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shadowed-dancer · 3 years

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My Thoughts on the New MHA Opening and Ending

I have thoughts, and I will share them because oh boy if I don’t get this out I’m gonna explode

Vague Spoilers for the manga (up to chapter 258 and vigilantes) because I discuss the upcoming arcs, but I don’t discuss any major plot points in detail. Still, proceed with caution if you’re anime only

Keep in mind, this OP and ED will cover the Endeavour Agency Arc and the MVA Arc, so I will be judging them accordingly.

First, the OP

This is a good OP... in theory (that’s going to become my catchphrase for this post). It’s nice to look at and flows pretty well, but my biggest problem is that it doesn’t do it’s job. An OP is supposed to be a sort of... summary (?) of the Cour it plays for. That means any cool plot points, emotional beats, and important characters should be featured in some way, shape, or form. We’ll talk about that more later, but first let’s discuss the music.

The song is really good. I have a feeling it will continue to grow on me as I listen to it more often, but yeah my first impression is that the song sounds great. My only complaint about the music itself is that it ends kind of abruptly (I noticed this is the JT opening too). The previous openings used to have a bit of instrumental to “play us out” and lead us to the end card, but this one feels like it ends very suddenly and unnaturally.

As for the visuals...

Yeah alright I’ll admit, the visuals are stunning... in theory. I appreciate the variety in backgrounds and colours, it makes the OP really interesting to look at. This was actually one of my biggest problems with the JT Opening, it all took place on the training grounds, so there was no variety (everything was metal tubes with a blue sky, with only 3 shots set somewhere different). I appreciate the style of this OP.

But like I said, that’s only in theory, as in, through screenshots these are all pleasing to look at. The pacing of this OP is wild, and I truly don’t know who to blame for this.

That sunset shot above? It lasts approximately 12 seconds, zooming in every few to make it seem like something is happening (when in reality it’s still the same poses, angles, etc). While there’s nothing wrong with a nice, drawn out shot, it becomes irritating when compared to the pacing of the rest of this op.

At the 41 second mark, we are given the shot above. It has flowed directly from the previous sunset scene. We still have not moved away from the image of the trio (aside from the opening shot and the title card) yet we’re approaching the halfway mark of the OP.

The next shot is the MLA, which lasts about 5 seconds. Ok, perfect. Not too long, but also not short enough to be confusing. It cuts away a little fast once the dude on the far left appears, but does anyone actually know who that is? No, seriously, I’m asking. I don’t remember his name and he’s not on the wiki, so I can only assume he’s not important. Therefore, it’s not all that bad if the shot cuts away shortly after he comes into frame. The audience is able to take in the scene without having to pause...

... And then the problems start

While this shot is fine in theory, it pans up fast and cuts away quickly. You know how hard it was for me to get this screenshot? Really hard. You want to know why I struggled so much? Because, due to the timing of the cut and the way it pans upwards, it’s almost impossible to pause on Dabi’s face. I literally had to go frame by frame to get it, because he’s in shot for so little time that naturally pausing is guaranteed to miss him.

When watching this in real time (without pausing) the cut away makes you feel as if you missed something because “something was there, I just couldn’t register what because now it’s gone”. Unlike Compress, who wears a very colourful coat you can recognize the entire time, Dabi’s pants are more blended into the background.

It also doesn’t help that this shot is literally composed to draw your attention away from Dabi until the last possible second. Due to framing, your eye is naturally drawn to the brightly coloured Toga in the foreground, making it super easy to miss Dabi in the back (until, of course, his bright face appears and contrasts against the background, drawing your eye just in time for the scene to change, leaving you to wonder who or what you missed).

I know this sounds like nitpicking, but this shot is the only group shot we get of the League, and is also the start of a seriously weird trend for the villains in this OP getting the short end of the stick.

Anyways, then we get what I’ll call “The Carousel Shot” in which every Class 1A kid shows up and poses dramatically, as if they were on a carousel. It’s a lovely sequence and I really enjoy watching it but... why is it in this OP?

Seriously, this is a genuine question. Class 1A barely shows up in the Endeavour Agency Arc, and NONE of the students are in MVA. This sequence (not counting the three boys at the end) lasts 8 seconds. Why is this much time dedicated to characters who are barely in the arc? (Unless Studio Bones extends their work studies into fuller plot lines which oh my gosh please don’t do that, or if they do, do it quick).

We then get what I call the “Oh God I Blinked And Missed Everything” sequence, which lasts 3 seconds (not including the longer, moving shot of Shigaraki at the end) and features NINE INDIVIDUAL IMAGES, none of which are related to each other. Not only is this 3 images per second, but the fact that they are all unrelated means you can’t even use previous information to fill in the blanks.

What do I mean by that? Well, imagine if I show you 9 images of various pro heroes posing. If I play that in 3 seconds you’ll absolutely miss some of them, but as long as you catch some you’ll still get an idea of what I’m trying to show to you. Your brain is able to fill in the gaps that “I recognized 4 pro heroes, therefore the rest must have also been pros” even if you didn’t register every single frame.

That doesn’t work if every frame features a completely different subject. The shots in this sequence vary so widely that it’s impossible to find a through line. Some feature multiple characters, some feature one, some are closeups, some are super far away, some are character’s we know, others are characters we don’t. It’s impossible to get a solid read on what you’re being shown.

Now, again, there’s nothing wrong with these super quick shots... in theory. The problem comes from the fact that these shots are the only indicators for some of the major themes that will be explored during this Cour (like Twice’s growth and young Shigaraki).

That being said, let’s move away from criticism and talk about speculation, because hidden amongst this sequence are two... interesting images.

This All Might one is very reminiscent of the shot in Chapter 257, where Aizawa and All Might have a conversation while staring up at the stars. However, this is technically the start of the “War Arc” (or the “prologue”, if that’s what you want to call it), so this might indicate that we’re going to get farther into the series than a lot of us guessed.

(Many people suspected we’d get to that cliffhanger at the start of the season (if you read the manga you know the one), but after seeing the pacing for JT a lot of us assumed we’d be lucky to even finish Endeavour Agency. It seems we’re back to the cliffhanger now though lol).

This is another really interesting shot because it’s indicative of Shirakumo, meaning we might get to see Aizawa and Mic confront him some time this Cour (this also makes sense, since this confrontation technically happens before that All Might scene I mentioned in the previous paragraph).

But the cat specifically is a really strange addition. That cat is named Sushi and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Sushi is ever mentioned in the main series. I think he’s only in Vigilantes.

This might just be a little Easter Egg for Vigilante readers, but I’m personally hoping that they’ll add at least a few Vigilante shots in there to really tug at the heart strings. I’d say I want a whole Vigilante episode but I don’t think they have the time (unless they really cram MVA, which I do NOT want).

I don’t have much to say about the last bit of the OP. The action shot between the 3 boys was nice, and it follows the sort of narrative through line they established from the early shot of them sitting at the sunset. I also like the shot of Endeavour fading in to replace All Might, even if it’s very simple.

But I want to talk about an overarching problem I touched upon earlier in that villain shot: the way the villains are handled in this OP.

This is a good OP... in theory. The problem is, it doesn’t represent half the arcs in the cour! Every shot of the League is so rushed that you can barely register that they were on screen before they’re gone.

I have no idea how many Episodes Endeavour Agency will take, but I’d assume 3 (4 if you count the Christmas episode). 12 episodes for this Cour minus 3 for Endeavour Agency = 9 episodes left. If we truly do get the prologue for the War Arc (and if we assume it’s only 1 episode) that leaves us with 8 villains episodes.

8/12 episodes (aka two thirds of the Cour) will likely be about the villains. And yet they’re pushed to the background so hard in this OP.

I want to dream, and I want to believe that this OP is going to magically change when MVA starts. The song fits super well, and I can imagine like an inversion of the OP but from the Villain side! Wouldn’t that be neat? Imagine right after the “it’s alright” part Shigaraki just freaking decays the title card... oh man that would be so cool. But, alas, I highly doubt they’d do that.

Side rant, but you know what was so fun about MVA in the manga? It’s that, for 21 chapters, we leave the kids behind and the villains become our protagonists. Suddenly Shigaraki is the one we’re rooting for, suddenly we’re learning backstories for everyone, and suddenly we find ourselves just as attached to the villains as we are to the kids. It’s an inversion that’s SO RARE to find, and I think many people (myself included) were hoping it would be reflected in the OP.

A big part of being the protagonist means featuring heavily in the OP, and a lot of us just wanted the villains to get that honour, even if only once. As is, the OP still treats them as the antagonists when... really they aren’t. Not right now, at least.

So yeah, final thoughts on the OP are that it’s good, it’s just not very representative of the arcs it’s supposed to cover. If this was just for Endeavour Agency, I’d say it’s actually really cool, but if we assume that this is what will play for the Villain Arc, then it simply doesn’t do it’s job. And it makes me sad to say that because, again, this OP is really well done.

If I had to rate it? Hmmm

If Studio Bones actually grants my wish and creates a different visual for the Villain Arc (while using the same song) and then this version only plays for the Endeavour Agency Arc and the War Prologue? I’d give it an 8/10. It’s really good, but it could use a few more elements that are clearly derived from the Agency Arc (ahem, Todoroki siblings).

But if this is the OP that will play for the entire Cour? a 6.5/10. It’s nice, but it’s not representative of one of the arcs it’s going to cover. And, unlike other arcs like Pro Hero or Summer Exams, the villain Arc is so important and takes up so much time that it honestly feels like a bit of a disservice.

Now for the Ending

I want to say that I appreciate how soft this ending starts. This cour will likely feature a lot of episodes that end on... heavier themes, and I think the sight of peaceful, falling raindrops is the perfect way to let the audience process their emotions before starting the ending in earnest.

The song itself is very nice, and I like that it’s a bit slower than the more recent endings.

(Side note, but the FUNNIEST moment in the entire series is when Sir Nighteye dies because it’s so emotional and everyone is standing around his bed in his heartwrentching silence, only for the ending to come BLARING IN out of no where. If you forgot how jarringly hilarious it was, go listen to the Eri ending and tell me that’s not the funniest thing this series ever did. Anyways yeah I’m glad that’s not gonna happen this Cour).

This ending is a bit all over the place in terms of it’s visuals, but honestly I think it works. Most endings usually have a theme tying them together (all the Class 1A girls, a fantasy AU, old photographs, planning a party, etc) but this ending’s theme is a bit harder to identify.

That being said, I think it’s just supposed to show everyone going about their day. It’s calm, it’s peaceful, and it’s just very sweet to think about

I like this shot. Actually, scratch that, I like this whole sequence. I enjoy anything that allows Class 1A to chill and have fun.

Hawks is featured quite heavily in this ending which, fair. He’s pretty important in this arc.

I really love the shot where Endeavour immediately switches to Hawks, I thought that was a lot of fun, and very good symbolism on how Hawks wants to be like Endeavour. I also love all the shots of Baby Hawks, because it’s adorable.

Something about this shot is just so cute. It’s the little domestic things like waiting for a bus that make this ending feel... idk the word, real? It shows a side of the characters that we’ll never see in the episodes, but we know have to exist.

Like yes, of course the kids have to wait for the bus. We never see it, but of course there are those moments of quiet. Agh, I love it.

The villains also make an appearance and I’m very happy about that (I’d love to see more of the villains just chilling around, I think they deserve it). I kind of wish they weren’t sitting in a dark room for the sake of being edgy, since I think it would be nice to see the villains just... sort of existing, but honestly it’s still a nice shot. I also like how this shot sort of mirrors the first one with Class 1A (someone coming in while everyone else is sitting and waiting for them).

That being said, as much as I love looking at Dabi and his stupid face (affectionate)... why is Dabi the one getting the closeup?

Mind you, endings don’t need to be connected to their Cours (they can be, like the Eri one, but they don’t have to be). But this ending does seem to be connected to the arcs it intends to cover, given all the Hawks appearances, the boys wearing their work study scarves, etc.

So, I ask again, why Dabi? Out of the six League members, we learn the backstory for four of them in this arc (Shigaraki, Toga, Twice, and we very briefly learn about Spinner). The only two left out are Dabi and Compress.

I can only assume they chose Dabi because he’s constantly in contact with Hawks, and therefore that makes him important? If the OP told us anything, it’s that Bones values the Endeavour Agency Arc over the Villain Arc lol...

... Oh my gosh please tell me that’s not actually the reason Dabi is focused on here BONES WAI-

Anyways, the ending comes to a close with Hawks watching over the kids and Endeavour. The relaxing time is done, it’s time for work studies.

Overall impression? It’s great. It’s hard to screw up an ending, so as long as you have something pretty on screen, it’s wonderful.

I’ll give this a 9/10

#bnha #bnha season 5 #dabi #keigo takami #bnha season five #katsuki bakugo #shoto todoroki #mha season 5 #mha season five #bnha op #bnha opinions #izuku midoriya #bnha hawks #ok to reblog #actually yes please do reblog if you found this interesting #I worked hard on it

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ughthatimagineblog · 5 years

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another world | preview

azriel x reader

requested: Hey, I saw you were doing requests for azriel in ACOTAR and I've been having a lot of Azriel feels lately and was wondering if you could an Azriel x reader where the reader has come from this world and has read the books and is all like ??? and finds the Inner Circle to ask for help to get home and then her and Az fall in love and are mates and it's quite angsty because he can't leave his family but she can't stay but then she gets turned into Fae somehow and happy ending eventually. Is that ok?

word count: 966

warnings: literally none i think other than cursing in the authors note and ofc covid19,,, but be cautious

a/n: this is my first attempt at writing something long/for azriel again after a long time so im sorry if it’s shite and short. its also kinda just the preview. i needed something to get the ball rolling and the plot is so,,, detailed i couldnt just start from fuckall so here this flaming pile of garbage is. PS I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT I MIGHT BE SELLING ARTWORK SOON. ill be posting a few of my works and if people become interested in asking for commissions ill be glad to sell. i dont have a job currently and its hard to get one b/c of COVID19 so this is kinda a last ditch resort so.. anywho. love yall and youll see anya’s art soon-ish. in the next two weeks hopefully. anyways please enjoy

Crap. That's all you could think as the pounding in your head made it impossible to truly come up with any other coherent thoughts. The light that poured through the windows of the unfamiliar house burned your eyes and the bed you now laid on was stiff and old. You were nowhere near home. Reaching for your phone in your pockets you cursed yourself, and your friends, for allowing you to drink so much. It seems that you had gotten so drunk, you’d landed yourself in thirteenth century England, or whatever the hell. Of course realistically this wasn’t true but wherever the hell you were, it seemed as though the person who lived here hadn’t been ‘with the times’ so to speak. A second assessment of your surroundings just confirmed that thought. The wood beneath your feet was old and looked worn and rotten. The bed is equally worn with no entertainment devices in sight. It seemed to be a studio, however you had been convinced it was a house, but alas, there was a wash station and a kitchen table no less than thirty feet from where you sat. Of course, no one was anywhere to be seen and to top it all off, your phone had no signal. None. It was even as if the section at the top left was blank which was completely abnormal. And you would have more time to question it if it weren’t for the front door clamoring open and a tall figure emerge through the doorway.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The tall female muttered and wiped off her clothes. “Where am i?” You questioned quickly, fear wavering in your voice as you realized she was dressed quite oddly. A soft tunic that would have definitely dated back to the thirteenth century and some trousers and footwear that had seen better days. She gave you a puzzled look. “Prythian, dear.” She scoffed and went to the wash basin to set down the food you had just realized she had been carrying. “Where is that?” You pushed further. How long had you been out for? The lady gave you another odd look before busying herself again. “Where are we? Somewhere in England? Anywhere in Britain? It sounds British. Are we in America? Where?” “Prythian. The continent.” She stated, her looks of concern soon matching your own. “I have no clue how you ended up all the way in the Night Court, but no matter, I’ll bring you to Velaris before sundown and surely our High Lord will return you to the human lands.” She went on and you had to sit back down for a moment. “Human lands...?” You muttered to yourself and glanced back at the woman. Pointed ears, slender face and extreme beauty. Your memory, which had completely forgotten you until now, was slowly returning. Prythian. It sounded familiar. You just assumed you’d heard it in a world history or apush class. No, you’d heard it from a book. Yes, a fantasy book. But that wasn’t possible. “Rhysand. Rhysand is your High Lord?” You asked, narrowing your eyes. The girl’s face lit up. “Yes! So you do know about Prythian! You’re not a lost cause after all!” Ignoring the backhanded comment you attempted to make more sense of the situation. “I must be dreaming.” You shook your head and began to stand, suddenly feeling light headed. “If you’re so eager to go, I can take you now, I can assure you you are not dreaming.” She confirmed. You nodded. “Take me now then. Please. I don’t belong here.” With some more hesitant conversation, the woman, who’s name was Rinna, agreed to take you to Velaris sooner than later. She lived on the outskirts of the city, just before the glamour took hold, and knew you were human and in turn gave you all of the essentials. Warm clothes that didn’t look out of place, a bag for your things, and some food. “It’s an hour’s journey over mountain so be prepared.” She warned. You nodded before leaving her cottage and mounting one of the two horses she had owned. You needed to figure out what had happened. The last thing you remember was being with your close friend and laughing in a bathroom at a party you two were at. And then everything was blank after that. You had read, and loved A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas but never in a million years did you think you would ever find yourself so far from home, and so close to the world you had loved. You now realized why books were just books. They were easy to love from afar. But so close, so very very close, they became scary. Too real. You were far from home, with no idea how to get back. You hadn’t said goodbye to anyone and without warning, your whole life was gone. And in reality, you knew no one here. Except now maybe Rinna, and technically all of the Inner Circle. But they didn’t know you. And that made all the difference. You would figure out how to get home no matter what it took. You needed to get home. And as much as finding yourself in the ultimate fantasy world secretly excited you, it scared you. Greatly. You were human in the land of the fae about to meet the strongest High Lord in history. And you had no defenses. But now was no time to be weak. If loving these books had taught you anything, it was that being scared was the perfect time to be brave. You would meet your essential heroes but you would also find your way back home and have a hell of a story waiting for everyone when you got back.

well that was fucking shite. hope you enjoyed lol i love yall PS READ THE AUTHORS NOTE!!!!!!!!!!!

#azriel x reader #azriel acotar x reader #azriel acotar #shadowsinger x reader #shadowsinger acotar #shadowsinger #acotar #acowar #acomaf #acofas #crescent city #house of earth and blood #sarah j maas #sjm #sjmaas

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heavencollins · 4 years

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Top 10 Films of 2020: Part One

2020 was a rough year for a lot of reasons, but even more rough due to the lack of an existent film industry for over half of the year. Sure, there are small productions happening and movies being released on VOD, as well as some in theatres, but so many great films were pushed back this year—movies I was excited to possibly have on my top ten. Minari, Promising Young Woman, Zola, The Green Knight, Saint Maud. Okay most of those are A24 releases but A24 literally released next to none of their slate for this year and it’s one of the most disappointing things to happen in the entertainment industry in my opinion.

Alas, I still found cinema through streaming, paying $20 for a VOD rental, and those amazing $1.80 rentals from Redbox (remember when they were only a dollar? because I do). And honestly? It was probably the hardest time curating a top ten that I’ve had in a long time; with so much just available through the internet and owning every single popular streaming service, it was both impossible to watch everything I wanted but also since I watched a lot of what i wanted, I ended up loving most of it. For a year that was so dismal in every other way possible, the films that were released ended up being a shining light more often than not. Of course, like every other year, a lot of hot garbage came out too, but that isn’t the focus of this—the great, amazing, can’t believe these are real films.

So let’s start from number ten. This was my first and only $20 rental this year, starring a man who I personally admire: Pete Davidson.

10. The King Of Staten Island, directed by Judd Apatow and written by Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, and Dave Sirus.

Judd Apatow is one of the first directors who I watched religiously, and hearing that he was doing a film with Pete Davidson that was essentially based on Davidson’s life meant that I knew I’d have to watch it. Scott, played by Davidson, is a twenty-something with no direct path in life; he lives with his mother, his sister is going off to college—something he never attempted—and he has no real career. His father died in a large building structure fire, much like Davidson’s actual father, a firefighter who passed away while responding to the twin towers during 9/11. Scott is emotionally a wreck, plagued with depression and anxiety, a chronic weed smoker, and dreams of being a tattoo artist that he practices by tattooing his group of rag-tag friends, but none of the tattoos are very great.

The thing about an Apatow film is they border the line between comedy and drama very well, kind of a complicated little dance. But, King of Staten Island is very much a drama more than a comedy. Bill Burr plays Ray, the father of a kid that Scott tattoos earlier on in the film. Ray comes stomping up to Scott’s mother’s house, and Margie, played by Marissa Tomei, opens the door. It’s essentially love at first sight. She hasn’t dated since Scott’s father passed, and to make matters worse, Ray is also a firefighter. This complicates emotions for Scott, as he loves his mother but also doesn’t know how to deal with the feeling that his mother is finally moving on and may face heartbreak again.

Davidson puts it all on the table in this film. It’s poignant and realistic; at the start, Scott is driving down the highway and closes his eyes, way longer than you should. It sets the tone from the start that this man isn’t okay, but also he’s scared of dying because as soon as he opens his eyes again and sees he may be about to crash, he quickly panics and readjusts his wheel. This struck a chord with me as most people know that Davidson has struggled with suicidal thoughts in the past. It’s a beautiful film that memorializes both how much Davidson’s father meant to him, but also the cycles of grief and trauma that last throughout your life.

9: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson.

Suicide Squad is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen period, fact. Birds of Prey is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen period, fact. I never, ever, ever thought I’d see a day where a DC movie was in my top ten, but this year anything is possible. Birds of Prey is a display of feminism, badassery, and all around perfection. You jump right into the story, hearing Margot Robbie’s classic Harley Quinn voice laid over an animation showing what we missed in her life so far, which means you don’t have to have any previous knowledge of the other films. Birds of Prey is meant to stand alone from any other movie preceding this one, and that’s just part of why it’s so great.

This film knows not to take itself too seriously. Margot Robbie is a dream as Harley Quinn, using just the right amount of playfulness to put a little edge on her, while also maintaining the manic-panic-pixie-dream-girl effect. Perhaps the best scene is when Harley goes and purchases the perfect egg breakfast sandwich, and then she drops it, causing a dramatic slow motion effect that proves she really does love that sandwich more than anything in the world. Or her realistic apartment, nothing truly fancy, just a little hole in the wall above a rundown Chinese restaurant. But then she has an amazing ensemble of other women actors around her, which are what really uplift her performance.

The funhouse fight scene at the end may be the best in superhero movie history. I mean, I guess, is Harley Quinn really a superhero? She’s kind of the anti-hero, which is what makes her so great. She’s somebody who isn’t even close to perfect but she still succeeds and tries to help and uplift the other women on her team. There’s just something special about this movie that made me smile and laugh the entire time. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to have fun every once in a while.

8: The Assistant, directed and written by Kitty Green.

For those who don’t know, I work as an assistant during the day for a small business here in Vermont. The work is mundane but it’s a job that’s giving me experience for the future. In The Assistant, Jane, played by Julia Garner, is an assistant to a “powerful entertainment mogul.” She gets lunch, answers phones, is the first one into the office, the last one out of the office, finds herself overshadowed by her male counterparts and getting the majority of the “grunt” work, and becomes more and more aware of what’s really going on at this office throughout a day in her life.

What’s interesting about this film is nothing is ever seen; everything Jane starts to feel is just based on intuition. Her boss is tricky, finding ways to keep his abuse of women out of the public eye, out of the eye of any female employees. This is obviously in response to #MeToo, Times Up, and the Harvey Weinstein news from the last few years, and it works surprisingly well as a film that just unnerves you and gets under your skin.

The reality of assault in the film industry is that until it’s widely public and known, nobody is going to know about it. You can report it to your company, to other women, to other men, to anybody, and nobody will take you seriously until they either experience it themselves or know somebody else who has. The Assistant hits the ball out of the park with the ending, even if it doesn’t give a vindictive satisfaction to viewers, because it’s simply the truth of the matter.

7: Tenet, directed and written by Christopher Nolan.

I really don’t know what to say about this one. It’s really controversial to like it but I absolutely LOVED this movie, it’s pure fucking vibes. A lot of people are cinema purists, which I am not, and will never claim to be, which was a huge deal with this film. Personally, this works way better at home than it ever would in a theater. It’s slightly long, the sound mixing makes it so it can be hard to hear dialogue over loud noises and the score, and it’s the type of movie you may have to rewind a few times.

My partner and I watched this in 4K Ultra HD with subtitles on, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Everything about the acting, the diversity in the film, the fact that Nolan literally has a character say “Don’t try to understand it, just experience it”???? VIBES. That’s all I can say about it. Plus, Elizabeth Debicki plays an actual badass who stands against her abuser and that enough is five stars. A tall queen standing up against her short joker—absolute feminism.

Sure, no character gets any development, but is that seriously necessary for every film? It’s an action flick about time and space and none of it makes sense and you can’t force it to. Why does everything need to make sense in a time where we are literally living through a pandemic? Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience of Tenet. It’s more fun when you don’t take it seriously.

6: The Devil All The Time, directed by Antonio Campos and written by Antonio Campos, Donald Ray Pollock, and Paulo Campos.

I never read the book this was based on, but this film made me want to. I love a film where multiple plot lines converge into one central story and this one did it so well, all with the same theme surrounding every single character: the guilt of sin and how no matter how much you think you can save yourself, you can’t truly save yourself. I’m not a huge fan of Tom Holland, but he shines as Arvin from beginning to end. Pattinson brings a creepy southern preacher to life with an accent that he will never be able to match again. Keough gives a performance you can only sympathize with as you know she’s being manipulated the entire time. Every character in this is corrupt in their own way but some in worse ways than others.

I don’t know how much to say about this one without spoiling it, either, because the core of this film is on the characters and what leads to their untimely ends, because pretty much everybody ends up dead. It’s grim and dark but it’s so beautiful and tells the story in a way that keeps you interested throughout the entire run time. It surprised me but there’s never truly been a Robert Pattinson starring movie that I’ve hated, so am I really surprised? I’m a TwiHard at heart even at age 22.

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necroalx · 4 years

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My problem with P5R new ending (spoilers)

I’ve been asked in my curiouscat about why I have problems with P5R ending a bunch of times by now, and honestly, I can't really put it in a way that wouldn't sound personal since my dislike over the matter comes from a personal appreciation of how the themes were handled in both versions.

With that being said feel free to ignore my POV:

First I would like to mention the things I loved about P5R (with spoilers ahead):

-The gameplay improvements were just perfect.

-Akechi's character arc was top notch for me, exactly what I wanted from him and I feel very satisfied with his new interactions.

-Sumire characterization during the first 8 ranks of her confidant were pretty cool.

-The individualization of the thieves until December, I loved the showtime attacks If anything I would have wanted they added more of those between more of the thieves too.

-Maruki is an incredibly well written character and Daiki Itoh's direction for relatable antagonists shines through him, he was really what P5 needed, the timing of the new semester events may be debatable for me, but I loved everything about him.

-Also loved Jose even we didn't get that much of him.

-The final boss fight was amazing!

Anyway My problem with the P5R ending is (Also, obvious spoilers for P5 and P5R):

-Retroactively diminishes the meaning of the original ending:

P5 vanilla original ending was in a way, the ultimate message about changing the world in the most healthy way possible, seeing it as the way it should be FIRST.

There were theories about this being an altered reality, and this is proven right by the events of the last semester in P5R.Also, with the mere existence of the events of P5R new content, the original ending becomes now an inconclusive story. Which makes it ultimately a lessened ending, because "this isn't the way the story should end".

-The theme of rebellion against an unjust society gets pointlessly messy and lost in transition:

Yes, I get the subject of facing reality is a way more important topic and way more down to earth, the thieves disbanding the way they did and going their own separate ways is indeed thematically fitting and shows some growth coming from their experiences in the new semester. Still, the game being written by a different person, plus having a scenery of "kids dreaming about their perfect world given to them by a overprotective father figure" seems to in a way tarnish and overwrite their experiences gained through the whole story.

I understand this is not the message meant to be conveyed by this new ending. I know and for sure love that in Royal the thieves don't exist just for Joker's sake was their whole characters aren't defined just by his actions anymore. BUT with those things mentioned above, all these change feels like a "correction" made to express how "japanese societal expectations were ultimately right all along things are not always like how we want and you have to deal with that" instead of the original ending's more positive outlook towards the future, that's now seen as a naive handled view of how things should be, and ultimately as I mentioned before, inconclusive.

Things are clear in that regard for me, (In the original, without Maruki's existence in the plot, the thieves were granted a world were they could do "whatever they wanted", between the limits of their own cognitive knowledge of how the world worked, after defeating Yaldabaoth and getting the holy grail treasure to basically "grant them that wish" as a reward after the fusion between mementos and the real world is finished. In P5R new ending, the change is made evident by having Morgana not steal the plug from the man in black chasing the thieves Van and the thieves not taking Joker home in the new ending to give the "more realistic" approach to that matter.)

This conclusion couldn't exist until P5R came out. Since now the entirety of the new Semester concept lies on the basis that the Phantom Thieves subconsciously granted Maruki his power and caused the whole "actualization event" through wishing someone could make those ideal realities for them, with Maruki being the only one capable of seeing the world the way they would've wanted to be because of their interactions with him. I actually give them credit for this since this is a brilliant detail and makes his tragic antagonistic role even more appealing.

But that leads me to my real and biggest problem with P5R new ending:

-The phantom thieves becoming secondary characters after being the main characters and vehicles to the story in the original game and through the 80% of P5R's story.Now people would call Kasumi waifu bait and other things, hell, even I memed about it before, the reality is, she's the most important tool Itoh and the new writers used to built this new ending, she is the most important character (besides Maruki himself obviously) to make the player empathize with Maruki's motives and actions, she is a victim of her circumstances just like the rest and she's "rescued" by this overprotective father figure character found in Maruki, but he was taking away her freedom as a consequence, thus making her relevant to the game's theme of rebellion. But then she faces that reality and she has to grow out of it by... "insert Itoh favorite writing trope of the protagonist beating the crap out of the heroine to make her come back to her senses" (Same thing he did with Marie in golden). Which is ok I guess, it can be a forgivable writing sin since the built to this was pretty well done. But then... there's nothing.Kasumi is presented and forced into scenes and moments so the player realizes "this character is important, more important than the rest" from very early on, it goes from scene to scene while the original events of the vanilla game still happen, and she was not the only one of coruse, Joker Akechi and Kasumi having their little arcs separated from the rest of the cast was obviously building towards something. But then going against everything Joker did in the original game, (and through 80% of P5R since those events are still in the game obviously) he chose both Kasumi and Akechi (twice in his case) over his other friends. Yes, the thieves were trapped on their fake realities, yes they came to the rescue in the end FOR Joker. But at this point they were: Not fully aware of who Kasumi really was and her involvement with these developments, not aware of the alliance between Joker and Crow, not aware of the weird palace that's been there the whole time. ALL because Joker and Mona kept these things secret from the rest, why? What's the sound logic behind this? Why would Joker not trust his friends with such important information after all they went through? Why are they reduced to convenient sidekicks after they saved his life and proved themselves capable of doing the impossible when they all decided to work together? Why? It makes no sense. They all have been through so much with him, just days before they all were inside the velvet room alongside Joker, finding out about his most intimate aspect and sharing an irreplaceable moment of realization and conviction of together. Just for them to become anticlimactically trapped on their dream worlds and completely forgetting about Joker and their true bond with him. Sure they come back to their senses AFTER Joker triggers their true memories with some words, but this SHOULDN'T have happened after all they went through after their fight with Yaldabaoth. Call it bad timing in the writing sense, but it was a testament of how separated they become from their original role in the new story, all for the sake of these new additions. And still, we can ignore that, I can see over that and say "well it's the ultimate tentation they were never tested through", but here's were the problem lies, besides the fact of Joker never telling his friends about the things I mentioned before, he is now a fully self insert character, when 80% of the original story (which is just the vanilla game honestly) he was written as Joker being his own entity, with his own sense of justice very clearly defined and a focus towards his friends as his most precious part of his life. This is suddenly thrown to the garbage in the new semester.

Why? Because now the player has to make a choice that the original Joker wouldn't make in the original, chose Akechi over the other phantom thieves. It honestly feels like a huge regression.Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Akechi's new confidant and his amazing dynamic with Joker being exploited the best way possible. I do, I am a fan of Akechi's character archetype and his characterization in both vanilla and his new scenes in royal. I am a sucker for antagonistic villainous characters getting a proper redemption arc in convincing ways. But the price was too high for my liking.

By the price I mean; You literally CAN'T get the new TRUE (complete) ending without choosing to keep your promise with Akechi, which means, you can't see the full extent of the story conclusion, Maruki's and Kasumi's arcs won't get any closure and you will only get a now "diminished" ending (the vanilla original ending), if you don't chose to keep your promise with Akechi. A "personal" promise and one you never told your friends about. The worst part of this decision is, the whole reason Joker and Akechi's dynamic works so well is because they were originally written as pretty oposite characters with their own unique distinguished quirks morals AND sense of justice. But then, suddenly, at the climax of the story, Joker is just a self insert blank state? That just does not work.

As for Sumire, once she's brought back and awakens again, her character arc ends, she becomes just another sidekick like the rest of the thieves, which makes all the built her character was used for... what? It's not really pointless, since it brings the story to this point, but what's left for her? What's her role now? She goes back to being Kasumi in the metaverse and the optional aspect of her confidant makes this transition to her going back to being Sumire feel kind of ambiguous and also inconclusive. Yes I know she is honoring the memory of her sister and that she has accepted her reality, that's true, but the development comes to a sudden turn when she suddenly becomes just another one in the crew behind Goro and Joker. All the phantom thieves had their roles cleared out beforehand soon after their insertion arcs were finished, Ann was the conscience of the team, always asking "are we doing the right thing?" Yusuke was the same, always second guessing every choice with a worst case scenario since as he said in his awakening "in order to see true authenticity, one has to be dispassionately realistic", Ryuji was always the one going for it and wanting things getting done he's the focus, Makoto is the advisor, so she became the clear headed tactician, Futaba was the tool device, she became the medium to the ends always finding ways to work around towards their goals, Mona is the heart and the hope representing their wish to inspire society through their actions, Haru was the kindness, a reminder of what are they trying to inspire and a source of tolerance the thieves were missing until she joined in. Sumire was... what? This honestly bothered me, made me feel the whole journey was just a bad joke, because now not only the phantom thieves were reduced to mere sidekicks, so was the one character with most promise in the story while Goro became the player's beating husband through Joker, a testament of the choice he made of choosing the image they made the player have of Akechi, the one person Joker couldn't save, the one who's beyond saving at thins point over the friends and family he did saved. By the way, as contradictory as it may sound, I loved the twist, having Akechi's life depending on the final choice for true freedom, it was clever, it added the right heart wrenching moment right before the climax, what I didn't like was how clear it was made at this point how little the other thieves mattered. Why? Have the phantom thieves ever sent a calling card without having giving their full agreement? Especially when a new important development could come up from their actions at the last moment? Not until this point, Goro's life was on the line here, he was an ally now, he was a phantom thief member, they all agreed to this. But were they informed of this last minute development by Joker, you know, so they could all agree to what was the right thing to do like they all had swear to do every time? No, because Joker made that decision himself, because all that mattered was the player decision the self insert decision. Hell not even a cheap text group chat scene, nothing.You can say "this is a personal thing between Joker and Goro and a personal choice for Akechi". Well sure, yet they were all about to put their lives at risk for this, like they've been doing this whole time. They would've argued they deserved to know this, even if they had reached the same conclusion at the end, but with this, in a story that focuses so much on details, whatever oath the phantom thieves had before this, became meaningless. The player can once again just like with Yaldabaoth chose to ruin everyone's chance for true freedom by choosing a selfish self inserted reasoning out of the blue to get a "bad end". Honestly, I also felt the original bad end in vanilla P5 was bad but this? This was worst, this took things to another level, sure the angst was well written and the suffering masked behind this fake happiness was very clever, but its also so cheapened because at this point, why would the player care about those other characters if you make this choice? They were sidelined so bad that their "happiness" becomes just flavor to the story and to be honest, the good decision was just as selfish because of this. I have no problems with the final boss fight, it was honestly amazing and almost made me forget all that happened before when I first played it because it was just so over the top and emotional, I honestly loved it. But then comes the final cut-scenes. Skip Joker going back to prison (why even bother with that though? He literally went just for 10 days and every value of the sacrifice he made in the original was now lost because of the new semester events), skip the the decisions the thieves made about their futures, their display of individuality was great but they don't matter at this point anyway. And here's the final insult, yes I am salty because the "main party" didn't take Joker home, but not because they didn't go through the action of taking him home, but because they weren't really doing anything relevant if anything at all after being the main characters the whole game (except for the new semester) No closure for them just quirkiness and flavor for the sake of a "reality" based message, felt cheap and dismissive, like someone not wanting to go through the trouble of writing something for characters they didn't create or even like. Why did I called the P5R ending lazy you ask? Because they didn't bother making an ending at all, but just to rewrite the original in a way the message of "reality" is settled over, sure their individuality is highlighted by not taking joker home and them being focused on their own different things on their lives, but so they were in the original, this ending and them being sent away was made at the price of the relevance of the thieves bonds with Joker once again, I would've been ok if we at least got to see more of THEM as individuals through the ending or even just as a group, hell this was the final time we'll see them and they were our most precious allies, maybe give us some time with them for the sake of the experiences we had, they did that with Golden's epilogue after all, why not here? But instead, we just see them just go around town being quirky and sneaky distracting the corrupt policemen while Joker gets his new cut-scenes goodbyes with the new characters in the game, because they deserve closure as well for sure, yet they do so over the others? In my opinion, at this point, no. But they did just that, they declared with this change that, the phantom thieves members weren't needed and their futures and story were irrelevant, it was all about Joker, Goro, Maruki and Kasumire, the rest were just sidekicks and these scenes were more important so the player can get what happens to these new favorites, all at the price of the original team relevance. That, was my problem with the new ending. Of course I'm happy to know about their futures and choices through the credits, but that's just lazy, they were more relevant than that in the original, but now they're just afterthoughts shown through credit scenes. No relevance whatsoever in their final moments in this story. It certainly hurt seeing them being this diminished after the original made me care about these characters so much.You can say to me "well, there's still the vanilla ending for you" but no, I said it before, retroactively that ending has become irrelevant and inconclusive, which means this is now how the phantom thieves are represented as, Joker's sidekicks, not a team of bandits and misfits working together as a unit like it was in the original. Again, this is my very personal take on the game new ending, feel free to disagree and call me a clown, but the original made a huge impact on me, the events of P5R ending wounded my appreciation for this story, not it's characters, not the theme, just the future they'll write for these characters from now on. That is all.

Sorry about this Essay lol, but this is the only way I could fully communicate everything It made me feel wrong about this new ending. It was not just a matter of preference for me.

#persona 5 #p5r spoilers #Persona 5 Royal #my take

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writingquestionsanswered · 5 years

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Hey there! First of all, I just want to say a million thank yous for helping me out with writing :) you're a blessing! Now here's my question, how do I write a slow burn romance without dragging on the story for too long? I don't want my characters to quickly fall in love within the first few chapters, but I also don't want to write 50+ chapters just to show that they're in a slow burn relationship. I think you've covered this before, so sorry if you need to answer this again :(

Guide: Writing a Slow Burn Romance

I actually have covered this before but this is a good opportunity for a guide on this subject, which I don’t presently have. So here we go! :)

What is a “Slow Burn” Romance?

A “slow burn” romance is one that takes longer to develop than the typical period of several weeks or a couple months. Slow burn relationships can take several months or even years to develop thanks to obstacles that prevent the romance from progressing. Unlike typical romances, which often begin with an open romantic interest, slow burn couples generally start out as acquaintances or friends, usually in situations that aren’t romance-friendly, such as being roommates, co-workers, or in other relationships.

In television, slow burn couples are called “will they/won’t they” relationships, because the romance develops over multiple seasons leaving fans to wonder if and when they’ll ever get together, and when they finally do it’s a really big deal. Think Jim and Pam in The Office, Ross and Rachel in Friends, Niles and Daphne in Frasier, Jane and Rafael in Jane the Virgin, Nick and Jess in New Girl, FitzSimmons in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Jake and Amy in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, just to name a few.

How Does a “Slow Burn” Romance Develop?

As with any romance, slow burn can start out with no romantic interest, one-sided romantic interest, or dual romantic interest, but unlike a typical romance, in slow burn that romantic interest isn’t pursued. This is due to whatever situation makes the romantic interest inappropriate, inconvenient, or otherwise undesirable at that time. Instead, the relationship develops as a friendship and all interactions appear to be platonic on the surface, but on the inside they’re slowly falling in love.

When the two characters inhabit the same space, you can do a lot with just the eyes:

- stolen glances- sharing a knowing look- their eyes meet and then they both look away bashfully- lingering looks- communicating feelings through the eyes (worry, pain, hurt, pride, affection)

When they physically interact, you can add in things like:

- accidentally touching- intentional but tentative touching- touching in non-intimate ways that feel intimate when touch is restricted- open, affectionate touching- flirting disguised as platonic playfulnessWhen the characters aren’t together, you can do a lot with the mind:

- thinking fondly of the other person- recalling fond memories- worrying about the other person- daydreaming about the future- analyzing a previous interaction- dreaming about the person- remembering moments containing looking/touching moments

The astute observer (whether that’s readers, viewers, or even other characters) should see clues that there are deeper feelings at play, and those subtle hints are the driving force of the slow burn relationship. They’re what make us root for things to work out, but the key is that there are continued obstacles that hamper romantic development, drawing out out over several months or even years.

How the Obstacles Create the “Slow Burn”

Initially, the obstacle keeping romance at bay will probably be situational. In other words, something about the situation of one or both characters makes pursuing a romance undesirable or impossible, so they maintain a friendship instead. But over time, that situation may change or their mutual attraction may transcend the situation, and that’s when you’ll start looking for other obstacles.

(Spoilers for The Office…) Jim and Pam are one of my favorite examples of a slow burn romance. They were co-workers and work friends who bonded over tormenting an annoying co-worker. Thinly veiled flirting, lingering looks, and bashful interactions made it clear there was “something there,” but Pam was engaged to Roy from the warehouse and had been for years. The fact that they had no wedding date set was the viewer’s first clue that all was not well in Pam’s relationship, and Roy’s constant mistreatment of Pam–and Jim’s subsequent frustration over her treatment–provided some good conflict and tension. When Pam and Roy finally set a date for their wedding, that solidified that obstacle further, which resulted in Jim transferring to a new branch in another town. Despite this new obstacle, Pam ends her engagement to Roy anyway, and as luck would have it, Jim’s new branch was closing and he was being transferred back. In a normal romance, that would be the end of it. With no further obstacles, they could finally be together, The End. But this is a slow burn romance, so things aren’t that easy. When Jim returns, he has a girlfriend, and she’s transferred with him. Not only does this relationship provide a new obstacle, but it creates further conflict and tension as Pam has to deal with working and being friends with her romantic rival, and Jim has to live with the reality that he’s still in love with Pam. Then, when Pam decides to get back together with Roy, it sets off a whole new line of conflict and tension. It doesn’t help that Jim is also being considered for a promotion to corporate, which creates yet another obstacle for any romantic development between him and Pam.As time goes on, Pam breaks up with Roy again, Jim breaks up with his girlfriend and takes his name out of consideration for the promotion to corporate, and finally they’re able to start dating… but, once again, this is a slow burn romance so it just can’t be that easy. After they date for a little while, Jim’s planned proposal is upstaged by another co-worker’s proposal (to yet another co-worker), and they ultimately decide to wait to get married so Pam can move to New York for a few months to study graphic design, and this distance becomes one last obstacle before they’re finally together once and for all. But, as in any relationship, there are still obstacles to be overcome.

Drawing it Out without Dragging it Out

“…but I also don’t want to write 50+ chapters just to show that they’re in a slow burn relationship.”

While you certainly don’t have to draw a slow burn relationship out over anything like fifty chapters, you also can’t make it slow burn unless you “show the math,” so to speak. You can’t just say it’s slow burn, you have to show it, and that’s going to take time… you’ll have to draw it out, and in a novel with a slow burn romance, that typically means they don’t get together until the last quarter/final act.

So, how do you draw it out without dragging it out? Well, for starters, there needs to be something else going on in the story. Slow burn romances work best in a story with a non-romantic primary plot or a strong non-romantic subplot. In other words, what else is this story about? Are your characters fighting in a dystopian rebellion? Are they researchers trying to survive on a dangerous island after a shipwreck? Are they trying to survive a clan war while trying to get your protagonist back through the portal he fell through from the twenty-first century? If your story can be about something else in addition to the slow burn romance, you don’t have to worry about boring your reader because there’s so much other stuff going on.

And remember, slow burn is as much about time and quality as it is about page count. In other words, if you have a novel that takes place over three years, but you want your characters to be together by the middle (two years into the story), that’s fine. What matters is that we see as much of the development as possible. It doesn’t have to literally take your entire book to unfold. :)

————————————————————————————————-Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check through my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice #wqaguide

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echodrops · 5 years

Text

Why You Should Be Shipping Shigaraki/Ochako

No, no, hang on a second--I see that side-eye you are throwing hard enough to ruin your peripheral vision. I feel the shade you’re casting like a thundercloud rolling in. But you didn’t read wrong. I meant what I said.

I’ve never made a secret of my love for rare pairs, but for once in my damn lonely shipper’s hellscape of a life I would love it if my favorite crack ship in a fandom had more than two fics (I’m NOT JOKING) to its name.

What can I do to correct this egregious oversight before the entire summer passes with nary a whisper of the most romantic ship since Juliet wherefore art thou’d Romeo?

Well, what else? I was forged in the fires of early 2000s’ fandom, and I know that desperate times call for desperate measures meticulously researched and extremely rose-tinted

Shipping Manifestos.

Fam, I am about to blow your minds, align your chakras, open your third eyes--because Shigaraki and Ochako is the most slept on ship in the entire BNHA fandom, and if you give me ten minutes like an hour (holy shit, this is long), I can prove it.

Disclaimer: @mistystarshine is the enabler who convinced me to write this but we were both enabled by @ohmytheon’s Reconfigure (on AO3) so you know who’s really responsible.

Spoilers to Chapter 231, watch out.

First off, I know what you’re thinking. Maybe you’re still reading from pure shock. Maybe you’re doubt-reading to get your daily fix of internet skepticism. Maybe you’re waiting for me to say these two characters are meant to be because she wears pink and his hair is blue. Maybe you’re already freaking out about age gaps but like that is what future fics and AUs are actually for!!!

I’m not telling you to give up your IzuOcha or Kacchako. I’m not gonna pry ShigaDabi out of your eager little villain stan hands. But if you’ve never considered multi-shipping, now is the time my friends, because I’m totally serious heartfelt here! I’ve got VALID reasons for shipping Shigako--ten of them, in fact:

1) Midoriya is taken for granted as Uraraka’s love interest--but Shigaraki is incredibly similar to him.

There are reams of meta on the parallels between Midoriya and Shigaraki, with plenty people noting how Horikoshi specifically set the two up as foils to examine similar character development despite their drastically different circumstances. Yet for all the meta pointing out that Shigaraki and Midoriya are basically the same character through a mirror darkly, I’ve never seen anyone bear that thought out to its logical conclusion: there are traits Uraraka admires in Midoriya that are extremely apparent in Shigaraki too.

Multiple times in the manga, Uraraka expresses admiration for Deku’s resolve and refusal to give up. His determination in the face of impossible odds and his sense of dedication to his cause are powerful motivating factors in Ochako’s storyline, and Deku’s behavior--his willingness to charge straight into danger and his unflinching pursuit of his goal to be #1--have basically become the standard to which Uraraka holds herself.

Her crush is literally founded on an appreciation for Midoriya’s drive, earnestness, and constant growth as a person.

But these are all traits that Shigaraki also explicitly possesses. Shigaraki’s unwavering resolve is so strong that even though everyone around him says dream is unattainable... they follow him anyway.

Ujiko flat out tells Shigaraki he’s chasing a pipe dream, but he’s willing to come along for the ride strictly because of how committed Shigaraki is to making that dream a reality. The strength of Tomura’s conviction alone persuaded a collection of the most volatile and difficult personalities in the manga to band together and become found family the most well-known anti-establishment organization in all of Japan.

Shigaraki never, even in the face of overwhelming threat, backs down from a challenge, and he approaches each impossible task with absolutely as much effort, ferocity, and refusal to quit as Deku. He is just as dedicated, just as much of a shounen protagonist main character, and just as willing to push himself above and beyond as Deku.

The traits that motivated Uraraka to become the character she is today, many of the exact same traits that formed her crush on Midoriya, are all there in Shigaraki. In another world, the person who inspired Uraraka to go “Plus Ultra” could be Tomura himself, and if 1) no sense of self-preservation, 2) ZERO CHILL, and 3) dogged obsession are what Uraraka finds attractive, Shigaraki clearly has 'em covered. Oh no, he’s meeting all my standards.

2) Being serious though, Ochako’s role in the plot would be vastly improved by more meaningful interactions with the antagonists, even if just in battle.

I’ve written before about how badly the writing of BNHA treats Ochako, and why her constantly being out-of-focus is a hallmark of the genre’s crippling inability to handle dynamic female characters, but it bears repeating: in her current position in the story, Uraraka’s character has minimal agency. She exists to fill the role of Deku’s love interest (at worst) and an emotional crutch (at best). Again, absolutely no hate on the IzuOcha ship--it’s clearly canon endgame and “wholesome” I guess is what they’re calling it nowadays. But the way IzuOcha’s being written in canon is actually the worst possible thing that could happen to Uraraka’s individual character, because Ochako’s crush on Deku has been given virtually no bearing on the story’s main plot and allows Horikoshi to consistently reduce Uraraka’s personal accomplishments to “inspirations from Deku” (in order to, likely, fulfill young male readers’ fantasy of having a girl fixated on them).

Is Uraraka about to do something cool in the manga? Wait for her comment about being motivated by Deku.

Does Uraraka actually get to see some action and get involved in a fight? Wait for someone to bring up her feelings for Deku.

Is Deku about to have a dramatic clash with the story’s villains to advance the main plotline? Wait for Ochako to entirely vanish (at worst) or get sidelined into a three panel clip where she’ll use the same martial art move she’s been using since like chapter 10 (at best).

If I have to read “Gunhead Martial Arts” one more fucking time... Give Ochako her OWN supermoves goddammit!!

The story of the comic itself continually pushes Ochako out of any position of relevance. She’s not one of UA’s strongest fighters (despite having a quirk that, if applied like ANY of the male characters, has incredible potential), she’s not given half the emotional depth or attention even side characters like Kirishima get, and her backstory lacks the development many of the male characters’ get (I’m looking at you, Todoroki).

As a “good girl,” she isn’t allowed to get her hands dirty like Toga, she isn’t allowed to get as bloodied or ugly as any of the boys, and she can never be allowed to surpass the main male characters in coolness or plot relevance because girls can be “heroes” but they can’t be The Hero™. (I’m literally gagging, guys.)

Which is EXACTLY why a plot involving Shigaraki and Ochako--in ANY capacity, even just a flat out fight against each other!--would actually be a fan-fucking-tastic addition to BNHA.

Skip the token Toga vs. Ochako chick fight where they squabble over who loves Izuku more. Let Toga talk to Izuku as herself for once. Let Uraraka throw down with the League’s leader. At least once, Horikoshi? Just once?

Literally any form of plot that puts Shigaraki and Ochako into contact would mean moving Uraraka into a more central position within the manga’s plot, would boost her screen-time, increase the likelihood of her contributing to the story’s primary conflict, and would give her more to do and emotionally engage with than just repeating the same lines about Deku being amazing on an endless loop. There is untapped character development potential in spades here if Uraraka was given chance to genuinely interact with the other half of the story’s cast!

Give👏 Uraraka👏 something👏 meaningful👏 to do!👏

Putting the story’s foremost female character on out there on the frontlines with the manga’s actual main character antagonist would finally break her out of the mold she’s been forced into by genre stereotypes and set her on an even playing field with the male heroes at last.

A meaningful encounter with Shigaraki could be Ochako’s ticket to being treated respectfully by the story itself (and hell if giving underappreciated characters a real place in the world isn’t Tomura’s freakin’ calling card already).

3) Okay, I know the words “subverting expectations” leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth nowadays, but there is a huge difference between “throwing inexplicable plot twists at the audience just for shock factor” and “averting stale cliches in an emotionally rewarding manner.” Sure, cliches do exist for a reason, but there are still many instances where actively avoiding a cliche plotline is a great choice. A shounen manga’s token love interest ending up with someone other than the hero--namely with a (reformed) villain--would be an interesting flip on the trite “hero gets the girl” script.

Look, we all know how it goes: Hero clashes with Bad Guy. They duke it out all over Kingdom Come. RIP like fifty square city blocks. The Hero wins, heads home triumphant, sweeps his Princess off her feet, and sails off into the hero rankings sunset. End of the same story we’ve seen a million times. Sometimes it’s done well and the audience is left satisfied. Other times, the heroine involved is reduced to the hero’s reward, less person than wish fulfillment. In either case, tying up a romantic subplot with a hero is the go-to way of resolving female characters’ storylines and, at this point, pretty much a given in manga, even when the romantic subplot is never given the development it deserves, leaving audiences bewildered at how and why the hook-up actually happened.

I’m not saying every comic should “subvert expectations” and cancel its romantic subplot between the hero and heroine, of course not. But I am saying that it would be pretty refreshing to see something else for once.

By virtue of their role, villains don’t usually “get the girl.” Even redeemed villains rarely end up in happy, healthy, well-written relationships. It’s not impossible but it is unlikely that a series’ designated female lead ever wavers in her attentions from the main hero to a new romantic target.

So it would be pretty cool if one did, if the moral of the story’s romantic subplot wasn’t just "token love interest completes painfully shoehorned romantic gestures.” A good romance with a redeemed ex-villain instead of a hero would take a lot more explanation. It would demand, by its very nature, more work on the author’s part to suspend disbelief. The characters would have to develop an entirely different rapport from the normal interactions between designated love interests, and, to a certain extent, strong character growth would be required in order for such a romance to even get started. There’s more moral complexity and conflict to a subplot like this, and a greater sensation of choice--if the heroine doesn’t have to end with the hero by the end of the story, well hey... That means she could end up with just about anyone. Whoa.

Even more so, in the specific case of Shigaraki, who has lived a life of misery and manipulation, the idea that he could come out on the other side, grow as a person, redeem himself, and eventually enter a healthy relationship with someone who isn’t going to hurt him is an idea I find deeply appealing. I think there are a lot of villain stans, myself included, who see parts of themselves in Shigaraki. If a character who has been so severely impacted by abuse can still heal and ultimately end up happy, to me, that’s a far more hopeful and heart-warming conclusion than the alternatives. I did warn you this manifesto would be rose-tinted, didn’t I?

I want storylines that prove that none of us are beyond saving. That people who make bad choices can still change. That romance isn’t a reward for playing the “right” role. That heroines have options. That there are still pleasant surprises to be found in romance plots.

4) But why Shigaraki and Ochako, in particular? It’s not like they have any remotely shared life experiences--

Oops. Friendly reminder: Ochako is the only major character in the manga besides the villains who is overtly described as, I quote, “poorer than poor.” Todoroki, Yaomomo, and Iida can all make it rain; Kaminari, Mina, and Jirou can afford stylish clothes; Kirishima can drop a stupid amount on night vision googles... Even Midoriya, whose father “works overseas,“ can afford plenty of All Might merchandise. One of the popular fandom theories for a while was that Ochako could be U.A.’s traitor specifically because of her desire to help her parents financially, and I think that most readers at this point can discern a clear divide in BNHA’s society: heroes are the “haves” and villains are the “have nots.” To be a hero in this story is to attend a prestigious school, have access to expensive support items, gear, insurance, fame and glory, etc.

Meanwhile, with the exception of All For One, to be a villain in BNHA’s story is to be marginalized, live in unfit conditions, lack access to basic safety and nutritional resources, and struggle to make ends meet. When ability to thrive in a hero-centric society is synonymous with being a good and worthwhile person, anyone who doesn’t just naturally excel in the hero-driven economy is treated as flawed at best and suspect at worst. Poor characters in the story are ignored, and, as demonstrated with people like Twice, left essentially to fend for themselves.

Uraraka’s status as lower income is mostly played for laughs. She’s still a privileged character in that she can attend U.A., receive hero items for free, has a safe place to live, etc. But it is important that the story acknowledges her family’s situation, because her financial status does set her apart from her classmates.

She is less privileged than the others. Being “the poor character” situates Uraraka in the interesting divide between those who couldn’t cope and chose to rebel against hero society instead, versus those who conformed to the hero system in an attempt to improve their situations. In different circumstances, if Uraraka’s family was just even the tiniest bit worse off, we might be seeing a very different character here, one who had to make some much harder choices to keep her family afloat.

Having been in the position of "going without,” Uraraka also has a unique understanding of the “real world” that many of her heroics classmates might lack. She understands what it is like to go hungry, to not be able to afford to keep up with the newest trends, to be constantly anxious about the future--to feel unsuccessful, overlooked, and under constant pressure to perform. As someone who wasn’t raised in the lap of luxury or even really a middle-class home, Uraraka has more insight into--and would likely have more empathy for--the plight of the downtrodden daily criminals of the BNHA world. Just based on her own life experiences, Ochako is more likely than her classmates to recognize how harsh reality can be, and understand the temptations that lead people to make terrible decisions.

This makes Ochako an especially interesting character in terms of her pro hero future. Would she be able to sympathize and reach out to struggling "villains” more effectively than others from her class, who lack her humble background? Would she be able to better see the big picture of BNHA’s society, and the way it actively creates villains from its marginalized populations? Would she be able to look at the League not just as criminals, but also as people who never stood a chance within the confines of a rigged social structure?

Uraraka’s background shifts her closer to the story’s villains than many of the other hero characters, and puts her in a unique place to both empathize and become motivated to change the flawed system that produced people like Shigaraki and the League in the first place.

5) Likewise, Uraraka’s background actually makes her more palatable to Shigaraki than other heroes. At least at the beginning of the comic, Uraraka isn’t shy about admitting that one of her reasons for becoming a hero is to help her parents financially. Ochako’s original motivation for heroism isn’t portrayed as nobly as others’ like Deku--Deku has no ulterior motives for being a hero; he just wants to save people and wouldn’t care about personally benefiting.

Instead, Ochako is presented as someone who (initially) sees heroism as a means to an end. It’s not that she doesn’t want to save people, but that she’s not doing so only for the intrinsic worth... the hefty paycheck that comes from heroism is a big draw.

Over time the manga has shown her shifting away from this (which actually makes her character less unique, unfortunately), but I’m sure it’s still a thought for her, and she’s definitely going to send paychecks to her parents in the future. At the end of the day, heroism is still going to be Uraraka’s ticket to a better lifestyle, even if she’s committed herself to it honestly by the time she leaves U.A.

But it’s this exact form of personal motivation that Shigaraki is much more likely to understand than the “goody-two-shoes” motivations of people like Deku. Multiple times in the comic Shigaraki has expressed confusion with society’s habit of clinging mindlessly to symbols, of their blind faith in the virtues of heroism, and their ability to simply overlook suffering because “surely a hero will do something about it.” Stain’s ideals about “true heroes” go straight past Shigaraki, who seems to hate heroes who are earnest (All Might, I’m talking about All Might) far more than those who are simply faking their way through for fame.

Shigaraki understands humans who are driven by personal gain. He respects the individual desires of people he cares about. Someone in the hero industry explicitly seeking tangible benefits would likely, to Shigaraki at least, come across as more genuine than someone who claims they have no ulterior motives, and a person who is blunt about their needs and grounded in the reality of BNHA’s world would likely be much more acceptable to Tomura than someone who spews trite lines about peace and justice.

Shigaraki’s feelings for heroes have been irreparably damaged by his conditioning from All For One, but there are certainly some heroes that he would find less loathsome than others. He will probably never understand Deku’s selflessness. All Might’s saccharine symbolism actively infuriates him. But a person who became a hero to put food on the table? To provide for her parents (maybe especially because it is her parents she’s trying to provide for)? That’s at least understandable. If the manga’s future does see Shigaraki redeemed, my thought is that the only type of heroes we’ll ever see him willingly interact with would still be heroes just like Ochako, with more “down to earth” personal motivations. Uraraka, your codename is “If I had to date a hero”...

6) While we’re talking about shared life experiences, there’s another very obvious similarity between Shigaraki and Ochako: neither one of them can touch things with all five fingers.

Cute/fridge horror observation: Shigaraki is even daintier about touching things than Uraraka is; Uraraka usually lifts just her pinkies, but Shigaraki frequently uses as few fingers as possible.

Yeah, yeah, they both have to be dainty and careful with everything they hold. It’d be cute to watch them eat together. They could mutually gripe about the annoyance of video game consoles not designed for four-finger use. More than that though, neither one of them can touch other human beings without the risk of causing death.

Uraraka, as a hero, has the more privileged quirk design (she can turn her quirk off, while Shigaraki can’t) and until recently, the comic was always very careful to portray Uraraka’s quirk in a way that no one was endangered by it. But dropping Zero Gravity into the hands of a villain for a single chapter reveals the truth: Uraraka’s quirk has just as much lethal potential as Shigaraki’s.

Like Shigaraki, Uraraka has to face the reality that her touch alone could jeopardize the safety of anyone she comes into contact with, in her daily life and in her hero work. Drop some debris without looking twice? Just crushed a civilian. Release your quirk without thinking? Now the villain you floated is paste on the sidewalk. Thought that it was safe to float away the building? Oops, you crushed someone still trapped inside. Yikes. In a one-on-one battle, Uraraka is actually at a disadvantage not because her quirk is weak, but the dead opposite--in an outdoor fight, she would have to actively work not to accidentally send people off into outer space.

Having an auto-activate touch quirk means that both Shigaraki and Ochako have to be conscious of every single thing they touch all the time. Both of their quirks require constant bodily awareness, and both come with the lurking knowledge that “My touch causes problems.” Even for Ochako, who would merely be a nuisance if she accidentally floated objects indoors, it’s easy to internalize frustration and negative associations with one’s own body. Every day, Ochako has to be careful with herself in a way that few of her peers do, another factor that sets her apart.

One of the story’s overarching themes is the idea of “self-acceptance” and what it even means to “accept yourself” in a world where (almost) every human being possesses a distinguishing feature, often built into their bodies at the expense of standard human functioning. For people with limited control over their quirks, who can’t choose when the effect activates, a quirk is a constant burden and facet of their identity that entirely re-shapes how they interact with the world. Both Shigaraki and Uraraka face the practicality of having burdensome, even lethal, auto-activate quirks that require constant self-awareness. This is a similarity that, of the major characters, only Shigaraki and Ochako possess so far. (Even other major characters with touch-based quirks like Overhaul appear to be able to choose when to activate their quirks).

The “funny” way Shigaraki and Ochako hold things seems like just a small similarity until you remember the amount of practice and frustration it must have taken to internalize a four-fingered touch. Until you remember that this similarity marks them both as very careful and self-conscious characters. Until you remember that Shigaraki’s got a one-touch instakill... but so does Uraraka Ochako.

7) Okay, similarities are cool and all, but you know what they say: opposites attract. And if we’re talking character motivation, there are no cleaner opposites in the entire series. Shigaraki and Ochako are actually even better emotional foils than Shigaraki and Deku, because Ochako’s central motivation is “Make as many people smile as possible” and Shigaraki’s is, literally, “Make it so no one can ever smile again.”

I know I ragged on it earlier, but now I’m going to use it to my full advantage: as the story evolved and characters grew, Ochako’s “true” motivation to become a hero revealed itself: she feels a deep, intrinsic happiness when witnessing the happiness of others. Her desire as a hero is to spread relief, the sense of security that allows people to go about their days smiling. She literally feels happiest when everyone around her is happy.

Even more so than Deku, this casts Uraraka as Shigaraki’s diametric opposite in the story, because Shigaraki’s entire pipe dream goal also hinges on the smiles of others--and how absolutely much he hates them. Shigaraki’s goal is total world destruction because he just resents the happiness of others that fucking much.

On the surface alone it’s more fascinating than the story will probably ever live up to: Ochako, the heroine who wants to spread smiles; Shigaraki, the villain who wants to destroy them. Even if we’re just talking canon, zero romance involved, that would still be an interesting conflict to explore. The story could cover a lot of deeper ground by drawing the comparison between these two characters more directly. It would definitely validate Uraraka being involved in more major plot events, at the very least.

BUT this was supposed to be about shipping, so of course I can’t leave it there, and leaving it there would only be half the story anyway, because nobody is born hating smiles. Everything we’ve seen of Shigaraki’s past so far indicates that he was a kid with a cute dog, a warm relationship with his sister, and an interest in heroes--i.e., a decent life that probably included his own fair share of smiles. Shigaraki’s hatred and resentment are direct products of the traumatic manipulation he suffered at AFO’s hands. He despises the idea that people around him can smile and act upbeat, even when they objectively know villains are lurking all around them. He is actually sick to his stomach at the idea of people blindly putting their faith in heroes, knowing what he does: that heroes often fail, that there are many people who desperately need to be rescued and are instead overlooked. The world failed Shimura Tenko and then had the nerve to keep on smiling without him.

Other people’s smiles represent nothing but the joy, security, love, and peace that Shigaraki Tomura hasn’t experienced since the day his quirk manifested. The sight of any living thing fills Shigaraki with rage because everything bright and beautiful, everything good and calm and kind and soft and warm, is everything that Shigaraki has lost and believes he will never, ever get to experience again.

Shigaraki doesn’t really hate the pure happy smiles of others; he hates the fact that the world has taken away every single thing he ever had to smile about.

It is my belief that Horikoshi is hinting at a redemption arc for Shigaraki, especially as we see the League become closer allies. But Shigaraki can’t be completely redeemed, can’t be persuaded to give up his world-destruction plan, until he can look at the smiles of others without scorn. Until the bright, upbeat attitudes of heroes other people no longer feel like a personal attack. Until he’s happy enough that the happiness of others no longer hurts. Until the weight is lifted.

And I can’t think of any character more obviously suited to helping lift an immense weight than Uraraka, the zero gravity hero who wants nothing more than to spread smiles.

8) Speaking of lifting weights... Kacchako is a popular ship stemming in large part from Bakugou’s refusal to treat Uraraka with kid gloves. He faces her head-on as a real opponent and views her like any other hero hopeful.

As I’ve said before, this is pretty much the most respectfully the series itself has ever treated Uraraka Ochako, and it caught a lot of attention because it was one of the rare occasions that a female pro hero-in-training was really treated as an equal to the male characters. Kacchako shippers had something awesome to work with.

But... You know who else treats women as equals? (Hell, you know who treats literally everyone as equals, from those with mutant quirks to trans people to those with severe mental health issues?) You can say what you want about Shigaraki’s habit of, you know, mass murder, but in terms of viewing others equally and respecting (okay, let’s be real, it’s probably closer to just ignoring) differences, Tomura is about as open-minded as BNHA characters come. The League is an equal opportunity employer.

Unlike actual hero characters, Shigaraki has never once suggested that Toga is incapable of keeping up with any of the male members of the League, and in fact has entrusted her with many of the League’s most dangerous and crucial missions. He explicitly has faith in her ability and skill.

Toga’s right there in the fight against Gigantomachia and the QLA, as much an equal member of the League as anyone else. In terms of gender equality, the villains seem to be light-years ahead of their hero counterparts, and Shigaraki in particular doesn’t discriminate, among his allies or his opponents either. He’s not a “spare the women and children” kind of guy; every hero and villain challenger is treated with equal violence (and equal snark), whether they’re male, female, a long-time pro or a student in training.

In whatever context--canon opponent, AU ally, or a future romantic interest--Shigaraki would take Ochako just as seriously as Bakugou did. If you like Kacchako because Bakugou doesn’t dismiss Uraraka, that same dynamic would be present in Shigako too.

9) And on the topic of Shigaraki and women... It doesn’t feel accidental that every single female character who ever had love for Shigaraki has been taken away from him. A distinct part of Shigaraki’s storyline is that all positive female role models have been systematically removed from his life. He lost his grandmother, a hero he could have looked up to; he lost his mother, who he now has no memory of; he lost the older sister he clearly held dear... All For One’s control over Tomura has always been total, but this particular detail feels especially insidious: was All For One’s spite for Nana so strong that he delighted in deliberately destroying every single relationship Tenko had with women connected to Nana’s legacy? (Or is AFO perhaps just a raging misogynist? Every single one of his known associates is male and he seemed to despise and mock Nana particularly hard...)

In any case, the point I’m trying to make here is that, even ruling love interests out, Shigaraki’s storyline would be enriched by forging a meaningful connection with a female character like Ochako. Acceptance--maybe even some grudging admiration--for a female hero? A fantastic opportunity to show just how different the “villains” are from the discriminatory society that produced them. Supporting friendship while he’s on the road to recovery? A+ way to diversify interactions between the male and female cast. Send a tough girl to Tartarus to question his motives? Nice chance for tense dialogue and some good old noire-esque foe yay. Hostage situation that takes a turn for the surprisingly cordial? Fun way to explore different dynamics and humanize the villains because hey, they treated the “damsel” to dinner shortbread cookies. My god, Shigaraki could even develop some positive sense of rivalry with a woman, for example! The possibilities are endless if you’re actually willing to give female characters a shot!

Being more serious, Tomura’s life has been dramatically marked by the loss of his female family members, and--at least from what we know so far--his entire youth was spent without the presence of reliable friendships, let alone any form of “love” that wasn’t disturbingly fake. Beyond his fragmented memories, he has no models for healthy relationships, romantic or otherwise.

Letting Shigaraki develop to the point that he could form a mutually positive relationship with a female hero character would be extremely cathartic for me as a reader. I don’t mean “rewarding redemption with a last-minute happy ending romance”--I mean actually getting the opportunity to watch Tomura rediscover what it means to be genuinely loved and realize he has the capacity to give love and be happy in return...

Reaching that level of mutual support and closeness--especially with a female pro hero--would be the biggest “FUCK YOU” that Shigaraki could give to All For One, short of, you know, actually killing him.

Shigaraki Tomura has a critical (and deliberate) lack of healthy connections to women. BNHA, coincidentally, has a criminally under-utilized female lead just twiddling her thumbs over here, waiting for a meaningful plotline to be thrown her way.

Sure, putting AFO in prison is cool and all, but have you considered... crushing his pride and legacy of evil by helping the boy he tortured for years learn to love again? I’m just sayin’!

Uraraka Ochako, snatching Shigaraki right the fuck out of AFO’s hands:

10) Basically what the whole thing boils down to is this: Shigaraki Tomura needs a hero.

Don’t mistake my meaning. A lot of “girl meets bad boy” plots end up amounting to “girl becomes emotionally responsible for fixing bad boy’s issues,” and that’s not what I’m gunning for--Shigaraki has to redeem himself because redemption is only meaningful when it stems from the character’s own inner desire to change; I’m not quite rose-tinted enough to buy into the Love Redeems trope myself. I’m definitely not advocating anyone dump Shigaraki Tomura as he is now into Uraraka Ochako’s lap and expect her to turn him from a beast to a beauty. It’s not an unrelated woman’s responsibility to fix a broken man.

But! From a reader’s perspective, I think we can agree: Shigaraki’s redemption cannot be complete until he learns to believe in real heroes. He doesn’t have to like them. He doesn’t have to support hero society. But he has to be able to look at real heroes like Izuku and Ochako and admit that they are doing what’s right--that society is a better place because they are here. Shigaraki’s path to recovery can’t even begin until he’s capable of at least acknowledging that the world has things worth saving in it.

If Horikoshi moves forward with a redemption arc for Shigaraki, it will probably be Deku who Detroit Smashes the message of truly noble heroes into Shigaraki’s head. That’s his job as the resident Warrior Therapist, I suppose. But you know... to me, it might be even more meaningful if Shigaraki’s hero--if the hand that reaches out to rescue him--isn’t The Hero’s™ but just a hero’s. We all know Deku is selfless and good to the core. As All Might’s perfect successor, he really has nothing to prove. It’s everyone else who is in question. It’s the whole rest of hero society that owes Shigaraki Tomura an explanation for the suffering of people like the League’s members. It’s everyone else who needs to prove they can do better--that in the future, there will be no bloody children left abandoned in back alleyways.

Uraraka Ochako’s conviction is to save people. As a female hero who hasn’t lived a privileged life, she’s uniquely situated to think about those who are most often overlooked. In a world where violence begets violence, where only those with strength and flash excel, what a powerful message it would send for the terrifying antagonist to effectively be rescued by someone the story itself has called “a frail girl.” At the end of the day, heroics isn’t supposed to be about mountain-destroying explosions and mach punches--heroics is supposed to be about heart, about reaching out a gentle helping hand, about spreading smiles to those who need them most.

Tomura’s faith in heroes has been brutally stripped from him, and every part of his conflict is tied up intimately with his misdirected hatred: it wasn’t actually heroes who isolated and hurt him--it was villains. In order to move forward, he will have to come to that horrible realization, deal with that means for himself and his place in the world, and recognize the truth: there are goodness and good people in the world. Selfless heroes, those who wouldn’t turn their backs on a crying child, do exist. There are people, even now, who would extend a kind hand to Shigaraki Tomura and do their best to bring a real smile to his face. Because that’s what’s really going on, after all.

Shimura Tenko is still waiting to be saved.

And I know just the person to do it.

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darkdevasofdestruction · 5 years

Text

White Lies : France/2P!France - Francis/Francois Bonnefoy

((I had this plot in mind with the idea of creating 2 alternate endings, one in which you end up with Francis, and in the other, with Francois~. ))

Life was never easy, especially when you move in a new country all of a sudden due to job opportunities...But I can't really complain now, can I? After all, I'm doing what I've been dreaming, which is being a Vet. Saving animals has always been my career-dream and now that I've achieved it, I only have 2 more. To travel the world and have fun...And to find my significant other.

Walking down the Champs-Elysee, passing idly the passing markets, I listen to music and look up at the evening sky, painted with various gorgeous shades of orange, pink and purple, feeling at ease. My walk from work to home isn't too long, just about 30 minutes on foot, which makes me able to relax and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of this enchanting country.

This walk...Made me feel nostalgic for years ago when I first came here with a University program, 7 years ago, to spend the whole Summer holiday working for an animal shelter and learning the language, which was probably the easiest way that I could manage to work abroad with no problem, get easy money and have some expenses paid by the University.

My new Summer home in Paris is a little but very chic apartment, in a neighbourhood full of flowers everywhere, very close to the center of the city, so the whole first day was filled with unpacking and arranging everything in its right place, making me exhausted and to sleep immediately.

The next day, however, I woke up energised and ready to explore the city and start a new Parisian lifestyle, which will be a bit weird to adapt to, but nothing impossible. Leaving for the first time without my parents is going to be a real challenge, but if my dreams are going to come true this way, it's gonna be worth it~.

I go first to a little cafe next to my block and get a warm hot chocolate, a croissant and bread with butter & jam, a really nice breakfast and now I'm ready to explore!

I went to see the easiest route from home to work, which was almost a straight line, thankfully, and from home to the center there were a few turns, but nothing too difficult to remember. A smile was plastered on my face the whole time as I walked up and down each and every street and alley, got a very good ice cream and some pastries from the boulangerie, took tons of pics and selfies everywhere and tried to make the best out of this whole experience.

I am only 20 years old, I have the whole life ahead of me and there's nothing stopping me, not even the night!

Okay, never mind, scratch that, maybe it will defeat me, a tiny bit, because I kinda got lost in the center, my phone is dead and I have no idea how to get home...Great! What a new adventure!

Thankfully, I spotted a small, vintage, very coquette and intimate cafe so I shrugged and went inside, thanking every deity that it's empty and my shyness won't get the best of me, and I looked around, admiring the tons of sweets on display, feeling my mouth watering.

I was snapped back to reality by a friendly baritone voice, which made me squeak in surprise and turn around with wide fawn eyes. The man in front of me, who I could only guess either worked here or was the owner, was pretty tall, with long blond hair and his sapphire blue eyes held a very comforting and calming warmth.

"Bonsoir, ma belle mademoiselle. Que fais-tu seul a cette heure?"

the man asked, concerned.

"Uhmm...I got lost...Oh, wait, wrong language...Uhmm. Je suis...Perdu? Je me suis perdu? Mon francais est...Tres...Terrible, je suis tres desole!"

I stammered, trying to remember all the words I've been learning for the past 8 years in school and highschool...

But it failed.

"That was tres adorable, mademoiselle! Don't worry, I know English as well, but I appreciate you trying your best to speak my language."

he laughed warmly.

"M-Merci...So, uhm...I just moved here and it's kinda my first time abroad, all alone, nonetheless and I explored the city all day long. I got distracted by the pretty lights so much that I didn't realise my phone's battery died while taking pictures and now I can't seem to remember the way home. I know, it's very silly."

I explained, scratching the back of my neck sheepishly and embarrassed.

"What an adventure indeed, dear. And how did you find your way here? Not all that many people come by."

he guided me to a table next to the glass wall so I could see the lights better.

"I was looking for a familiar street, when I saw your cafe here with lights still on. I'm...I'm pretty shy, so when I saw that nobody else was there, I thought I'd drop by and get something to eat. When I saw how incredible everything here looked...Well, I kinda lost my thinking."

I chuckled, making the man laugh gleefully.

"Que magnique! May I recommend you my favourite?"

he asked, getting up, a spark of excitement in his eyes.

"Yes, please! You did all of them? Alone?"

I asked, shocked.

"Mais, biensur~! Excuses-moi un moment, I will come right up!"

he went in another room for a bit, making me look down at my hands, grasping them together anxiously, then looked outside, admiring the beautiful lights from the Eiffle Tower, before the door opened once again, revealing the Frenchman with a white plate painted with pink flowers full of different cakes and other little sweets which made my jaw drop in shock.

"H-Hey, isn't that too much? I-I mean - !"

I stuttered, feeling my face heat up with a powerful blush, which only made him laugh.

"Nonsense! It's not every day a beautiful young lady comes into my humble cafe, especially not one from another country. It's from the house, so don't worry."

he winked, making me hide my blushing face with my hands.

"You're too kind with me, and I didn't even have the manners to ask for your name...I'm Y/N, it's really nice to meet you."

I managed to say after some time, trying to calm down my blush.

"Francis. Francis Bonnefoy, at your service, my dear."

he nodded, sitting down in front of me, putting a white rose in the vase.

"Francis...What a beautiful name."

I smiled softly.

"You can't let me eat everything by myself, okay? I accept no refuses!"

I said in a firm voice, making him chuckle.

"Very well, very well, a lady's wish is my command."

he obliged, getting another little fork for himself.

We chatted about my new job, about life here, about literally everything and anything that came into our minds, all that for about two more hours before we realised it was very late and he escorted me home with ease, because thankfully, I was smart enough to write my address on a slip of paper and put it in my wallet before I left my new home and from then on, since we exchanged phone numbers, we'd meet up as frequent as possible.

These 3 months of Summer have been the most beautiful I have ever experienced and it's all thanks to Francis and his never-ending kindness. The best part of it is that he surprised me with a trip to Disneyland just before I was to leave for home and I kid you not, I never cried of happiness so much in my life.

We took an infinite amount of pics of literally everything and went to all the rides there, making it a truly day to remember. I was so depressed that I had to leave, but he promised we'll stay in contact until I am able to come again next, which thankfully, I managed to make it every Summer, for the whole 6 years of Vet Medicine.

He was even there for my graduation, which I never expected, but yet again, made me cry in happiness.

Since by now I could speak French fluently and I've already worked there before for many months, I managed to score a job at one of the best Animal Hospitals in Paris, which made me and Francis become even better best friends.

Very often, we'd even sleep at each other, watching movies together, eating dinner and honestly, I'm so happy I got to meet someone as amazing as him.

Now I'm 27 and things haven't changed between I and Francis one bit, except for the fact that he told me that he's a country, France, of course, and all that came along with it, such as other countries, the 2P's, responsibilities and so on, which of course, were a bit confusing, but nothing I couldn't handle and give my eternal support for.

That is, until our first fight.

It wasn't really a fight, more like him telling me something concerning another World Meeting and me getting overly worried about him, so much that we argued about what he should do, without realising that he's been doing this for hundreds of years and he clearly knew what had to be done.

I never really argue with anyone, but when I do, I feel incredibly dark and sarcastic, so I stopped talking and took a deep breath before saying anything else.

"Look, Francis, I love you a lot, okay? You know this very well. I will go take a walk to calm down before I say something I will regret later that I don't even mean, anyways. I just...I want you safe, okay? Don't forget that." I muttered before leaving his home to walk around the park nearby.

Unfortunately, that walk wasn't a long one for before I realised, a hand covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream. I was threatened with knives and guns by some men dressed in black looking extremely threatening.

"We have seen you with the man who calls himself 'Francis Bonnefoy'. We want to know everything you know about him." the one in front of me asked in a raspy voice. "Wh-What? What's with Francis? What do you have with him?" I tried to ramble, not knowing what to do. "Tell us everything you know and we won't hurt you." said the one holding me before tugging on my hair, making me yelp a bit at the sudden pain. "I-I don't really know what you want me to say! He's just a man who owns a little cafe and he's very sweet, what else is there to say? He's very sweet with me and always texts back very fast and-" before I could continue my rant, I felt myself getting above the ground, as the one in front of me started strangling me in the air. "Who do you think you're talking to, wench?! We are the Russian Mafia and that man has important information." he screamed in my face, as I tried to breathe. "I...Don't know anything weird about him...Believe me..." I managed to choke out, before another voice rung out. "She speaks the truth. I never told her anything that might endanger her." were the words spoken that made the assailant drop me to the floor. "Francis...? What are you doing here?! Run! They want to hurt you!" I yelled at him, but he only shook his head and helped me back on my feet. "No, dear, I won't run. They have been targeting me for a while. I tried to make sure you were safe, but I didn't expect something like this. I'm sorry for putting you in danger and getting you harmed." he sighed, apologetic. "But...But Francis...I can't let you go with them...! They will hurt you...I couldn't possibly...I can't let you go..." my tears started welling up in my eyes as I threw my arms around his torso, afraid to let go of him. "Don't worry, ma belle fleur, I will return to you no matter what. I'm a country, remember? I can't die." he winked, trying to reassure me. "But you can feel pain! That's not okay no matter how you look at it!" I tried to protest, but he only pushed me towards his home lightly. "Don't worry, Raven. After all...All my life I've been in pain. A bit more won't change anything. Be careful while I'm gone, please." he said with a sad smile before he got taken away by those creepy men, as I screamed after him until my lungs gave out.

No...Screaming and crying won't solve anything, I have to do something about it, I can't just sit idly!

I ran back inside and to my surprise, Francis' phone was on the bed.

He knew something like this would happen...

Damn it.

Looking through his contacts, I see various country names and I stopped when I saw "England". Despite everything, Francis always spoke very nicely of England and the rest of the countries so...Hopefully, this will work.

"Hello? Is this England?" I ask meekly and unsure of what to say. "This better not be some stupid prank of that frog or-" he replied in a very annoyed voice. "N-No, nothing of the sort! Mr. England, France has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafia and I don't know what to do to save him! Will you please help me out?!" my voice dripping with desperation. "So what? It happens sometimes." he answered in such a nonchalant voice that it cut off my words. "B-But...! H-He's my fiance! Please, Mr. England, I don't know what I should do! Those men were really terrible and I don't want France to get harmed!" I cried in the phone, but I only earned a sigh. "Listen, miss, I understand that you are concerned, but that fro-...France is a country, and this sometimes happens to all of us. It's not the first time for him and it won't be the last time either. I suggest you wait for him with some wine, some baguettes and he'll get over it." he tried to suggest, but by this time I was boiling with anger. "You...How can you be so ...So cruel...Francis only spoke nice words of all the countries and especially of you, England. I can understand now why he always felt so lonely there...Because all of you are nothing more than a bunch of selfish jerks! I hope you sleep well tonight knowing that a man who cares about you like a brother and would do anything in his power to save you is being tortured! Good bye." I said in an extremely passive-aggressive tone, not letting him protest, before I hung up.

That was frustrating...Stupid England...

Taking a deep breath, I look through his contacts again and see someone called "Francois" with the French flag emoji next to it. This must be his 2P... He spoke so nicely of him, saying how fragile and emotional he really is, despite his rough exterior...He's just like Francis...But with different ways of coping with pain.

I call him and wait anxiously for him to answer, and when he did, I was greeted with a gruff voice that intimidated be, but I had to stay strong for Francis.

"Oui?" he answered. "H-Hello, are you Francois? France?" I managed to breathe out, cursing my shyness. "I'm his 2P. Why do you have France's phone?" he asked annoyed. "Y-You're still France, even if you're his 2P, right? And...Francis got kidnapped by the Russian Mafia." I said, this time with more confidence. "And...? What do you want me to do?" he asked, once again, very bored. "What the HELL is with you, people?! One of your own is kidnapped and tortured for information and who care so little?! Why are you all so pathetic and cowardly that you won't even help someone who holds you in such high esteem?! What, afraid to get a nail broken?!" I scream at him, forgetting myself with anger. "And who are you that you care so much for a country that's gonna outlive you in the blink of an eye?" he groaned, most likely rolling his eyes. "I am his fiancee, damn it! I am at his home and he intentionally let his phone on the bed, in hopes that one of you, his FRIENDS, is going to help get him out of there!" I reply sternly...

But he hung up without another word.

What...The hell?!

I tried ringing 3 more times, but I got rejected.

Fucking fantastic...So much for reliable peop-...Countries.

The next one I call is Canada, but he was very far away with business and couldn't come to our aid any time soon.

I gripped the phone tight in my grasp, cursing, before I get startled by the door opening, making me squeal in fright and surprise, as a tall, blond man looking very much like Francis, but rather disheveled, entered.

"F-Francois...?" I asked, to make sure. "No, it's freaking Papa Noel, Joyeux Noel!" he rolled his eyes before plopping down on the couch. "U-Uhm...A-Are you here to help me save Francis...?" I inquired, unsure of what he was doing. "Depends on you, toots. What's in it for me?" he lit up a cigarette. "Uh...You saved your other self? You did a good deed? I don't know, doesn't it matter to you at all that he's in trouble?!" I looked at him shocked as he just shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. So, what are you willing to do to save him?" he asked, getting up, closer to me. "We've been together for 7 years. Anything that's possible for me to do, I will do it, if it means he gets out of there unharmed." I said, looking determined. "Then...How about we fuck?" he muttered with a smirk. "Wh-What?! What the hell are you asking?!" I cringed, stepping back. "You said you'd do anything, right? Would you do this? I look almost just like him, in the dark, you wouldn't even realise the difference, so what's the problem? He won't have to know." he got very close to my face, whispering in my ear. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!" I screamed, slapping his face hard. "D-Don't EVER do that again! Not to me, or to anyone else! EVER!! I don't get why you came here if you weren't willing to save Francis, but if you just got here to mess with me, then kindly GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE!" I yelled, trying not to let the tears in my eyes fall, before I went to Francis' bedroom and locked the door, sliding down, hugging my knees and choking on sobs.

I tried to repeat to myself "Not again" again and again, until I got back to my senses and calmed my breathing and remembered that I must continue calling all the countries available.

China refused. Japan said "I will see what I can do" which is a very subtle denial. Italy cowarded. Spain has to take care of Romano. Prussia and Germany are dead drunk. The Nordics were busy with official meetings and businesses. The Baltics declined, the Balkans declined....The whole Europe declined...America declined...Asia declined... Everyone declined. But Russia's answer scared me the most.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I don't control the Mafia, so I can't do anything about it. And at the same time, I can't harm my own people either. But I will tell you, they won't leave France any time soon, for sure."

And...That was it. All countries declined helping one of their own and I was at the verge of despair. The only one who wanted to help was Francois...And with such terms...And what a scary approach... B-But...As long as it saves him...Does it even matter anymore...?

I slowly unlock the door, gathering courage to get out and swallow my pride, and to my surprise, Francois was still on the couch, smoking.

"You're still here." I mumbled, looking away. "Oui. And I heard everything. What are you gonna do, mignonette?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. "I...Uh...W-Well...I-If I do it...W-Will you promise he gets home safe?" looking anywhere but at him, I grip the phone tightly, trying to fight my anxiety. "Ohh~? So you will do it, after all? To save your amour, you'll let another taint you, touch you, corrupt you~?" he asked, tauntingly. "Oh, shut up, you jerk! I just want to save my fiance, while you're here like some mercenary, seeking favours!" I bite my lip, trying not to outright scream at him again. "Tsk, tsk, I'm just doing what's best for me. You can't blame me, we're all selfish." he shrugged, getting up. "No...Not all of us...Francis isn't. Francis would have tried his best to save any country. ANY. Country." I glared at him. "You've known him for 7 years, not for 700. I think I know him better than you do." he smirked, challenging me. "You may know him, France, the country, but I know Francis, the heart inside him. I know the real him. You just know the facade he's putting. Now stop arguing with me and let's go save him already!" I stomped on the ground frustrated, only making him chuckle. "Do you even know where we have to go?" he asked, lighting up another cigarette. "Of course not, who do you take me for? Nostradamus? All I know is that Russia said he isn't in control of his people and that they didn't leave this place and are probably in some hideout here, in Paris." I told him, looking away, pondering. "You're lucky I know all the sketchy places around here..." he nodded, signing me to follow him to his car, a nice black Cadillac.

On the way to the first hideout, it was silent, with the exception of Francois puffing his cigarette from time to time.

"So, mignonette, how did someone like you meet someone like him." he asked, trying to make conversation. "You're saying it in a very weird way, y'know? But...7 years ago I was able, for the first time, to leave the country. I came here, to Paris, to work at an Animal shelter for the whole Summer, sent with a University program. After unpacking everything, I started exploring the city, but soon I realised that my phone died, it was night, and I had no idea how to return home. I found Francis' cafe...And he was so sweet with me...We kept in touch all the time, even when I had to leave back home and we wouldn't see each other for the rest of the year...He has always been so kind and patient with me..." sighing, I look out of the window. "Huh...Tres drole." he muttered, throwing the cigarette butt out of the window. "What is funny?" I asked, rising a brow. "You." he snorted. "What? Why?" I looked at him, confused and slightly shocked. "When did you first fuck?" he teased, looking at me. "Wh-What the hell, Francois! That's an intimate question and I refuse to answer!" I huff, looking away. "Oh, come on, I won't tell anyone. Is he any good? Do I need to teach him-" he continued, but I stopped him quickly. "Shut up!! We didn't, okay?! Now stop asking! I don't know if he's...G-Good or whatever the hell you want to know, so drop it!" I exclaimed, extremely embarrassed. "You mean to tell me you've been together 7 years and didn't fuck? No long and sensual "I missed you" fuck? No quick and rough "Don't leave me" fuck? No very kinky "This is better than porn" fuck?" he chuckled, seeing how flustered it made me. "Enough!! Th-That's enough! Stop it already! No, we did nothing of the sort, now please, DROP IT! I don't want to know or talk about it or anything similar!" I tell him firmly, hoping he'd stop already. "You're no fun...Come on, toots, you're an adult, these things are normal and fun, not tabboo, so chill. Maybe you really need a good fuck." he muttered, trying to make me calm down, but I only gripped my hands tighter and glued myself to the door, as farther away from him as possible. "You don't know everything, nor everyone, so don't speak for them." I answer barely above a whisper, which only earned me a sigh. "You're either only best friends, he sucks in bed...Or you've been really hurt in the past. So, which is it, mignonette?" he asked, solemnly. "...Who hurt you, Francois...?" I feel myself asking without realising. "Huh?" he breathes out, looking at me shocked, but before I could say anything else, he stopped the car abruptly, saying "We're here."

We get out of the car without another word and search the whole shelter from top to bottom, but find nothing but dust and blood.

"So...Not here. How many other places are there?" I asked, biting my lip. "Many. Too many. Are you sure they were Russian?" he asked again, looking at me. "Yes. They said so when they attacked me. And their accent was very thick as well...I could recognise a few words myself when they were whispering between themselves before Francis came." I nod, sure of my information. "Very well. That means there are only 2 more places to check. They are pretty far away from each other, but should work. Also, I need to get some fuel." he sighed, getting back to the car. "Okay. I pay. It's the least I can do..." I tell him, looking ahead at the new road. "I won't complain." he chuckled, lighting up the 100th cigarette.

We spent about half an hour in silence before I got the courage to ask him again...

"Who hurt you so much, Francois? You're constantly using this vices and facades to cover up that you're in pain..." I stammered, not really sure where I was getting at. "Shut the hell up." he ordered with the most deadpan expression so far. "I-I don't want to insult, offend or hurt you, Francois. I just want to understand you. You're not a bad person, I can sense that. You just have a different coping mechanism-" I continue, trying to let him know I'm not attacking him, but he got angrier. "I SAID, SHUT IT! What the hell is so difficult for your stupid brain to get?! STOP talking about it!" he yelled, gripping the stirring wheel and glaring ahead. "I'm sorry! Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you...I just...I just...Wanted to thank you for being literally the only person to want to save Francis and..." I scratch a bit at my arm, closing my eyes, hating the sudden change in tone. "I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it to fuck you!" he sneered, shifting his glare at me now. "That's fine...Doesn't matter, as long as he's safe...Any help is appreciated..." I whispered, hanging my head. "Oh, really? Then if a group of hobos offered to to save him, if they gangbanged you, would you do it? Or if some fetishist were to ensure he got out the next second, but he got you as his sex slave?" he shouted more and more, making me shed tears and choke on sobs. "I-I just want my Francis to come back to me unharmed...I don't want to see him in pain ever again...I just want him to be okay...He's been through so much and he still smiles...He's saved me all these years, and now I owe him at least this...I just...I just want him safe and sound..." I sob, biting my lip and gripping my arms, trying to stop myself from crying, but to no avail. "...Get out." Francois muttered barely audible. "Wh....What....?" my eyes widened as I managed to move my gaze to look at him. "Get the fuck out of my car. Now." he wasn't looking at me anymore, but outside, as he put a very sudden and brusque break, making me squeak in surprise at the impact. "B-But...Why? Didn't you promise you'd help me save him? You are his last hope, Francois, you can't abandon him like this! We're so close to-" I tried to argue, but I suddenly find myself with the barrel of a gun at my forehead. "Fuck if I care anymore. You're annoying, you piss me off with your lies. That's all that you are, a selfish liar! I don't believe a word you're saying! I don't know why I agreed to this bullshit, he'll get out of there anyways! You're not even hot enough to bother going through all this just to fuck you! Go find him on your own, now get the fuck out of my car!" he growled, cocking the gun.

He was looking at me with his dark purple eyes, right into my e/c ones, glistering with tears and betrayal...But deep inside his own eyes, shock, mixed with a glint of hurt and skepticism were swimming. "I may be a liar...But at least I'm not lying to myself and to my own heart about my feelings. Goodbye, Francois. Drive safe home." I sighed, looking at him with betrayal and resignation as I stepped out of the car and started walking ahead.

I didn't realise how cold it was before, but now...It's really not very nice. And the fact that it's so dark and scary isn't helping either. I turned on my phone's torch, trying to see where the hell I was, but all I could see were trees every where I looked. At this point, I don't know if I should be scared that there's no passing car...Or if there WOULD be one.

I literally had no idea what to do, and Francois just went ahead with a terrible speed...Hope he won't have an accident or something. The pain in his eyes as he spoke to me...Those were the voice and look of a desperate man, wanting to take away the pain somehow. I can't blame him in any way...For I understand him more than I wish I did. If it wasn't for Francis... Well... I just think Francois should allow himself to feel happiness and not be afraid to grasp hope, no matter how thin that thread may be.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't realise the car that was coming from behind me until it was too late and the lights were already on me. Next to me, a black Ford started very slowly driving next to me, as the driver pulled down his window and whistled me.

"Hey, babe, want a ride?" he asked in a slurred voice. "N-No thanks..." I mutter, trying to walk faster, but to no avail. "Aww, come on, sweet tits! Let me get ya home! I can't let a babe like you walking alone at night, can I?" he purred in that disgustingly drunk voice of his. "I'm very close to my boyfriend's home, so please, leave me alone." I tried to reason, clearly scared, but he only laughed. "There ain't no house in the next 5 kms, missy, so don't try to lie to me!" he said in a low voice as he stopped the car.

By this point, I started running as fast as I could, cursing myself for not doing anything to maintain my physical endurance because my lungs were burning and my legs were aching like all hell, and before I knew it, I was on the ground, the remaining air in my lungs knocked out from the weight on top of me.

I tried to struggle, but I could only jump back to my feet when the bastard rolled over to get a better grip on me, but I couldn't run... He held my arm so tight that I was afraid it might break, making me turn around to try and scratch him, but that only annoyed him and made him rip open my f/c shirt, exposing my almost naked top.

By this point, I kept screaming and struggling like a wild animal trapped in a cage, but he was much too strong for me to do anything. Memories of the past kept flooding my brain as he put his hand on my neck, while the other was roaming my body.

I thought that was the end of me, until I heard a very loud car accelerating in our direction, then two deafening gun shots...And then silence.

As soon as those shots were dealt and I could no longer feel that forsaken grip on me, I sprinted into the woods, not caring about anything else in this world, not hearing, nor seeing anything.

That is...Until again, someone took a hold of my wrist and spun me around in his arms, making me scream, beat and struggle whoever that was, way too scared to rationalise anything anymore.

"Mignonette! It's me, Francois! Calm down, damn it, I'm not gonna hurt you! I killed that fucktard, nobody will hurt you, chill already." he tried to calm me down, but all I could do, as all strength left my body and my legs were shaking, was to fall in his arms and sob in his chest almost falling to the ground, were it not for him.

It might have taken a good 5 to 10 minutes of sobbing before I managed to calm down enough to be able to speak coherently, while Francois tried his best to soothe and calm me down.

"How the hell do you always get in trouble, Mignonette?" he tried to joke light-hearted. "I don't know, but I'm so done with this! I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! Why is it always me?! What did I do so wrong in this world that I attract such...Such...Monsters?! Why does everyone want to hurt me like this?! Is this it, Francois?! Is this the pain you're feeling?! Because if it is, then FUCK IT, I don't want to feel anything anymore! Take out my heart, I don't need it! I don't want to hurt anymore! MAKE IT STOP ALREADY!! Why me?! Why again?! Why like this?! I just want to be happy for once, is that too much to fucking ask in this world?! IS IT?!" I screamed and cried and pulled at my hair in desperation, not caring about any self-esteem anymore and just letting all the raw emotions plaguing my heart, soul and brain out. "So I was right...You have been hurt before." he muttered to himself, almost as if he hated himself for being right. "Yes, fucking hell, yes, I have, damn it! Three fucking times! Each time, it hurt so bad, and in different ways! But the first one...Oh, the first one....I was barely 17, damn it...It was my first relationship...So why did he have to do such things to me?! I didn't know any better, I was naive, innocent and learning...I thought it was normal...And...And...And I stayed almost 2 years like that...And I didn't tell anyone what happened...I was scared, I didn't want to admit it, I was weak...And powerless...And I still am...Because no matter what I do, a drunk, horny man will always get his way because of his fucking physical strength! CURSE YOU! Monsters, all of them! Wretches! Burn in hell, all of you!" I confessed to everything that's happened in the past, not even sure why or how did I manage to finally say everything that was darkening my heart, but I did. "Je suis desole, Mignonette. I truly am. I shouldn't have let you alone in these places. It's my fault, I admit. I was pissed off that you said the truth and I couldn't stand it. I went to search the 2nd place, but there was nothing. That means Francis is definitely in the 3rd and last place." he stated, slowly helping me get up. "Hope so..." I mutter, feeling drained of all life and hope.

We walked back to the car, him holding me close to his chest, and as the car's light came in our sights, he realised my wardrobe malfunction and took off his shirt, handing it to me, as he remained shirtless, not even flinching at the cold, all the scars on his body now visible.

"Don't you hate it?" I muttered, looking away as I buttoned his shirt and rolled up the sleeves since it was way too big on me. "Hate what?" he asked, getting in the driver's seat. "Dunno... The World. People. Life. Yourself." I mention, shrugging. "I do. Why?" he furrowed his brows, not quite getting where I was going at. "And how do you cope with it?" I asked, still glaring in front of me. "Not very well, as you've seen so far. Drinking, Smoking, Whoring. Not very healthy." he explained, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "I hate alcohol. I couldn't get drunk, even if I wanted to. Makes me sick. Smoking makes me sick too...And...The other one...Even if I wanted to...I...I..." I trailed off, biting my lip in annoyance. "You hate yourself too much, but also, distrust everyone else around you, hm?" he tried to reason. "Sorta, yeah, I guess. I'm scared, I'm afraid, I'm anxious and ashamed...I just want to run away and hide somewhere nobody could ever find me even when I think of it. I start shaking and...And I can't. It leads to panic attacks. So I'd rather...Not. And I'm so tired of everyone telling me I'm broken or whatever just because I don't care about anything of the sort." I sighed, leaning my head on the door window. "Does he know?" Francois asked, but I only shook my head. "Last times I told someone...My boyfriends...Things got very bad. It's like a stupidly annoying Pavlovian instinct. I know things won't be bad if I tell him...But I'm also afraid." I mutter, looking out, and before he could say anything else, I ask him "We've arrived, right?" which earned me a solemn nod.

Getting out of the car, we went in silence to the shelter, this time smaller than the first one, and noticed light emanating from inside. Upon further inspection, Francois confirmed that Francis was inside, so he got out the rifle from his car and climbed a tree, easily taking out the 2 bulky men who kept Francis captive, allowing me to easily run inside and use the knife given to me to cut off the restraint that bound him to the chair.

I was so mirthful that Francis was okay and somehow, there was no scratch, bruise or wound on him, so I threw myself in his arms, hugging him as tight as I could, considering the event of this night. However, things weren't always easy to deal with, especially when it comes to the Mafia, but before anything could happen, I hear a rustle from the other room, which somehow, the other two omitted, allowing me to quickly snatch the pistol from one of the deceased's grasps and point it to the door, revealing a scared Mafia mobster.

"Hello, fuckass." I said venomously. "You don't even know how to use that and yet you dare threaten me?!" he shouted, ready to take his own gun, until the sound of me cocking mine echoed in the whole room. "Will you take the bet? What's faster...Me pulling the trigger, or you taking the gun and killing me? What say you? The brain or the heart, which would you prefer?" I asked, taunting him. "You little bitch...! Who do you think you are, opposing the Mafia?! Mr. Russia will wage war on this stupid country!" he shouted in anger, visibly shaken up. "Hahahaha...I've been called worse in a day, is that all you can do? How weak. No wonder the others didn't let you do anything to help them. Oh, and, by the way...Mr. Russia has no control over the Mafia, so he won't take any action against you...Or to help you. Trust me, I called him a few hours ago. So before talking...I'd rather check if all I knew were lies. Just a sound advice for the future...Which you'll never have, at this rate." I grinned mockingly at him, but just before I could say "Goodbye" and shoot him, a gentle hand grasped my shoulder, as the other went to the pistol, setting the trajectory away from the villain, who fell to his knees in fright. "Y-You're insane, woman..." he muttered, shocked. "Francois, what's the meaning of this?! What if he attacked us?! He messed with Francis, he messed with me, he messed with you! We can't let him escape!" I raised my voice at him, but he only shook his head. "You've been through enough today, and it's mostly my fault. Go stay with your paramour...I won't let your hands be bloodied. You don't deserve such a fate to haunt you for life." he explained, gingerly taking the gun away from me. "I have enough things to haunt me for more than this lifetime, one more, what could matter?" I tsked in annoyance, looking away. "It always matters. I hope you won't get to experience more misfortune." he muttered, pushing me towards Francis, as he took the enemy away, to kill him in the woods.

Taking a deep breath to calm my annoyance, I jump in Francis' arms once more, burying my face in his chest, just happy to have him safe and sound, back in my life. With tears in his eyes, he kissed the top of my head and thanked me over and over, but not for saving him necessarily, but for being here for him at all times. He never expected anyone to bother to save him, which I noticed myself, unfortunately.

I told him part of our story, clearly only the not-so-dark parts of it, and by the time I was about mid-story, Francois came back.

#####

Francis/France Ending

"Okay, love birds, are you done reuniting? We should get out of here before their little group of boy scouts return to give us more trouble." he rolled his eyes seeing us hugged and sappy. "Oui, mon ami, tu as raison. Ma cherie, let's go home. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that trouble just for me. I'm a country, I won't die, and yet you still came after me, despite the dangers." he said in a soft voice, clearly touched. "Silly...Country or not, you still feel pain, and that is the last thing I want you to feel. I love you so much, Francis, you don't even realise. You brought light into my life, into my heart...And I wanted to be able to save you, just like you saved me all these years we've known each other. Je t'aime trop, et tu es mon coeur. I will stay by your side until you get tired of me." I confessed, cupping his face and looking at him with endless love and admiration.

Poor Francis was left speechless, so much that he just started kissing me passionately, then hugging me tight to his chest, earning a groan of annoyance from his friend.

"Take that to the car, idiots! Hurry up!" he clapped to hurry us up back to the car, which we did, and now we were on our way back home, Francois driving us, as we stayed in the backseat, cuddled to each as if tomorrow was the last day alive.

Back home, we plopped down on the couch, finally able to breathe, knowing we were safe, but after about 5 minutes, Francois got up to leave...Which didn't happen, for I stopped him with a hug.

"Thank you for helping me save him. I owe you the world." I whispered, thanking him with a smile on my face. "Oh, shut up. You pissed me off enough for a day. Just go stay with him and leave me alone." he groaned, trying to pry me off me. "There's no chance you're gonna get rid of us after today! There's no escape for ya!" I laughed, finally letting him go, before the door was slammed open, revealing a blond man with short hair, green eyes and abnormal eyebrows. "Ahem. I see that bloody frog is alright. Was that a prank or-" he asked, seemingly irritated. "You...Are you England?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Yes, of course, who else? Wait-...Was it you I spoke with on the pho-" but I didn't let him finish because I slapped him with all my might, before starting to shake him roughly. "YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU DARE COME HERE NOW, HOURS AFTER I CALLED, WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WAS PRANKING YOU, IMMA KILL YOU, YOU-" but I was stopped by a hug from behind and a chuckle. "Ne t'inquiete pas, mon amour, it's just how Angleterre is, please forgive him." he shook his head with a chuckle, making me gasp. "But...! But! But Francis! It's not fair at all! You would give your life on a plate to save others, especially this tea-jerk, but he just calls you a frog! It's not okay!" I pout, clearly upset at the his mean friend's behaviour. "It's better to forgive and forget than to stay with hate in your heart. It will only hurt you, not them." he said with a wink before kissing my forehead. "Fine, whatever...But you're still not off the hook! And you're still a jerk! And if you call Francis a 'Frog' again, I'll make sure to stash a hundred frogs down your throat!" I threaten him, which made him nod, awkwardly. "Uh...Yes, France, I'm glad you're find. I will take my leave now, farewell." he nodded again before leaving. "You see? He came here because he was worried, in his own way." he smiled softly, before guiding me back to the couch to calm me down. "Mon Dieu, you sure are loud, all of you...Bonne nuit. Don't call me again." Francois shrugged, exiting the room, leaving only me and Francis there.

We went to change in our PJs and cuddled in bed, both of us afraid to let the other go after such a night.

"I was so happy to see you that I forgot to even ask if you were okay, desole, ma fleur." Francis said, caressing my face. "I'm okay, don't worry about me, honey. Francois made sure nothing happened to me." I smiled softly, kissing his hand and leaning my face on his palm. "I haven’t seen him like this in a long time. How did you convince him to help you?" he asked, making me chuckle awkwardly. "It's...A long story, but it really wasn't easy to persuade him. But you were right about him, he's like you in many ways, despite hiding it. My shirt's buttons got ruined and I couldn't cover up and he instantly gave me his shirt. And he made sure nothing bad happened to me. Without him knowing where you could be, I wouldn't have been able to find you." I breathe softly, as if afraid he'll be taken away again. "I am grateful that I have such an angel in my life. Thank you for everything, my darling. Je t'aime trop...Je t'aime plus que tout au mond. And I can't wait until I marry you and I'll see you as the most beautiful bride in this world." he confessed, kissing me tenderly, making me giggle. "And I can't wait until I finally get to call you my beautiful husband and we'll be so happy...And Francois' face as the Man of Honour...It will be priceless!" I laughed sofly, making him grin. "It will be hilarious indeed." he snorted, hugging me tight to his chest, ready to sleep. "I love you so much, Francis...Never ever ever forget that. I will stay by your side for as long as you'll have me." I whisper, returning the embrace, drowning in his warmth. "An eternity by your side sounds like the best gift anyone could receive." he replied, closing his eyes, letting the dream world take over him.

#####

Francois/2P!France Ending

"Okay, toots, get your fiance outta here and let's get home before more of these fuckers get here." Francois tapped his food impatiently on the ground, ready to go. "Fian-..." Francis tried to ask, but I shushed him quickly. "I'll explain when we get home, now come on." I hurried him back to the car, where the other Frenchman drove us home, where we could finally breathe. "Thank you so much for saving me, dearest. You really shouldn't have put your life in danger. I'm immortal. They couldn't kill me no matter how much they'd tried." he tried to reason, but I only shook my head. "Francis, no offense, but I really don't care. Francois...I lied to you. Not much, only this part at the beginning, but I still did, so I really have to apologise from my whole heart for misleading you. Francis, I'm sorry to you too. I claimed to be your fiance and called everyone in your contact list in hopes that they'll help me save you. Francois was the only one who wanted to help." I told them the truth with a sigh. "Why would you say that, cherie?" Francis asked, confused. "Come on, Francis, think a bit! What managed to get to people's hearts more? 'Please, help, my best friend has been kidnapped!' or 'Please, my fiance is in danger, help me save him!'? I was desperate, I had to do something, right? You're the only person who ever cared about me and you've always been so sweet and kind with me, I couldn't let you in harm's way, so I did anything I could to save you, even if it wasn't much. I really hope you don't hate me after this, but even if you do, I'm just happy you're safe now. I never lied when I said I loved you, but this is no romantic love, but one very pure and caring, like that of siblings." I smile at him softly. "I could never be upset with you, ma belle fleur, for I feel the same. I am forever grateful of what you did and I'm really sorry that you had to go through all this just for me. I owe you the world." Francis replied, hugging me. "No, you don't. You've already given me the world being being present in my life." I chuckled, holding him tightly. "So...Everything else you said was true or a lie?" Francois asked, raising his eyebrow. "I didn't lie to you with anything, except this little detail." I smiled at him, guilty. "Then what about at the beginning. When you accepted my terms." he furrowed his brows a bit. "I didn't lie. I said I'd do anything for Francis." I declared with a side-smile. "What do you-" Francis tried to ask, but Francois cut him off. "My flat is upstairs, I want to have a little chat with Mignonette here." he muttered before taking off. "Okay. Francis, I'll see you in a bit." I wave at him, smiling, before following Francois out of the room, into his flat.

It was darker and it smelled like cigarettes, but it was pretty nonetheless. I didn't take more than 5 steps inside and I felt myself get pinned to the wall, Francois holding both of my wrists above my head with one hand, while the other was on my neck.

"You say you'll do it, but look at you, you tremble like a leaf." he got close to my face, saying in a low voice. "I said I would, I promised, now stop doing this, please, and just get it over with." I managed to whisper, looking away from him. "Is this what he'd do too? Is this why you won't ever bother trying to get away?" he asked, in a softer voice than before. "Y-Yes...I told you I didn't lie about anything else, why keep bringing it up? And I said I'd keep my promise. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't fight you off, so why try...?" I bit my, trying to stop myself from getting my eyes welled up with tears once again. "And I promise you, it's not that bad. I know you've been through a lot before and feelings are more powerful than ration...And allowing yourself to feel vulnerable once in a while isn't always damaging." he confessed, caressing my cheek. "You shouldn't be one to talk, when you don't do it yourself. You don't let your guard then while at it, instead, you let all your hate, anger and frustration get out, but...You never let happiness and love in, do you? We're the same, we just do things differently." I explained, but he only tsked in annoyance and threw me on the bed, him towering over me again, his face very close to mine. "And what the hell would you know about it?!" he growled, glaring at me. "Nothing...But maybe...Maybe I'd like to find out." I mutter, intertwining my fingers with his. "I really don't know anything. I'm 27 and all I've been doing is hate the world and everything around me, including myself, for my own misfortune and choices. I was weak, I couldn't control anything around me, when it came to my love life, because everything else was in my grasp. I'm a smart girl, I won't deny that, and I'm also fairly lucky. But not in this department." I let out a shaky breath, slowly raising my gaze to meet his. "What the hell are you on about?!" he sneered at me, his deep, violet eyes filled with despair and hurt, which made me raise up a bit and kiss his lips as soft as I could, shocking him. "Maybe...Maybe I want to see if the world is better with the right people...Not THE World...Just...MY World." he was so shocked at the gentleness with which he was being treated, that a soft blush covered his cheeks. "What was that for...? Why would someone fragile like you, who should find someone kind and gentle like Francis, want to be me, who forgot how to smile and how to live?" he asked, with an expression that showed anger at himself. "Because, maybe, we both need help from someone who understands and goes through the same...Or well, at least similar pain, don't you think?" I inquired with a hopeful smile. "And what do you propose, then, Mignonette?" he muttered, getting closer to my face. "Hello, Francois, my name is Y/N. Would you want to get to know each other better?" I extended my hand for him to shake. "Bonjour, ma cherie, Y/N, je m'appelle Francois Bonnefoy, ca va?" instead of shaking my hand, he kissed it softly and said those words in a very suave and confident voice, that gorgeous and melodic accent resonating in my ears with each vowel and consonant. "Tres charmant, Francois. That was very nice..." I muttered, using my other hand to hide my blush, but he took it in his and kissed my wrist, and teasing smirk on his face. "Did you like that, dear? Do you want me to say more?" dropping his voice by an octave, he got so close to my face, that I could feel his breath. "Your accent...Is very...Ho-...Uh, nice. Yes, nice. Uh...French. Wait, no, ignore what I've been saying-" I ranted, looking anywhere but at him, flustered at what I was saying without realising, but instead of saying anything, Francois leaned in and kissed me tenderly, making me feel more flustered, but at the same time, calmer as well. "You were saying...?" he asked, the ghost of a smile evident on his face. "Hot." I breathed out barely above a whisper, making him chuckle. "That's what I like to hear, ma cherie~." he confessed, taking out the hair from his ponytail and helping me lean on the bed post, as he put his arms around me, holding me to his chest and kissing the top of my head. "What do you think? Is this what Francis would do?" he asked, playing with my hair. "Is it what Francois would do?" I asked, looking up at him. "...If it's you, then it is." he muttered, resting his chin on my head. "Then we're doing very well." I answered with a smiled, cuddling closer to him, feeling at peace, after such a long time.

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thebiasrekkers · 5 years

Text

Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Mafia!AU | Crime!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,450

Chapter 26: Young Forever

“Even when I fall and hurt myself, I keep running toward my dream.”

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

Seoul – Cheongdam; Gangnam District South Korea

Dawn had not yet stretched its lovely red fingers toward the sky. She was still sleeping, waiting for the moon to take its rest after providing the world with its light. The world was cold; a chilly breeze rushed over Jimin’s body and he hugged the tweed jacket a little closer to his frame. He was accustomed to the shadows, the few people who continued to mill about on the streets serving as a faceless and nameless backdrop to his world.

A world of darkness.

Every day and night that passed, Jimin prayed that he would be able to greet the sun – to feel its warmth on his face. Spring was on the horizon, seemingly just around the corner. Despite the warmth that it provided, as it did every year, Jimin never truly felt he deserved the sun. He walked the dark and broken road that his brothers walked, not wanting them to face the hardships of the future alone. All in the name of a dream that they shared; together.

The dream was no longer a dream.

It was now reality.

And yet Jimin still couldn’t quite fathom it. For nearly ten years, it was a seemingly unattainable goal. Not that he didn’t believe in his Hyungs or the drive of his own younger brothers. They were determined and, as a result, he was equally determined to make impossibilities possible. Just as they depended on him, he regarded them as his own source of inspiration.

Without them, he had no dream of his own.

He didn’t know when he’d come to this realization, but it was something he kept very close to himself. Jimin never wanted to burden his brothers with the troubles that often circulated in his mind and in his heart. Years ago, when they were young and believed that their life path was already forged, Jimin thought that he would simply take over his family’s pastry shop. It was just something that was always assumed – a source of income readily provided for him. His passion for serving customers and throwing his heart into a cake seemed natural.

He foolishly assumed the same for the others.

Seokjin’s family was of old money – a line of aristocrats that continued to carry the tradition of handling the financial aspects of their little country town. Namjoon’s father was the local doctor and his mother ran the pharmacy. Hoseok’s line consisted of farmers and it was always believed that he, too, would take up farm work. Taehyung’s family were also farmers; their orchard was rich and always provided a bountiful harvest. Yoongi’s father was a police officer, slotted for the position of police chief in Hwaseong, and his mother owned a boutique.

Jungkook’s future was the only one that was uncertain; his parents dumping him off at an orphanage when he was still just an elementary student.

In a way, Jimin wondered if they were doing this for their maknae; the one whose place at the finish line was undetermined. He didn’t have the heart to outright ask Namjoon if this was the true endgame for them all. Because save for Jungkook, they had security; they had certainty.

They had a future.

At least this way, they all had a guaranteed one.

With this in mind, he was less worried about the path they carved to get to this point. Blood was shed and sacrifices were made. It was necessary in some respects. But now they could put it behind them. They could go back to being the people they once were. Wild and free from the chains that bound them; young forever.

That was the hope, anyway.

Jimin sighed, brushing some of his hair away from his face as he came to the end of the sidewalk. The crosswalk blinked and beeped, alerting all to stop. Traffic zoomed by in opposite directions of each other and people around him continued their conversations. Some were animated – boys consoling their beloveds. Others were the standard fussings of loved ones reassuring the people they were on the phone with that they would be home soon.

His own phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to see who was calling him. Seeing Jungkook’s name picture flash across the screen, he smiled and answered.

“Oh, Jungkook-ah,” he said with a smile, “what’s up?”

“Hyung, you look cold,” Jungkook said, causing Jimin to look around him. But as far as he could tell, he didn’t see his younger brother anywhere. He heard him laugh on the other line. “In front of you, Hyung. Across the street.”

Jimin looked across the street and saw Jungkook on the other side of the crosswalk, waving one arm back and forth excitedly. Jimin shook his head and chuckled, eliciting another laugh from Jungkook.

“Stay there. I’ll come to you.”

“Okay!”

He hung up the phone, dropping it back into his pocket just as the light changed. Everyone began moving at once and Jimin made sure to keep himself just a little bit ahead of the others. It was a short walk, but Jimin felt like he was literally walking down memory lane; experiencing everything they’d gone through in just a few short steps. When he reached the other side, it was Jeon Jungkook the man who was standing in front of him; not the boy.

I wonder when it was that he became an adult, he thought just as Jungkook reached out to wrap his arm around Jimin’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Hyung! I’ll warm you up!”

Jimin laughed at Jungkook’s wide smile. “This guy,” he said at the tail end of his laugh, “don’t be ridiculous.”

Jungkook pulled Jimin a little bit closer before releasing him, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “I can’t help it.” He shrugged. “I think we deserve to be a little silly, don’t you?” He saw Jungkook’s smile soften. “We can finally take a breath, right?”

The question took Jimin by surprise. In retrospect, it shouldn’t have, though. It seemed that Jungkook must have been worrying about their futures just as much as he was. Maybe even more. The end of the race was upon them and it felt like they’d been running toward that very end for so long.

So very long.

Reaching out with one hand, he ruffled Jungkook’s hair playfully – laughing when he saw his younger brother sidestep out of the way. Honestly, he didn’t know how to answer Jungkook. He wanted to tell him that he was right; that it was okay to breathe and take in all the clean air they’d been denied for all these years. But there was still a level of trepidation that existed in their world; as though things hadn’t been resolved quite yet.

Instead, he chose to change the subject.

“You’re out late, Jungkook-ah,” Jimin said, catching the look his younger brother gave him, “were you on your way home?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“I, uh,” Jungkook began, not sure if he wanted to finish what he was starting to say. Jimin watched him scratch the side of his head and he couldn’t help the laugh that spilled from him. Jungkook looked like a schoolboy who was about to get scolded. “…I was just taking a walk.”

“Did you go see Noona?”

Jungkook’s cheeks reddened and it wasn’t from the cold. Jimin laughed again, dodging a cuff that was aimed at his shoulder.

“Hyung, stop teasing me!”

“But you make it so easy.”

Jimin lightly bumped his shoulder against Jungkook’s, amused at the younger man hanging his head in defeat. He’d been caught. He decided to tease him some more.

“You could have just stayed the night.”

Jungkook balked at the idea, rearing his head back slightly as if Jimin had suggested he run for a political office of some kind.

Jimin shrugged. “What? It’s not like you haven’t stayed the night before.”

“That was different,” he said, shrugging both shoulders as he kicked the front of his shoe across the pavement.

“How so?”

“I was sick and could barely walk!” Jungkook pouted as he looked at him. “I’m a man who respects boundaries, okay?”

Jimin smiled, shaking his head as he sighed. “So what? You both were up binge watching some show or playing video games until she kicked you out?” He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “Heartless, that woman.”

“Tell me about it!” Jungkook exclaimed suddenly, causing a few pedestrians to look in their direction. He cleared his throat loudly and Jimin stifled the urge to laugh loudly, biting his lower lip for an added measure. “I could have just slept on the couch.”

“Give it some time, Jungkook-ah,” he reassured, placing his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder to give it a squeeze, “she’s trying and showing she cares in her own way. Don’t read too much into it.”

Jungkook groaned. “Easy for you to say. She actually likes you.”

He raised a brow. “And you think she doesn’t like you?” Jimin scoffed, his hand falling back to his side. “I don’t recall her telling Seokjin Hyung that she was my girlfriend, do you?”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“B-Because!” Jungkook looked genuinely flustered and Jimin smirked. “I mean, we hadn’t even discussed it before that night. Like, not officially anyway.” He rubbed his hair roughly. “I was going to ask her properly that night, y’know? But she up and said it like that and what was I supposed to do?”

Jimin shrugged. “She’s an assertive person, Jungkook-ah. You should know that by now. Are you even surprised that she took matters into her own hands?”

“No, but still…”

“She stole your thunder?”

“Yes, she did!”

“Don’t be so selfish,” Jimin said, narrowing his eyes at Jungkook even though he was still smiling, “let her have this. Give her control.” He looked away from Jungkook and stared up at the sky, his pace slowing a measure. “She had a lot of things thrown into her lap at once and I’m sure she’s still trying to process it all, even now.”

Jungkook slowed his pace down as well, casting Jimin a sidelong glance. “Are you talking about Yoongi Hyung?”

Jimin said nothing; he only nodded. He heard Jungkook sigh beside him and he suddenly stopped, causing Jimin to halt his steps just a couple of feet ahead of him. He turned around and looked at Jungkook whose gaze was now pointed to the ground.

“Jungkook-ah?”

“…I know I should feel guilty for Yoongi Hyung,” he said softly, his eyes still cast downward, “and I know that he’s doing his best to pretend that everything is normal. He doesn’t treat me any differently.”

Jimin remained silent. He didn’t want to interrupt what Jungkook was trying to say; what he was trying to process and properly digest. In a way, he understood fully what was torturing Jungkook. He could grasp the concept more than he let on. But this was something that he knew Jungkook wanted to understand and handle on his own. He wouldn’t interfere, no matter how much he may want to.

No matter how much he cared for her.

“But sometimes I wish he would.” Jungkook finally lifted his gaze to meet Jimin’s, his brows furrowing as the worry lines formed on his forehead. “Sometimes I just wish Yoongi Hyung would punch me, curse me, and throw me away. It would hurt less if he did.”

He watched Jungkook avert his eyes. Sighing, Jimin took a step toward him so that he could close the gap. Once again, he reached out to ruffle Jungkook’s hair. However, Jungkook didn’t step away. It almost looked like it hurt him slightly, but the real pain was tearing him apart from the inside. Jimin knew that look; the look of one who was bottling all their emotions inside in an attempt to appear normal and unfazed on the surface.

It was the look of a man who was doing his best to bury everything inside.

“It would hurt more to deny your heart what it wants, Jungkook-ah.” Jungkook looked up at him, his smile long gone despite Jimin’s remaining. “Yoongi Hyung? He’s a prime example of what you shouldn’t do. He may say otherwise, but I’m sure he regrets what he did and how things wound up. But you know what? That’s his burden to bear, not yours.”

“Jimin Hyung…”

“And regardless of the intent, Eden Noona was damaged by it. She was hurt and that’s something that Yoongi Hyung must come to terms with. That wound is deep, and it’s probably festered over the years.” His hand slid from Jungkook’s hair and fell back to his shoulder. “That is a scar on her heart that won’t go away. It will always be there. The only thing that you can do, what you’re now obligated to do, is acknowledge that pain and help her get through it. Not erase it.”

Jungkook blinked, seemingly unsure of what he was supposed to say next. But Jimin shook his head and smiled, patting his brother’s shoulder gently.

“By claiming to be your girlfriend, she’s giving you that opportunity. She wants to know what you’ll do with it.”

She’s stubborn and doesn’t believe she deserves to be loved by anyone.

“She wants to see if you’re going to be genuine from start to finish, wherever that might be.”

She doesn’t believe anyone will stay by her side; that she’ll be abandoned at a moment’s notice. Noona worries about that as much as you do, Jungkook-ah.

“So, the only thing you can do is continue being who you are; because you’re the one she chose.”

Jungkook’s eyes seemed to brighten and he nodded, his expression showcasing his newfound determination. They were now embracing the sunlight. They could enjoy the fruits of their labor and now, more than ever, could share it with someone.

“I…I gotta go, Hyung,” he said, turning to head in the opposite direction. “I’ll see you at home!”

Jimin watched as Jungkook began running down the sidewalk from where he’d originally come from. He paused, turning to look back at Jimin and he waved. Jimin returned the gesture and then saw him disappear into the small crowd of people.

It has to be you, Jungkook-ah…

When he was no longer in his sights, Jimin sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to paint itself across the sky. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he closed his eyes and waited for dawn to break through the clouds; for it to light up the world around him.

…because she didn’t choose me.

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imaginesmai · 5 years

Text

Michael Gray-Beach Day

Plot: Michael’s and your honeymoon is going to take an interesting turn in the beach

Warnings: Smut.

“Come on, Y/N” you heard your boyfriend’s voice from besides you, where he had been for at least fifteen minutes. “I promise I won’t ask you for anything else, just this one.”

It hadn’t been your fault at all, and you both knew that. Maybe your new bikini, which left nothing to the imagination, was the one to blame. Or the water’s drops that ran down your chest and disappeared in your bikini’s top. Even the light tan that had stuck on your skin for the past few days might the guilty one; Michael had said that it made your hair look brighter. You didn’t know who was the one to blame, but the reality was that you had a very horny boyfriend to your right, who was trying to cover his boner with his hands.

You were trying to enjoy a quiet day on the beach, relaxing in a comfortable hammock with Michael, not worrying about business for a day. It wasn’t that much to ask, was it?

“Baby, go take care of it in the bathroom” you rolled your eyes under your sunglasses. “It’s not my fault you’re still a horny teenager.”

“Well, it’s not my fault that my girl is hot as hell” he scoffed, and placed one big warm hand on your thigh. “Let’s go the bathroom together.”

You put your sunglasses up and propped on your elbows, turning to look at him. Your boyfriend, who usually was a decent man with elegant clothes, wore a devilish smirk as his hand palmed his hard not so casually through his swimsuit.

“We had a quickie before leaving the hotel” you said. “I can’t enjoy our holidays if you’re always thinking about the same thing”

“As long as you’re in my mind, it’s always going to be this way” he winked at you. “It’s not any holidays, we’re in our honeymoon. Consider it a gift?”

Five days ago, you had gotten married to the man of your dreams. It had been a quiet ceremony, just family and a few friends. Nothing to expensive; because Michael and you had agreed on spending the money of the weeding in your honeymoon, where you two could relax away from his brothers and problems.

“Public sex is not a gift” you whispered to him. “I’m not having sex with you in the middle of a public beach, Michael. That’s final.”

You laid down again, covering your eyes with the sunglasses and closing them. Besides you, Michael scoffed and said something under his breath, and you smiled when you heard fucking beautiful wife.

The term wife was still foreign for you. You hadn’t known Michal for long actually, so your relationship was pretty new. Some might have said that it was a madness, but it took both of you only three years of relationship to know that you wanted to be with each other for the rest of your lives.

With just twenty years and a few on your back, you hadn’t had the chance to know a lot of world before him. Birmingham had been your home forever, the Shelby family friends since you were born. Then, Michael came along, and with him the promise of taking you to the end of the world. Not that it mattered anymore, since he had become the centre of it.

The same warm hand that had been placed on your thigh took you out of your daydreaming when it travelled up your middle stopping on your left breast and giving your nipple a hard pinch. You jumped surprised, looking at Michael.

“Mine” he smiled, doing it again.

“Michael!” you slapped his hand away, doing it a few times as he kept placing it back. “Don’t be a child, we can’t do this here!”

“Why not? No one is looking” he sat up on his hammock, looking at you with puppy eyes.

You looked around, noticing that was he said was true. There were two more couples in the hammocks, one of them sleeping and the other talking. An older woman was tanning peacefully and three families were enjoying the beach. Still, none of them were looking at you.

Michael wasn’t dumb, he had chosen the furthest ones in case something like that happened.

“Someone could” you mumbled. “If you’re so eager to fuck, go to the bathroom and let your hand do the job. I’m not doing it here.”

He repeated your words with a mocking tone, watching as you turned around and laid on your stomach.

It was silent for a while, until you heard him getting up and looking for something in the bag. Thinking that he had finally given up on public sex, you sighed and closed your eyes, ready to take a quick nap before lunch time.

Again, his hand disturbed the little peace by smacking your ass. You got on your knees quickly, looking around with flushed cheeks. The couples and the older woman were still minding their businesses, but two kids that were playing near you had turned to look at the noise. The heat rose to your head and you were sure you looked like a tomato by Michael’s laugh.

“Mine too”

“I can’t believe I married you” you said, sitting and hugging your knees. If the earth had swallowed you, you would have been eternally grateful. “You’re a child.”

“We’ve been here for hours, and I really want to bend you over the hammock and give them something to look at”

“I swear it’s not too late for divorce, baby” you pointed a finger towards him. “Either you stop being a child or I treat you like one. No sex for the whole trip.”

“Let’s see if I’m really a child.”

You didn’t have time to talk again before he took you up in the air and placed you on his shoulder. Probably everyone looked at you since you screamed, kicked and tried to get off. But nothing was effective and, after a quick race to the sea, you were being thrown into the water.

Thousands of cold needles hit your skin and you had to remind yourself to not open your mouth underwater. When you got out, you crossed your arms and glared at Michael, who was laughing his ass off. It didn’t have the effect you wanted; with your arms crossed and the quick movements of the race, your bikini top had fallen down a little, leaving Michael a perfect view of your breasts.

Michael took two seconds to gawk at you before grabbing you by your ass and pushing you against his chest. You felt his dick poking at your core, hard as a rock. He kept his eyes glued to you as he massaged your ass between his hands, indirectly rocking you against his hard.

“Baby, they’re going to see us” you half moaned, already wanting to have his hands somewhere else.

“If I put your bikini to the side, no one will notice.”

His right hand travelled from your ass to your hip, giving you gossebumps until it arrived to the front of your bikini bottom. He used his other hand to pull you closer to him, his dick rubbing your clit roughly through both of your swimsuits.

One finger was pushed in your bikini, and soon, along with the rubbing, small but quick circles were being drawn on your clit. Your knees buckled as Michael kept touching you; if it had not been for him holding you, you would have probably fall. He was giving his back to the shore, so you looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was looking.

There were only a few people in the water, far away enough for you to have your privacy. A loud gasp left your lips when two fingers entered you and started moving in a fast pace, while other flickered your clit. Michael had to put his hand under the curve of your ass to keep you up, as his quick fingers were making you tremble. Your orgasm was approaching you like a running train, yet it was abruptly stopped when he took his hand out suddenly.

“Why-Why did you stop?” you whined, clenching your thighs together.

“Because someone might see us” he smirked. “God, Y/N, how can you be such a pervert? We’re in a public place!”

“Michael, please” you put your hand on his hard stomach, running your nails down his navel to the waistband of his swimsuit. One of your hands found it’s way inside, and his dick hardened even more, happy because of your touch.

You used the other one to grip the base of his neck and pull him down to your lips, who greeted him greedily. They fit perfectly as he kissed you hard, making you take a few steps behind. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss, feeling with your hand how his dick rose even a little more. The heat between your legs was making you not worry about possible curious eyes, you were becoming impossibly wet.

Michael’s hand pushed you against him more, giving a direct tap to your aching nerves’ bundle. His mouth swallowed your moan, and he used that opportunity to push his tongue inside. He caressed yours for a while, letting you have the control for a second before going back to his dominance. You broke up for air after a while, and looked over his shoulder.

“Still against the idea of beach sex?” he asked, burying his head on the space between your shoulder and neck and leaving wet kisses.

“Just making sure no one was looking at us” you bit your lip, keeping in a huge moan.

“I love you so much” he chuckled. “Damn, I’m so lucky.”

“Baby, please” you begged, quite literally dry humping him. “I need you inside me.”

“My wife has such an incredible ass” he gave it a soft squeeze under the water.

“Michael, I’m serious” you whined, near the brink of tears.

“And tits. I could be looking at them the whole day, Y/N” he put one of his hands inside your top, giving your breast a squeeze too. “You know what I love the most about you? That you always follow my crazy ideas.”

Just as he said so, you felt him putting your bikini bottoms to the side and thrust into you. You both moaned at the feeling, and kept still a little too longer for your liking. Wrapping a leg around his own, you made him move forwards.

He set a slow pace; yet each time, he bottomed out to buried himself deep after a second. You put both arms around his shoulders, hiding your face on his neck and praying that no one could see you. Yet you knew that the rocking back and forwards was obvious; if it wasn’t, then the noises that you were making were probably giving you away.

After a hard thrusts against that spot inside you, you stopped caring.

“Mine” & “If I put your bikini to the side, no one will notice.”From Prompt List Smut

Want to know more about me? Here is my Masterlist! Feedback is always appreciated!!

#imaginemai #requests #prompt list #smut #michael gray #michael gray imagine #michael gray x reader #michael gray one shot #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders one shot

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crimeronan · 5 years

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gansey and blue’s internal-focused narratives

@clawsnbeak i actually am having some more concrete gansey and blue thoughts (i pulled out my laptop so i could write them out haha), i’m making the separate post so that i don’t spam my followers’ dashes with The Longest Post In The World again ((added after drafting: this ended up the longest post in the world, actually. oops))

i think a lot of the difference in how we interpret the text is based on what we prioritize in narrative construction? which is like... super pretentious phrasing but what i mean is

if we’re prioritizing by characters who Make Decisions That Cause External Plot Developments then adam is the most active player -- his whole character is based around making his own path, developing third choices out of impossible situations, sacrificing for the greater good, summoning lightning, wielding magic, repairing the ley line with his own hands

and then ronan -- dream to reality, every self-destructive choice he makes leading to spiraling consequences (especially in the dream thieves), constant self sacrifice, the physicality of his emotions, the way he tries to solve and free the dreamscape

and some of the most fun plot shit in the series is the devious and calculating and ruthless nonsense adam and ronan get up to together (greenmantle, anyone?) and the way they each understand how the other takes an active stand and makes firm decisions to try for different circumstances

and with that in mind actually you’ve made me understand a fandom phenomenon that was previously a mystery to me, which is when people are genuinely only interested in adam and ronan and have no interest in gansey or blue or their arc or what their stories mean or what they mean to adam and ronan or what the four of them mean to each other

anyway

i was trying to figure out how to express the feelings i have about gansey and blue and their stories and the way the narrative moves around them, because they’ve always always always felt to me like just as big a part of the overall story as adam and ronan

and the thing is, i do think each of the four of them plays an equal role in the shape of the story and the narrative’s weight

but the way gansey and blue’s stories are executed is kind of the inverse of adam and ronan’s?

your note about how adam and ronan make things happen while gansey and blue have things happen to them is what helped me piece this into a coherent thought thank u

there’s something inside the concept that adam and ronan change the world while the world changes gansey and blue that’s actually just like. so fascinating and dynamic and compelling to me

that adam and ronan take their internal struggles and focus them outward into narrative action, while gansey and blue experience external struggles that focus their character development & that the character development lets them overcome the things they do

blue, learning about mirror magic, learning about who she is, realizing she’s capable of something more, realizing she can cross the mirrored lake, that she can save her mother -- it’s a quieter sort of climax, lacks the theatrics of an uprooted forest or a night horror fighting a dragon, but it’s about her realizing her own strength and realizing that she is her own person and worth more than her value to others and that she can create her own something more

gansey, plagued by yearning and wonder and existentialism and terror and crippling depression, devoting his life to this search and obsessing about the journey because he doesn’t believe he has anything to offer or anything he wants from life; gansey, who wants to find meaning but doesn’t know how so he wraps it all in a fantastical quest; gansey, who loves his family so much and struggles to communicate with them and doesn’t know they love him back and who would do anything for them but always seems to hurt everyone around him

i’m stuck on gansey now and inevitably going to start crying partway through typing the next paragraph or two but the raven king is my favorite of the quartet, not just for how high the stakes and consequences get for all of them, but for how slowly and painfully gansey crumbles

how his knowledge of his impending death opens this yawning grief inside him because he doesn’t want to die, and he’s afraid, and he doesn’t want his family to have to go on without him, and everything feels pointless, and nothing has meant anything, and he has to reconcile that the search was filling the purposeless gap inside him, and how it turns out the search has been devoid of purpose the whole time

it’s a quieter and much more internal disintegration than adam in shambles from psychic attack or ronan torn to pieces by night horrors

because that part of the story all happens inside him, it’s about how gansey grapples with what the world has given him

the same is true of blue’s struggles with identity and reconciling her hypocrisy and her values and realizing how much capacity for love she has and realizing how afraid she is of loss, it’s an internal story, it’s about who she starts out as and who she becomes

those stories mean so Much to me. i cannot express it properly in words but promise i’m getting really weepy in front of my computer while i’m trying. the first time i read them and every time i’ve reread them after, i’ve felt gansey and blue’s yearning and longing and sadness and fear and pain in my gut like being punched over and over and over

but the thing is like -- if that’s not what you read the story for, that’s not what you read the story for, you know?? like i’m the opposite, i literally could not give less of a shit what’s happening outside the characters’ heads except for how it affects them and how it influences their decisions

i can’t convince you analytically to feel something you don’t when the story’s crafted in a way that’s uninteresting to you, i’m not trying to like ~*~convert~*~ you to All The Feels, different people connect with different parts of stories and different methods of storytelling because we’re all different and process and experience differently and that’s important and beautiful

the main point of this post was i wanted to put into words why gansey and blue’s pieces of the story matter so much to me, and why i can’t divorce their importance from adam and ronan’s importance in terms of the plot itself or the characters’ relationships to each other

it’s possible gansey and blue could cease to exist entirely, & the series would still have all the things you love about it, it’s just that the same is not Remotely true for me

we all derive different meaning from our reading experiences and that’s cool and it’s been cool to hear about yours!

#i am SO SORRY for how long this got. you don't need to reblog it if you don't want to skdjfk #trc #trc meta #trc spoilers #show justice #long post #text heavy #really long post #what if i start a new meta tag that's just 'i started crying about emotional processing while writing this because i'm an enfp'

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atamascolily · 5 years

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One of the exercises in Julia Cameron’s The Vein of Gold is to compile a list of favorite movies--or ones with images that resonate with you--and note any patterns that arise. Here are some of mine, with observations below.

(For the purposes of this exercise, I’m sticking with live-action films, but there’s no reason why there couldn’t be animated films.)

1. Star Wars Original Trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)

(Yes, I know this is technically three films, with three different directors and independent histories, but I didn’t feel like listing them all separately.)

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Ironically, I love the first Peter Jackson movie, but not any of the subsequent ones. Which is not to say they’re necessarily bad movies, but they’re not the ones I’d want on endless loop. (Part of this is because The Two Towers and The Return of the King are essentially war movies, and also because I have to watch Faramir act OOC, which hurts my soul.)

3. The Secret Garden

4. The Matrix

I actually don’t have strong feelings about Reloaded and Revolutions--like, the actual plot is weird, but I am so not watching these films for plot.

5. Return to Oz

6. Inception

7. Labyrinth

8. The Terminator

Don’t get me wrong, Terminator 2 has a lot going for it, but it’s not the one that I can’t stop thinking about (except for that one deleted scene with Michael Biehn, which is a totally different story).

Thoughts and Themes:

So at first glance, it seems like I have two separate categories: ‘80s and ‘90s-’00s films. Or maybe it’s sci-fi and fantasy? The Secret Garden is the only one that even approaches some kind of realism, and even that is a pastoral kind of world that would not be out of place in the more peaceful parts of, say, Middle-Earth (especially Fourth Age). How about high-tech vs. low-tech, or cyberpunk vs. fairy tale? Or, even better, what about reality vs. illusion (or story vs. truth if you prefer)--which is also a major tension within every film on this list?

I’ll also note that most of these films have an epic color palette, with memorable landscapes that either serve as characters in and of themselves, or symbolize the mental states of various characters. These films are beautiful works of art, reveling in The Aesthetic, whether that’s the idyllic peacefulness of the Shire or the grimy back alleys of 1980s Los Angeles.

The thing that really got me when I laid it out like this--the thing I hadn’t noticed before--was that all of these involve a (sometimes literal) rebirth, transition, or journey from darkness to light (or light to darkness to light again, depending on the work). You could also substitute life and death here, and not change much.

This is, again, often quite literal: Sarah moves underground in Labyrinth, the Fellowship descends into the Mines of Moria, the secret garden comes to life with the spring, Dorothy confronts the Nome King in his underground lair. Neo wakes up to find himself naked and soaked to the skin, and flushed down the tubes like garbage, in a literal hellscape where the machines destroyed the sun (a motif that also appears in Terminator’s dystopian future), then literally dies and is resurrected at the end of the film. Luke goes underground to confront his own double--another recurring theme!--on Dagobah.

Duality and the exploration of one’s soul through another world is HUGE big theme--or, to put it another way, The internal mirrors the external. This is a huge motif of Inception, which is a literal inward journey into a character’s psyche; and you could also make the argument that both Return to Oz and Labyrinth cover similar territory. Is Oz real, or is it in Dorothy’s head? Is Ozma a part of her, or is Ozma a separate entity? Is Jareth a real foe or is he the embodiment of Sarah’s fears and desires, a fantasy she concocts based on a story in a book? And Frodo realizes he’s not so different from Gollum, that the sad shriveled creature is what he could become if he fails at his task--and, ironically, his kindness to Gollum is what allows the quest to succeed when Frodo finally succumbs to temptation.

Frodo in the The Fellowship of the Ring sees the world differently when he wears the One Ring, and it’s terrifying. Sarah Connor realizes that she’s left her ordinary world behind and crossed into Kyle and the Terminator’s reality in a moving speech, and The Matrix doesn’t even try to be subtle. Even The Secret Garden uses the eponymous garden as a metaphor for the blossoming of Mary’s own soul, and the souls of those around her (especially her uncle and cousin, but also Ben Weatherstaff).

These stories are also concerned with ecology, though it’s usually a background motif, since the main focus is on saving the world (or what’s left of it, i.e, humans). The Shire is paradise; Mordor is a desolate hellscape, dominated by a giant volcano. Kyle Reese breaks down over the beauty of the world, and Mary Lennox seeks to bring the lost garden back to life. Dorothy retreats elsewhere after the grey grimness of Kansas/the mental hospital.

There’s also a real tension concerning humans’ relationship to technology in these films. The Matrix is an illusion, and machines control the earth. Or the machines don’t even bother farming humans and aim to kill ‘em all. Saruman literally transforms Isengard from a tree-lined field to an industrial hellscape. The mental institution uses that freaky electrical machine on Dorothy. Star Wars is more accepting of droids and technology, but even there, there’s tension: Obi-wan calls Darth Vader “more machine than man,” and it’s not a compliment; the Death Star is built to obliterate entire planets and must be stopped twice.

I’d argue this theme goes deeper than human/tech--it’s really human/other, with technology providing one kind of other. There’s human-alien interactions in Star Wars and Labyrinth, not to mention Mary’s relationship with the robin in The Secret Garden, Dorothy’s friendship with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump. On a less friendly note, Frodo’s relationship with Gollum is the emotional crux of the Lord of the Rings.

These films also feature the classic hero’s journey, but often through a female lens. The protagonist usually has no special skills other than their strong moral character and determination--or even if they do have skills (like Ariadne*), they still serve as an audience surrogate or substitute, a stranger to the new worlds they visit. The protagonist has at least one faithful friend/companion/love interest to help them (sometimes even a team/found family), and often a mentor as well (who may or may not be a crusty eccentric). In the end, the characters must take control of their own destiny--Frodo chooses to leave the Fellowship, Luke throws away his lightsaber rather than kill his father, Sarah declares to Jareth “You have no power over me”. Sarah Connor yells, “On your feet, soldier!” and keeps going to the bitter end, and Mary Lennox is unafraid of her bratty cousin’s wrath and puts a stop to it when everyone else enables him.

*(As an aside, I know Ariadne’s not the main character in Inception, but I find the actual main character way less interesting, so she’s the one I focus on, just like I find Trinity far more compelling than Neo.)

Characters often have Meaningful Names: Morpheus, Trinity, Neo; Ariadne; Luke Skywalker, Han Solo. These films also feature a question of fate and inevitability - Luke has precognitive visions, Neo consults the Oracle, Sarah is told “there is no fate but what we make for ourselves,” with Kyle serving as an oracle of sorts with messages from the future to come. The Mirror of Galadriel shows possible futures for the Shire, too.

Another theme is that the protagonist must suffer and/or work hard for their transformation. Mary has to do the actual work of gardening; Luke has to sweat and do handstands (beautifully, I might add); Frodo has to walk to Mount Doom; Sarah has to walk the labyrinth, and Sarah Connor has to survive a fucking nightmare. Dorothy has to rescue the royal family of Ev and free Ozma; Ariadne has to design a dream-puzzle for the heist to work. Even Neo has to train with Morpheus--though he’s able to use cheat codes to download martial arts directly into his brain without having to sweat for it; his real journey is in self-confidence.

In keeping with the stunning visuals, impossible feats are regularly featured, and excellent, cutting-edge-for-their-time special effects are prominent. Many also feature stunning fight scenes--the classic Luke vs. Vader duel on Cloud City; the “I know Kung fu” sequence in The Matrix; the clashes in The Fellowship of the Ring. Jareth has some excellent moves in Labyrinth, too, although he’s more inclined to dance than traditional battles.

I couldn’t resist contrasting my favorite moment in Return to Oz--rescuing Ozma from the mirror prison--with Ariadne shattering her own reflection in Inception, because that is such a moment for me, encapsulating all of the reality/illusion, internal/external, self/other dichotomies I mentioned above. (See also the Mirror of Galadriel above.) Inception and Labyrinth also share the motif of impossible Escher staircases, which I freakin’ adore.

It will probably come as no surprise to note that I also enjoyed films like The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story, and What Dreams May Come, which tap into similar themes and imagery. You’ll probably be able to guess that The Sword in the Stone is my favorite animated Disney film, too.

I also love a number of Asian films like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, all of which feature beautiful landscapes and color palettes, stunning fight scenes and special effects, along with a healthy dose of the fantastic, and a focus on story vs. reality (often with a plot twist or surprise reveal at the end). This is unsurprising when you consider the strong debt both Star Wars and The Matrix owe to Asian cinema in terms of style, plot, and aesthetic. In those films, the tension is more society vs. self, but duality is still very strongly present.

If you notice any other patterns or recurring themes, let me know; I’d love to hear them! Also, if you can think of any other movies I might enjoy based on this, let me know.

#writing exercises #personal writing meta #favorite gifs #vein of gold

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