viii]Zacharias, Ravi “Objection #5: It is Offensive to Claim Jesus is the Only Way to God” interview by Lee Strobel. The Case for Faith. Zondervan Publishing House. 2000. p.151

[ix] Colson Charles. Tough questions About God, Faith and Life. Tyndale House Publishing. 2006. p.50

[x] A good discussion of this can be found in the section “America’s Liberty on the Crossroads” of the book Persecution by David Limbaugh published by Harper Collins, which is a short interview of Christians prominent in Christian worldview.

[xi] Bong Rin Ro. “Contextualization: Asian Theology.” What Asian Christians Are Thinking: a theological source book. Ed. Douglas J. Elwood and Emerito Nacpil. New Day Publishers, 1976. p.57.

[xii] Ward, Keith. Why there Almost Certainly There is a God. A Lion Book.2008. p.66

[xiii] Colson. p.120-123.

[xiv] Kennedy, James and Jerry Newcombe. What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? Thomas Nelson Publishing. 1994. p.40-56

[xv] Colson.p.118-119

[xvi] Aikman, David. Delusion of Disbelief. Saltriver. 2008. p.96-97. The author allotted a chapter which gave a good discussion on the historical consequences based on the atheistic worldview.

[xvii] Geisler.p.43-44

[redstarfiction-blog]

Hogmanay pt.2

A wee snippet of Jamie and Claire whilst the Hogmanay preparations are well under way! Fluff and ALLLLL the feels because it is Monday and we need it!!!

Claire could hear the children chattering amongst themselves as they bunched the juniper and picked off any berries that had been missed, Bree’s accent standing out starkly amongst her cousin’s softer Scottish brogues.

The pot Jenny had left beside her was nearly full with pealed potatoes and the water on the stove had reached boiling. The room was becoming uncomfortably hot and Claire could feel the sweat gathering beneath the cloud of hair at the nape of her neck and trickling intermittently down her neck. She placed a hand against her back, readying for the task of standing upright.

“Alright little one, on three … one … two …”

Claire clenched her teeth and heaved just as the baby pushed a foot up under her ribs. The air went from her in a sharp breath and Claire sat down heavily, giving up on the two inches of elevation she had gained.

“You bloody little … Scot!”

She scowled, arching her back a little to encourage the baby to move, which it obligingly did, coming to rest in a much less uncomfortable position. Claire let her breath out again, this time with a sigh and passed the back of her hand over her brow. She had a few more weeks to go but felt like she was ready to burst. She didn’t remember feeling quite so huge with Brianna, though that may have been in part due to the near starvation she had suffered in the run up to Culloden and then the miserable cocoon she had wrapped herself in after her return to the twentieth century, a cocoon in which she only forced herself to take food for the sake of the baby.

Claire pushed thoughts of that time aside and steeled herself to stand once again. If she simply sat and waited for Jenny to come to her rescue she could be stuck in the sweltering kitchen for quite some time as the Hogmanay preparations were well underway and Jenny was bustling from room to room overseeing it all. Claire had tried to help but her swollen size had made her something of a hindrance to the process and when she had suggested preparing the vegetables instead of stringing garlands, Jenny had looked rather relieved. However, if preparing vegetables was what Claire was in charge of then she would bloody well be in charge of it and no one was going to put those potatoes in the cauldron but her!

She was half-way up when she felt a hand on her lower back and another take a gentle grip on her upper arm. She blew the hair out of her face and looked up into an amused sapphire gaze.

“I can manage.”

“I know.”

Jamie smiled but didn’t relinquish his touch and moments later Claire was on her feet. She raised her finger to wipe the perspiration from her upper lip but Jamie stopped her, catching her hand in his and ducking his head to gently kiss along the bow of her lips, his tongue gently tracing the curve of her smile.

“Ah Dhia! Mo nigheann donn, mo Sorcha …”

Claire lost the last of his words as he buried his face in the curve of her neck

“What was that?”

“I said …”

Jamie surfaced, smiling with the glazed eyes of a man singularly minded,

“That each time I sniff at ye I discover a new wee scent and I want ye more than before.”

Claire sniffed at her sleeve and wrinkled her nose

“I never considered onions and parsnips to be particular aphrodisiacs.”

Jamie’s lifted one springy curl from her collar bone, pulling it gently straight before letting it bounce back into its spiral and inhaling dramatically.

“I can smell cloves, rosemary and a wee hint o’ plum.”

Claire leant forward and sniffed his shirt lightly

“Horses and hay and … what is that?”

“Peat most likely.”

Jamie grinned and waved away the question before Claire could ask it.

“I brought a few blocks in from the shed this morning and changed my shirt but ye ken how the scent clings.”

Jamie lifted the pot of potatoes from the table

“Ye want these in the water?”

“Ye but give them here, I’ll do it.”

Claire reached for the pan but Jamie shifted, keeping it out of her reach

“It’s fairly heavy Sassenach. I dinna ken how many pounds ye peeled but if Jenny is still feeding the pigs peelings, we’re likely to have the fattest hogs in the Highlands.”

“We’re going to have a lot of guests…”

“And food enough to feed generations of them yet to come.”

Jamie grinned and crossed to the fire

“Wait I can …”

Claire began and then stopped as Jamie upended the pan with ease and deftly stepping out of the way of the water that splashed over the sides as the potatoes went in.

“I told you I could do it!”

Claire snapped, feeling absurdly like she was about to cry. She blinked twice and glared at the splashes of water steaming on the flagstones.

“For God’s sake, Jamie! You’ve got water all over the floor! I suppose I have to clear it up, do I?”

She snatched a cloth up from the side and stormed toward the small pool of water but Jamie blocked her path, expression carefully neutral as his hands came up to lightly clasp her shoulders.

“I apologise Sassenach. If ye hand me the cloth, I’ll mop it up for ye.”

His voice was gentle, consoling even and Claire felt the tightness in her chest clench and her throat began to burn. Claire looked around him and saw the gentle wisps of steam rising from the floor a second before her vision blurred.

“No it’s fine … It’s already drying. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“Dinna be lass, I interfered and upset the system you had in place. I’m sorry for it.”

Claire snorted wetly and hastily mopped her eyes and nose with a handkerchief.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so irritable!”

“Nothing. There is nothing wrong with ye, but ye are exhausted and your body feels like it’s betrayin’ ye at every turn. It’s enough to make anyone irritable.”

Jamie’s arms encircled her as he spoke, his cheek resting lightly on the top of her head

“I feel like a fat, silly fool!”

“You are magnificent, Claire.”

Jamie spoke simply, rubbing small circles in the middle of her back

“But upon my word, Sassenach, the smell of ye and the feel of ye against me is makin’ me think verra wicked thoughts.”

“Perhaps you should confess them to me upstairs.”

She murmured and felt the shiver of a thrill run through him

“Confession, eh? Will ye forgive my sins?”

“Eventually.”

Claire allowed the word to fall from her lips and the considerable firmness that has been building against her stomach hardened further.

“Can ye get one of the girls to mind the food a while? I dinna think I can wait for your benediction.”

Jamie whispered in her ear and as he bent toward her Claire imagined a willow tree, tall and graceful, arching as its branches dip toward the water’s surface, reaching until even the petioles and stipules are submerged deeply.

*

It felt like hours but could only have been minutes later, as Claire ran her fingers through the sweetly curling hairs of his chest, she realised that Jamie had done what she could not do for herself, he had centred her.

He had let her play the role of the saviour, dubbing himself the wicked one who was dependent on her for his redemption. He had made her feel wise and beautiful and in control, he had guided her to see herself as he saw her.

“What are ye thinking, Sassenach?”

His voice was heavy with satisfaction and Claire delighted in the small sigh of contentment he gave as she kissed the bud of his nipple.

“I was thinking that you still, after all our years, just let me be myself and how much I love you for it.”

She smiled and looked up as she felt the bed shift to see him propped up on his elbow, looking down at her curiously.

“I fell in love wi’ ye for who ye are Sassenach. I canna see what benefit it could be to either of us if I were to try and change ye now.”

“You might have a wife with a sweeter temperament?”

She teased, stroking the length of his nose with the tip of her index finger.

“I doubt a sweet wee mouse could make my balls fizz the way you do.”

Jamie’s tone was even and as he blinked solemnly at her, his face serene, Claire burst into laughter and laughed until the tears streamed down her face and her ribs ached with the force of it.

“Oh my God! Jamie! I did not expect that!”

“Well neither did I, a sweet wee lad o’ three and twenty and you and older woman takin’ me in hand…”

He was grinning too now, his mirth held back only barely

“It was my mouth actually…”

Claire retorted and the room filled with the sounds of their happiness, of memories and shared knowledge of love and the comfort of one who knows you so very well and they clung to each other until the last of the humour left them when, still smiling, they touched their foreheads together.

“In truth Sassenach, I dinna care what ye do to my balls as long as I get to hear ye laugh like that often and plenty until my dying day.”

Jamie raised her hand, clasped in his own between them on the bed and kissed her skin, just above the warm silver of her wedding ring.

[heart-ruled-moved]

🌸 “I have no idea what this animal crossing is...but it looks cute...”

We’re just going to ignore the fact that she’s never played a video game in her entire life, tho.