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ariel-seagull-wings · 3 years

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TOP 12 WICKED QUEEN PORTRAYALS

@sunlit-music @mademoiselle-princesse @princesssarisa @superkingofpriderock @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @astrangechoiceoffavourites @giuliettaluce

Alongside the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella’s Stepmother, The Giant from Jack and The Beanstalk, The Witch from Hansel and Gretel and Bluebeard, The Wicked Queen from Snow White is one of the most iconic fairy tale villains of all time. A lot of people come to consider her the real protagonist of the fairy tale, since is her desire to be considered the Fairest of All and her actions to keep that title what puts the narrative in motion. And today, i will rank my favorite portrayals of this fascinatingly nasty foe.

12º Miranda Richardson as Queen Elspeth in Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001)

Talk about being typecast: before that turn as Snow White’s Evil Queen, Richardson had portrayed an Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller (’The Three Ravens’ episode) and she was a wicked Sorceress Stepmother in Tim Burton’s Sleep Hollow. So it was neat for her to be called for the role of the most famous Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in this Hallmark TV Movie. Elspeth is the sister of a strange, mysteryous creature known as the Granter of Wishes. Having been recently released from his freezing prison, the Granter of Wishes makes a spell to make her look beautifull for human standards, and marries her to the newly crowned and widowed King John. At first she looks content with the prospect, but as time passes, she grows more and more unsatisfied. Her source of joy is the Magic Mirror that praises her beauty, and casting spells to turn gnomes into garden statues. But when the Magic Mirror says that Snow White’s beauty surpasses hers, the unsatisfaction gets mixed with paranoia, and Elspeth slowly abuses her power in constantly harming other people, until there is no magic enough...

11º Herta Kravina in Schneewitchen (1971)

This german TV Movie is the most faithfull adaptation of the Grimm’s tale original edition, not only keeping the three murder attempts by ribbon/lace/corset, hair comb and apple, but also being the only one to show the Queen dancing to death with hot iron shoes in Snow White’s wedding. This is enough to make it worth a checkout. The other reason i find this version interesting is how the Queen comunicates with the Magic Mirror: they sing to each other. And Kravina has a really good voice (no wonder she was a voice actress for Peggy Lee in the first german/dutch dub of Disney’s Lady and The Tramp). Sometimes that is enough to get a spot in a ranking.

10º Mari Yokoo/Caterina Rochiara/Regina Reagan/Carol Jacobanis as Queen Crystal in The Legend of Snow White (1994)

From the outside, Queen Chrystal appears to be calm, regal, and sophisticated, but in reality, this collected and stately facade hides an extremely sadistic, hateful, cold and sinister person. She is ruthless, jealous and obsessive and wants nothing more than to be the fairest in the land. She also has an extreme vanity that made her utterly intolerant of rivals. Being solely focused on the idea of becoming the fairest of all, Queen Chrystal does not appear to be significantly involved in governing her husband's kingdom, though the skeletal remains of prisoners in her dungeon point to her being a villainous ruler. In the end, her mad vanity and jealousy of her stepdaughter Snow White drove her to murderous insanity. Later is revealed that Queen Chrystal is not unredeamably evil as everyone thins, but an actually kind and gentle person who is possessed by an Evil Spirit.

09º Diana Rigg as the Queen in Canon Movie Tales: Snow White (1987)

This lady is the personification of paranoia multiplied by the double. Why? Because the Magic Mirror didn’t needed to say that the little child Snow White was the fairest, this queen just feared so much that the princess’s beauty would outgrow hers that she ordered the huntsman to kill her. Basically: run, she is bad news.

08º Jeri Arredondo as Sly Fox in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child (1995)

Sly Fox... What a cunning diva. People try to counsel to not use alone a Magic Mirror that is a portal to the spirit world, but who says she listens? She is just there to hear the singing of her praises, and will try to eliminate anyone who gets on her way. She even goes so far as taking the appearance of the kind hearted nurse Sage Flower to lure her stepdaughter White Snow to eat the poisoned appled. What is not to love about that bastard?

07º Kazue Komiya/Arlene Banas as the Queen in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

Interestingly this encarnation starts naturally cold, calm and collected, ocasionally at the princess Snow White to see if she can ever grow more beautifull than her, and dismissing the girl with contempt. It is years later that she lets go of acting calm and collected, because after hearing some gossips in the palace, she asks Snow White if she thinks of herself as more beautifull than the Queen, and her stepdaughter reacts by exclaiming that the Queen is vain and cruel, and to her eyes that makes her ugly. So besides the desire of being considered the most beautifull, you get the feeling that this Queen pursues Snow White as a way to shut a person that dares to rebell against her, wich ads new interesting dimentions to their antagonism.

06º Dorothy Cumming as Queen Brangomar in Snow White (1916)

Brangomar was once a lady in waiting of the palace. But one day, she met the powerfull Witch Rex, who offered to give Brangomar anything she wanted. And what Brangomar wanted was to become a beautifull Queen. Wich was achieved by a faustian deal where Witch Rex would cast a spell that killed Imogene, the previous Queen, while in return Brangomar would have to find a way of getting Snow White’s heart for the Witch. Years have passed, and now Brangomar must kill the princess to pay her debt, or else everything she got will be lost. Hey, here is a way of making a villain tragic, almost simpathetic and complex while keeping clear that she is still a villain!

05º Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen in Faerie Tale Theatre (1984)

The most loud and bombastic portrayal of the Wicked Queen ever put on screen. Bringing to television her sperience from stage, that allows some more over the top emotional reactions, Redgrave had the time of her life in that role, indulging in twirling, preening and screening as much as she could, and his Queen is all the most fun for it.

04º Gudrun Landgrebe as the Queen in Schneewittchen (1992)

What i live about Landgrebe’s Queen is her range: at first she acts all humble, discreet, cold and mysteryous. Then her husband leaves to fight in a Crusade, and she trows the white veil and gray clothing of humility to show a diva red hair and orange dress, as to say “Hey, the King leaved, i have all the power here now and you must do as i say”. Later, a knight comes, offering a magical crystal ball that connected to a mirror says all the truth, and the Queen takes posession of it to ask about her beauty. When Mirror says that the most beautifull woman in the kingdom is Snow White, she gets infuriated, than goes to carefully plan ways to eliminate the princess once and for all. The highlight is when she takes the disguise of a russian male doctor to offer the apple (where she injects poison into with her ring) to Snow White.

03º Maria Antonieta de Las Nieves in El Chapulin Colorado: Blancanieves y los Siete Churín Churín Fun Flais (1978)

This three part episode of the mexican comedy superheroe show is a loving parody of the Disney version, that stands out as an enjoyable retelling of the classic fairy tale in its own right. Interestingly, while most of the comedy in the episode is delivered in the form of over the top slapistick, de Las Nieves’s delivers a straight faced, contained performance. Wich makes her answers to the absurd situations in the story all the more funny.

02º Patricia Medina as the Queen in Snow White And The Three Stooges (1961)

This lady was a hell of a foe: she not only antagonizes Snow White for the title of the Most Beautifull, going so far as to lock the princess in a dungeon for no crime at all, but also, alongside her partner in crime Count Oga, ordered a murder attempt aggainst Prince Charming when he was a child, to prevent him from marrying Snow White, and this way she could become ruller of the kingdoms of Fortunia and Bravuria. Troughout the film, you think that she could win, since she has powerfull magic, spy and a mighty army at her comand, wich makes the viewer get all the more excited on the seat, that is how enjoyable Medina’s Queen is.

And my Number One Portrayal of the Wicked Queen is...

01º Lucille La Verne as the Queen in Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The first encarnation of the character that i ever saw in my childhood, and the one that still sends chills/shivers to my spine. As a young Queen, she rarely smiles, acting cold and calculating, intidimidating who is subordinate to her with the expression of her eyes and highbrows. And as a Crone, she lowdly indulges in her cruelty, offering the poisoned apple to her pet raven to scare him, and mocking the dead skeleton of a prisoner inside the castle’s dungeons. That balance between cold calculism and loud cruelty, where both are equally unsetling and scary, is something very hard to achieve, but i think this encarnation did a very good job in achieving that balance, that every other portrayal that camed tried to draw influence from it ever since. And that’s why Disney’s Wicked Queen is my Number One portrayal.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Addi Adamets in Schneewittchen (1955), Marianne Christina Schiling in Schneewittchen (1961) and Sonja Kirchberger in Sechs Auf Einen Streich (2009)

#snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs #fairy tales #disney #brothers grimm #rankings #moodboards #grimm's fairy tale classics #anime #the legend of snow white #fantasy #mithology #folklore #pop culture

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clockworkgraystairs · 4 years

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There is no such thing as vampires #1 || Jurdan AU

Jurdan Smut Week 2020 • DAY 2

The prompt was technically dagger play...it didn’t really worked that way but HEY more smut! (vampire smut cough)

@jurdannet @jurdannetrevels

Rating: E (no I don’t mean ‘everyone’)

Warnings: Explicit content, mentions of blood, some biting (it’s a vampire au c’mon), swear words (just in case)

Summary:

Behind me stands a tall, slender man dressed in black trousers and one of those puffy white shirts men always use in period TV dramas. Raven curls frame the sharp angles of his face and his pale skin resembles marble. I stare at him unsure if my eyes widen because of the scare or how good looking he is. Maybe both.

His lips curve as if he finds my reaction somehow satisfying.

Extra comments: Just because I’m extra af, I’ll leave you the ambience music videos I listened while writing this. In case you’d like to hear them while reading:

Rain in a forest at night - Haunted Mansion/rain/thunder/wind - Narnia Lullaby

Written for: @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 MA’AM AS ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP AND SUPPORT, FOR BETAING THIS UNENDING PIECE AND FOR HELPING ME CRAFTING THE IDEA FOR IT! ❤️

Part 1 || Part 2

Masterlist • AO3

“Please tell me again why are we doing this?” I ask for the third time, leaning to rest my head on my sister’s shoulder. We bounce as the uncomfortable van we travel in turns to a cobbled path, leading us deeper into the woods.

“Because,” Vivi hisses back. “Your little brother is currently in his Twilight-obsession phase, and he just broke up with his girlfriend so we’re trying to cheer him up!”

“He’s 9! And they lasted like, what? Four hours?”

In that moment, Oak turns violently from the front seat, scowling at me. “First of all Jude, we were together two full days ok? She was the love of my life and suddenly she’s not sure about us anymore? Now I shall never find love again! I might have to become a priest. I expect a little consideration.”

Vivi ruffles his hair affectionately. “We absolutely understand, your sister here doesn’t have an ounce of romance in her veins but of course she supports the cause.”

That said, he returns to his place. I bite my lip hard, trying not to laugh. Typical Oak. I love my brother I really do, even if half of the time I can’t understand his dramatic outbursts.

Sighing, I stare through the window, to the heavy clouds gathering on top of us. Great. We are probably far away from the highway by now, nothing more than trees, rocks and occasional wild animals around. For some reason, our father had thought that there was no better way of fixing a kid’s broken heart than going on a quest in search of legends and hidden castles.

The thing is that apparently, it works. Instead of an incessant whining about love being doomed, my brother spends the days throwing the most random facts about werewolves, vampires, ghosts and any impossible creature. To be honest, I don’t think wikipedia and the Twilight books are a reliable source, but if it makes Oak happy I could live a couple of days with it. And most importantly if I have to choose between this or spending the week back at home with my mother and twin sister going to tea parties for old ladies, well, the answer is very clear.

I remember reading a few books about myths when I was younger. When I turned fifteen, I developed a hard crush on Brad Pitt after I saw Interview with the Vampire, filling half of the walls in my room with posters of him. Even now ten years later, I actually enjoy talking about old folklore and legends, urban myths and stuff like that.

What bugs me, are the fraudulent morons who want to take advantage of Oak’s naive curiosity to engage us in the most ridiculous tours that were obviously a waste of money. So far, we’d entered three “museums” where most of the so-called relics were made of plastic, and a haunted house with special effects so poorly done, father had discreetly asked for his money back. Only another two of the places we visited were actually interesting, but since the guides spent most of the time flirting with Vivi or me, it had annoyed our father.

Now though, we are driving behind the car of an old couple who swore their ancestors owned a castle where true vampires had lived once. The sole mention of the word “castle” was enough to make Oak hang from our father’s sleeve begging to go.

I’m not going to lie, it is an intriguing idea. But I remain a little worried about how much money Madoc is ready to pay before he hurries his little son back to his fantasy books and videogames.

“Dad, did you know that vampires like to live in the woods because it allows them to make racing competitions without being interrupted?” Oak asks with enthusiasm.

Madoc gasps. “Do they? Is it because they’re so fast?”

Okay, he might be willing to pay more than I thought. Next to me, Vivi muffles a laugh and keeps taking pictures for her instagram, occasionally asking for my help.

Upon arriving at the castle I have to suppress a curse. This, now, is a real castle. Nothing like the pitiful buildings we’d visited before. It is huge, made of pure stone and a modest wooden bridge that connects the entrance with the spot where the cars park. A slight fog covers the sides of the castle giving it a creepier look.

A shiver goes down my back. I turn to find my family who are all equally gaping at the place in front of them. Oak is visibly shaking with excitement. Vivi shoots me an astonished look before taking my brother’s hand and following the couple across the bridge.

The first thought that pops into my mind is that this place must have been taken out from a movie. Or set up for one. Maybe this is one of those pranks for TV. There is no other explanation for the massive room we find behind the giant front gate. Every inch of the walls is covered by paintings, several images barely recognizable through the dust. Aged furniture rests under dust and spiderwebs, pointing out they haven’t been used in quite some time. The illumination doesn’t help either. Electric lights hang from a few spots on the walls, though not enough for the big space, which I suspect is the reason that long candles are lit up too.

My next thought is that I should’ve brought my sweater. The damn place is freezing.

“Phew, sorry about the dust!” The old man says, flashing an embarrassed smile to us. “We were not planning to have any visitors yet.”

“You said this is going to be a museum?” Madoc asks, carefully surveying the walls. Next to him, Vivi tightens her hold on my brother’s hand to prevent him from starting to run around. I swear his eyes are about to pop out of their sockets.

“It will indeed! This place has been in our family for generations, but since it’s hard to adapt it to modern technology it was abandoned.” He turns to Oak and winks. “Not to mention the creepy things that happen here all the time.”

His gaze widens. “What kind of things?”

“Well, some distant relatives used to try spending their vacations here. But after a couple of days they left in a big rush, claiming some strange force had commanded them to go away.” With a lower voice, he adds. “They also mentioned noises coming out from empty rooms and dark hallways. Steps. Shadows that followed them along the place.”

For a second everyone remains silent. The only noise I can hear is the wind outside and the start of a slight rain. Somehow my hands are even colder.

“The legend says,” The woman, whose name is Marrow if I remember it correctly, continues while taking one chandelier with her hand. “This was the hideout of ancient vampires, how many, we don’t know. But they didn’t appreciate people trying to live within their domains.”

“So why come here at all?” Vivi asks. “Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It might be.” She shrugs. “But that’s half of the fun, isn’t it?”

“We like to think we’ve found a safe way to open this castle to the public without taking any risks. We will use a part of it as a museum, to show some of the family relics. But be aware, no one is allowed to go further than the marked area.” He signals at the yellow tape stuck on the floor forming arrows.

“If you please...” Marrow says, motioning at the stairs where the markings start.

They get me for a moment, not gonna lie. The surroundings and the way they speak are creepy enough to make me doubt my beliefs for a second. I shake my head to clear those thoughts away and walk behind my family. There’s no such thing as vampires or haunted castles.

We go through passages. Madoc has to remind Oak to not touch anything, constantly. From what I see, he’s living his best day. Several counters line up side by side against the wall. Some of them contain jewelry, others weapons, old writing pens among other things. Most of them carry a family shield, although it’s too blurry to properly identify what it says.

The rain thickens outside and Marrow keeps talking. She tells the story of her so called ancestors, whose family were big enough to fill all the rooms in the castle. Elwen, Eldred… something like that, and his many wives had once lived here. Along with his abounding children. I see in Oak’s face the intention to ask about how that family arrangement worked but Vivi gives him a slight pull of his hair.

I would have thought our guides would try to keep a proud name for their so-called ancestors. But they don’t. In fact, she seems particularly interested in explaining how Eldred’s cruel and terrible nature brought him nothing but disgrace. His once prosperous castle and assets were gone little by little. He claimed he was under the effects of a curse, but no one dared believing him. At least not until people started disappearing.

I stop listening at some point, focusing my attention on the relics in front of me. I’ve always felt a significant attraction to weapons, but not the ordinary ones like guns or rifles. These ones though, such beautiful daggers and swords. I’d give a kidney just to hold one of them.

On the next shelf books pile one next to the other, the dust around them a clear sign of how long they’ve been unbothered. All except for one. The navy blue cover has almost no dust at all, yet it looks like it would fall apart with a gentle blow of wind. The title is partially gone, probably through time.

I turn my head to my family but they’re gone, probably to another corridor since I can still hear the muffled voice of Marrow and my brother. Would she care at all if I check out that book?

I bite my lip. As long as it doesn’t break it’s probably alright. Standing on the tip of my toes I reach for it.

“That is an excellent book.”

I shriek and whip around, my hand flies to my mouth trying to cover the embarrassing sound. The book falls open next to my feet.

His lips curve as if he finds my reaction somehow satisfying. “My personal favorite. Too bad the author was a poisonous bunch-backed toad.”

My mouth opens to apologize, but I only manage to let out a strangled. “Shit”

The stranger lifts an eyebrow and chuckles.

“Sorry, I- that wasn’t what I meant to say.” I stutter. I feel as if my heart has jumped to my throat. “I wasn’t trying to steal the book.”

“I did not say you were.” He answers, his voice is like velvet.

I nod and take a deep breath. “I came in with my family. Marrow is showing us the place.”

His dark eyes wander down my body, but not like one of those rude men on the streets. No. Something in his gaze feels feral, like an animal sizing up his prey. A strange urge to run pools in my stomach, yet at the same time my muscles seem to have forgotten how to do so.

He looks me in the eyes again and it’s all gone. I let go of the tension in my back and a breath I didn’t know I was holding. When he smiles again, I feel as if I could trust him. Why shouldn’t I?

“And are you enjoying the tour?” He bends to pick up the book I’d dropped before and puts it back on the shelf. His movements are fluid and carefree. I doubt I’ve ever seen such elegance in a simple action. It is unsettling as much as it is attractive. Then I realize I’m supposed to answer.

“Yes, this is amazing actually.” I look around and take in the aged stone of the walls and ceiling. In that corridor there’s only one electric lamp, the rest is only lightened by candles. I can see our shadows dancing along to the flames. “All of this really helps getting in the ‘mood’.”

“The mood?”

I look at him and notice his tilted head. “Yeah you know, the mood of enchanted castles and old legends. This is well put enough that a credulous person would believe any story. Marrow is pretty good at it too.” Motioning a hand to him I add. “They even have their own actor.”

A thunder roars outside. “I beg your pardon?”

I roll my eyes and flash him a smile. “You don’t really have to keep the charade with me. I’m not some schoolgirl.”

“Yet I managed to pull a scream out of you, didn’t I?” The way he says it feels as if he was talking about an entirely different subject. Heat creeps up my cheeks.

“That was… not the same.” I mumble. “I didn’t hear you approaching. That could scare the living hell out of anybody.”

“I have been told I am quite sneaky, I concede you that.” He nods. “Why don’t I give you the rest of the tour? As an apology, of course.”

He’s doing his job, I remind myself, he’s not flirting with you.

“You haven’t even told me your name.” I say. “If we’re roaming around a castle together I should at least know who’s guiding me.”

That sounded an awful lot like flirting. Dammit.

“Cardan, at your service madam.” The tone he uses feels like a caress, he bows his head in a way I’ve only seen in movies. He takes his role seriously. I almost chuckle, but the sound dies in my throat.

“Cardan.” I repeat, just for the pleasure of doing it. “My name is Jude.”

He straightens. “Delighted to meet your acquaintance.” He answers and offers me his arm. “Shall we, Jude?”

I can’t believe how far away my family has gone. Cardan and I walk through a couple of corridors and still there is no trace of them. Did we take that long talking?

He’s an excellent guide, I have to acknowledge that.

While Marrow uses a tone of suspense and mystery, Cardan has this melancholy in his voice that sounds as if he’s talking about a memory. It’s bewitching. He also drops the most ridiculous “facts” about the people on the paintings. I refrain myself from asking if inventing things is allowed for employees, because saying that the girl with the pearl necklace enjoyed to play on the beach while saying she was the Princess of the Sea, certainly sounds like it.

“If you bite your lip one more time, I am going to do it for you.”

My heart skips a bit and I let go of my lower lip. I hadn’t realized I was tugging it. It’s an unconscious habit. I turn to him and I find his gaze different, hungry. It sends a shiver down to a place I know it shouldn’t. He arches an eyebrow as though he notices it.

“Is that a thing vampires like to do?” I say, trying to lighten the mood. The last thing I want him to know is that for the last twenty minutes I’ve been listening to him speak wishing he put a different use to that wicked mouth of his.

His gaze doesn’t change. “It is a thing I would like to do.”

I am pretty sure my expression is giving me up by now. Knowing my traitorous body, I’m probably flushed, my mouth open in awe. Desire coils inside me.

At my lack of answer, he continues. “Why don’t I show you something vampires really like to do?”

He walks back without letting go of my hand. I notice he steps out from the marked section and into a forbidden corridor.

The sensation returns, the one that is telling me to run. The problem is that I don’t know whether to run away, or straight to it. My mind wants both and my body, only one.

“You’re going to the restricted area.” I’m partially surprised by how breathless my voice sounds. “You can’t go in there…”

Cardan pauses and a confused expression crosses his face. A second later, it returns to his charming and teasing smile. “Are you afraid?”

I am.

Yet, I don’t care. I walk into the shadows with him.

As we cross the passage darkened by the lack of chandeliers I tell myself this is a terrible, terrible idea. The way he devours my mouth the moment a door slams shut behind us, convinces me it is the best.

Cardan pushes me against the wall, the cold temperature of the stone goes through my clothes making me gasp. He takes the opportunity and kisses me harder, his tongue explores my mouth with such deliciousness I have to bite back a moan.

My fingers are tangled in his hair pulling him closer to me, if such a thing is even possible. His hands are everything but still. They roam intensely from my breasts, down my sides and finally to my rear, where he grabs me, pressing me against his pelvis. I hear him groan and the sound makes something clench inside me.

Before I can double-think about it, one of my hands lowers to rub his hardness, still hidden behind his trousers. His breath hitches. He pulls back a bit and whispers to my ear. “Needy little human.”

I frown a moment, something about his words not clicking inside my brain but whatever it is I forget it the moment he slides his cold hands under my jersey. I yelp at the sensation, not sure if what flutters down my back is a result of the temperature or the eagerness which he’s holding me with. When he reaches my bra I hesitate for a moment. Cardan pauses too and leans back to stare into my eyes.

“Do you want to stop?” His voice is throaty and charged with desire. Still, he doesn’t make a move, waiting for my answer.

An instinctive part of me knows this is something I shouldn’t be doing. But that’s definitely not any close to me wanting to stop. Without removing my eyes from his I take the hem of my jersey to pull it over my head. The piece of fabric hits the floor, but neither of us pays attention to it. Once again Cardan’s gaze roams me in that predatory way.

I don’t stagger this time.

When my bra falls to the floor too, I take his hand and guide it to my jean’s button. “Do I look like I want to stop?”

Without hesitation he yanks the button open and slides his hand inside to cup the apex of my thighs. The contrast of my warm skin against his coldness makes my hips buck. Cardan buries his other hand in my hair and tilts my head back. I can feel his lips nipping down my jaw and my neck. A moan escapes my lips as he swipes a finger along my heat. He hums in response, the vibrations of it against my neck makes my eyes roll back.

He continues his ministrations until he feels me wet enough to slide a finger inside, he curls and pulls out. Then back inside. My breath comes out in elaborated pants as he quickens his pace. My hands almost finish unbuttoning his shirt when he slides another finger through my folds, his movements turn fast and punishing. Wet sounds taint the silence around us. As pleasure takes full control of my body I cling to him like a life saver, trying to muffle my moans.

“Let go Jude, let go for me.” He breathes next to my ear. My back arches and I sob a curse, writhing down on his hand.

He slows down as I come back from my orgasm, but never stops. Despite the freezing surroundings a drop of sweat runs down my chest. My heart beats as if I just ran a marathon. Cardan’s lazy moves continue, frequently grazing that spot that makes me mewl.

I hear him sigh. “You smell so good.” He claims my mouth one more time and bites me hard enough to make me wince. His tongue caresses my lower lip and a warm throb expands through my veins. He freezes and pulls back, releasing me. I stare at him in confusion, or at least as much as I can manage giving my current state.

He pants a couple of times before looking up at me. There’s a fiercess in his eyes that would’ve been scary under normal situations, right now, it only makes me want him more. He swallows before finally speaking. “If we go further, I won’t be able to stop.” His voice is like sandpaper.

My body seems to work on its own account, as I move to cup his face between my hands. “I already told you.”

“Jude…” He warns me, but I interrupt him joining my lips to his.

“I want this.” I breathe into his mouth. Cardan lets out a defeated groan before pulling my body back against his. Either he’s been holding back or it is until that moment that I realize how strong he actually is. He kisses me like a starved man and I can feel my pulse rise once again.

Soon his shirt joins my other clothing. My fingers trace his chest and torso, marveled at the softness of his skin. I mimic him moments before and kiss his neck. A low sound that almost resembles a growl comes out from his throat. My hands travel lower.

Somehow I manage to free his raging erection from his trousers, closing my hand around him. He hisses and then tilts his hips up to my touch. I start pumping him with unsure movements before gaining confidence to do it harder, tighter. Now it’s his turn to curse. Even though it sounds like something taken out from a Shakespeare novel, it makes my core pulse.

Cardan grips the hem of my jeans strong enough that for a moment I fear he’d rip them away.

“Take these off.” He demands instead.

I’m not sure of how I manage to do it. My mind feels blurred with a mix of sensations. Disoriented, not sure about exactly how my body is doing all of that, and the bliss of knowing I’m enjoying every second of it.

Before the air hits my skin, Cardan lifts me from the ground. My legs circle his waist in a reflexive move. His lips quirk in approval. Then my back is once again pressed against the wall, making me arch in a failed attempt to avoid touching the cold stone. A sound leaves my mouth, though it is not clear if it’s a protest or a moan. I hear him chuckle in my ear and I turn my head, searching his lips.

His kiss is slower but still deep. I feel as if small electric sparks are tickling every single one of my nerves. More, I need more. Cardan holds me in place with his hips, letting his hands wander up and down my legs.

The tip of his shaft is grazing my core over the thin fabric of my remaining piece of clothing, with an aching slowness that is not enough to ease my thirst. More.

I might have said that out loud because Cardan’s hips grind faster against me. It feels so good. And yet, it’s not enough.

I whine his name like a plea.

He continues for a couple of torturing seconds before reaching between my thighs again. There’s no teasing now as he moves my panties aside and immediately sinks his fingers inside me, pumping in and out with a pace that has me gasping in no time. He murmurs something I can’t understand and lines himself up to my entrance.

With soft, deliberate movements he slides through my heat, letting me feel every inch of him until he’s completely filling me. Then he stills. My muscles twitch around him, trying to adjust to the invasion. The exquisiteness of it is making my head swoon.

Cardan grabs my jaw and locks his gaze with mine. I can imagine what he’s looking at. Hooded eyes and flushed skin, though he doesn’t let me think a lot about it as he starts to move. Slow at first, with careful strokes that quickly evolve into long and deep. My mouth falls open at the sensation and my eyes shut.

“I warned you.” I hear him pant. “That there was no coming back.”

A whimper escapes my lips. I’m not even sure I’m actually trying to say something. He doesn’t seem to care either and leans to whisper to my ear. “You are mine now, Jude.”

There is something in the way he says it, his words carrying some compelling implication I can’t fully catch. His lips trail down my neck and I want to answer. To tell him that I am, that after the way he’s taking me, how could it be otherwise?

That’s when I feel a sharp stinging pain on the base of my throat.

I cry out and try to shake it away but whatever it is won’t let me go. Cardan’s words echo at the back of my mind, Needy little human.

As if sensing my thoughts he grabs my thighs and opens them wider, he thrusts into me harder and faster. Everything mixes in sensation. Pain leaves as fast as it came, leaving behind it that throb in my veins I can’t really explain. It is more intense now, what I felt as warm now is scorching. My entire body feels like it’s on fire, I’ve never felt so exhilarated before in my life. I don’t want it to stop.

Cardan sucks on my neck again and I moan his name. Without realizing it, I’m on the brink of another orgasm. I only realize it because he groans when my legs start to shiver around him. I cling to his neck and his hair. If I’m pulling too hard I can’t really know. A familiar swirl comes up from my core to the rest of my body as I spasm around him. It takes me a moment to notice the broken moans and sobs I hear come from my own mouth.

He keeps going a little longer until his fingers tighten over my skin, surely leaving bruises on both thighs. Muffled moans ring against my skin as he comes, thrusting in a couple of times more before stilling. A warm sensation covers the place where we join together. His mouth lets go of my neck. I grunt and shiver.

He puts me down carefully, still holding my waist, which is good considering I don’t know if I’m able to stand by myself. I feel dizzy. Cardan lowers his lips to mine one more time. He’s slow and gentle as though he’s worried. There is a slightly metallic taste in his tongue but I don’t pay attention to it. I trace the fine features of his face with trembling fingers. Little by little my senses start to take in the surroundings, the cold.

The place rumbles with another crack of thunder.

“You have to go back.” Cardan says, barely pulling his lips apart. Go back. I frown, then images of my family crash in my mind. I look around searching for the door, there is something on the floor. I realize soon those are my clothes. Shit. The tour, Oak. How much time have I been gone?

I dress in a hurry, not really caring if I put on my jersey correctly. He does the same but with the calm an elegance he has.

Panic must be written in my face because he grabs my chin and turns me to him. “Hey. Calm down.” He soothes me. Then his tone changes, turns commanding. His eyes are darker too. “Listen to me. You are going to do exactly as I say, do you understand Jude?”

I want to ask why, but for some reason I only nod. Cardan grabs my hand and pulls me out of whatever room we were in. “You must follow this passage until you find a way to turn left. Then continue until you see a painting of a black snake then turn right, you cannot miss it or you will get lost. Walk straight, and you will be back to a safe area.”

“But-” I start. I don’t want to go alone. And I don’t understand why but I don’t want to separate from him either. Which is nonsense, I barely know him and still...

He interrupts me. “I cannot go with you, I have lost so much control already and I don’t think…”

“Cardan, I can’t-”

A growl echoes in his chest and he pulls me closer to him. While his voice is still hypnotizing it sounds threatening now. “You will not tell anybody about what you saw here. Now go if you intend to leave this place alive.”

Then he's gone. I can’t recall if I blinked or turned, because a moment before I could still touch him and now he vanished.

I take a deep breath and start walking. Focus. Go straight, then turn right. Or was it left?

All passages look the same, some spaces don’t even have a painting or anything at all to help me differentiate them. Sometimes I whip around, thinking I heard a familiar chuckle behind me. Distant rain is the only sound that is a constant companion, but even with it I’m able to hear an echo of every step I give. It unsettles me more with every minute that passes. Although I feel more in control of my body than before, my knees falter constantly and a sensation of tiredness slides over my mind.

I find the snake painting just as I’d started to think I would be trapped here forever.

It’s huge, and despite the years that have probably passed the scales still seem to shine. The head is painted in an angle that gives the illusion of the eyes following the person looking at it. It doesn’t help that the candle’s flames also make the snake look as if it’s moving. Stalking. Before noticing, I start hyperventilating. I shut my eyes close and turn away. Something is terribly wrong with me, I need to get out.

Turning right, I start running. I cover my ears fearing that if I don’t, I’ll start hearing the snake’s hiss behind me.

I cross an arch made with the same stone and stop right in my tracks upon realizing somehow I’m back at the room where we first arrived. I blink to adjust my eyes to the change of light, since here’s where all the electric lamps are. The room is empty though.

I’m not sure of what I am supposed to do now. Sit and wait? Go out to the car?

While I’m weighing my options, trying to choose any that doesn’t imply dropping myself on the floor to have a panic attack, I hear murmurs and steps getting closer.

“Jude!” My little brother yells and runs to me. Behind him, Vivi scans me like she’s trying to find something wrong. I straighten my back and put on my best calmed face.

“Where were you?” She demands. “We lost you hours ago! Are you ok? You look pale.”

Always such a mother hen, I sigh. “I’m fine. I fell behind and lost y’all. Then... I guessed it would be better to just… return here.”

I try not to frown at my last words, since I didn’t fully intend to say them. You will not tell anybody about what you saw here.

“Jude knows how to take care of herself.” My father adds. I could hug him, but we’re not exactly the affectionate type. So I just flash him a smile.

Vivi does not look convinced but still stands down. “I guess so. The weather did a mess with your hair though.” A flash of Cardan’s fingers pulling from it to gain access to my neck sends a shiver through my body. Had that really happened just minutes before?

Before I can answer, Marrow calls for us. We turn to find her standing next to a big set of paintings that apparently were covered with a curtain. “You cannot leave without meeting the royal family.”

The canvases are ordered to mimic a family tree. A man with a severe expression rests at the very top. Eldred, I assume. Just by looking at it I feel judged. I can’t imagine what was like to actually live with him. The pictures of his wives look all so different but under them, their sons do have resemblance to one another. A weird sensation tickles my fingers as my gaze continues travelling over the paintings. Finally, I get to the last one. Once more, I cover my mouth to avoid an undesired sound.

Staring back at me I see Cardan.

I don’t care if it’s a painting, there is no way I could not recognize those features. Those lips.

“A big family, I see.” Madoc’s words seem so far away.

Marrow hums in agreement. “The Greenbriars always felt proud of their vast offspring. Such attractive sons and daughters. It’s a shame the curse took most of their lives all those centuries ago.”

“Did he…” I start, without knowing how to continue.

She approaches me to look at the canvas. “Ah, young master Cardan. He was the last one of Eldred’s children.” Then a frown appears on her face. “There was a lot of controversy regarding his death. Some say he died because of the curse, some others say he was the curse. The books all have different versions.”

“That sounds creepy as fuck.” Vivi says.

“Creepy as fuck.” My brother mimics her, the thoughtful expression on his face makes him look ridiculous. We cackle as Vivi shouts Oak he’s not supposed to say bad words.

By the time we get out of the castle the rain has decreased to a drizzle.

Madoc carries Oak on his shoulders, listening to his non-stop squeals of excitement after visiting what he calls ‘a real vampire hideout’. This time, I don’t find the words to contradict him. Vivi is the first one to get to the car, shouting back some nonsense about the Greenbriars needing a protection hex.

The moment I step down from the bridge something shifts in my head and I feel as if I had just woken up.

Perhaps it is me who needs a protection spell after all.

Before closing the car’s door, I turn to the castle one more time. Marrow and her husband wave at us from the front gate.

A dull ache throbs on the base of my neck and my hand flies to the spot. I retrieve it and see blood staining my fingers.

My heart misses a beat when I lift my gaze to the upper windows, where a tall figure with white shirt and dark hair is looking right back.

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forasecondtherewedwon · 3 years

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They’re Sayin’ (You’re Gonna Be My Man)

Fandom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Pairing: Sam Wilson/Bucky Barnes Rating: T Word Count: 2217

Summary: Sam calls Bucky too soon after he's left Louisiana, looking for advice he doesn’t really need and getting a conversation he didn’t really expect.

Sam’s supposed to wait until news of the Flag-Smashers’ movements comes down the line to get in touch with Bucky. He doesn’t. It’s sooner. It’s almost right away.

He’s sure Bucky’s gotta be out of the state, but he doesn’t know whether he’s made it back to this alleged apartment in Brooklyn (on some level, Sam’s aware that he keeps making jokes about the conspiracy of the apartment’s existence because it’s his way of daring Bucky to invite him over sometime). When he calls Bucky up, he knows he might catch him on a plane, in a cab, with a buzz of voices around him as he scowls at strangers in an airport or stomps down a sidewalk. But, other than Bucky’s voice on the other end, Sam just hears quiet, so he figures the guy made it home.

“You never told me if you had any tips,” Sam accuses straight off.

Shifting his feet, he tamps down more of the grass he’s been practicing on, squinting when sweat rolls into his eye. He just finished a brisk mile with the shield on his arm, getting used to the weight and the bulk of it, and he’s ready to start throwing again.

“Tips for what?” Bucky asks. “Fixing the boat? General life stuff? I know we had a good talk, but I think I take advice better than I give it.”

“Which is not saying much,” Sam points out with a laugh. “You suck at taking advice.”

“Until recently.”

“Until recently,” Sam allows. He takes a deep breath and leans over to the side, stretching from his run and tapping his hand on the Vibranium disc currently propped against his leg. “Nah, man, for the shield. How to throw it, how to catch it, how to pull off some of Steve’s fuckin’ boomerang tricks.”

“I thought you were gettin’ the hang of it,” Bucky says in his ear.

“I am. I just realized that, when I had you here, you did a lot of standing around and catching the shield on that cyborg arm of yours. Not a lot of active advice-giving.”

“You really want me telling you how to do your job?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, nobody said that. I am simply aware of the fact that you’re one of very few people alive who’ve handled this thing, and maybe the only one who did it with any actual competence.”

“The level of flattery is astounding,” Bucky says dryly.

“You want more, you gotta help me out,” Sam jokes back.

“Well, show me what you’re doin’.”

Sam glances around himself. Flat lawn. Waning daylight. Tall trees wrapped in the pads he’s been ricocheting the shield off of. No place good to prop his phone.

“I gotta get somebody to film me,” he realizes. “Lemme call you back.”

“Everybody’s gonna be filming you with the shield pretty soon. Only question is whether you’re doing something impressive in news footage or looking like a jackass in some kind of Avengers’ Greatest Fuckups reel.”

“Shut the hell up. I thought we were gettin’ along now.”

“Just trying to be motivational. Am I not doing it right?”

“I think you better look up the word ‘motivational’ in the dictionary while you wait for my call,” Sam suggests.

He disconnects and hangs his head, shaking it even as he smiles.

His legs are screaming for a thorough, post-workout stretch and maybe some ice on his shins—they’ve been taking the brunt every time he digs his feet into the ground and braces to snatch the returning shield from the air—but what’s another quarter mile? Sam runs to Sarah’s, arms pumping, stride a little different now that he has to accommodate the shape of the shield.

When he gets there, the boys are playing soccer on the lawn and he calls through the screen window to the kitchen to get his sister’s ok to borrow them as his training assistants. They get even more excited by the bestowing of this title and its implied responsibility than by the sight of the shield. That’s pretty incredible. Sarah caves to a temporary borrowing (supper’s almost ready) and they’re off.

On the way back, Sam lets AJ carry the shield. Seems like a nice break for himself until Cass requests a piggyback.

“Alright,” Sam agrees with a sigh, crouching in front of his nephew. “Hop on.”

Captain America’s benevolence is limitless. At least, it is this evening. When his back’s killing him tomorrow from absorbing the shock of a hundred shield throws, he will not be so easily persuaded into giving piggybacks.

In the clearing, Sam pulls his phone from the zipped pocket of his shorts and videocalls Bucky, who picks up on the first ring. His face is too close to the camera, but it’s good to see those blue eyes and the crinkles that are either there because he’s smiling in greeting or he’s confused about how a videocall works. In a few seconds, Bucky figures out for himself that he needs to hold the phone farther away. It makes Sam miss him. Also makes him a little worried because he can see the blank, white wall of Bucky’s apartment around his head. No paint, no art. Sam can’t even hear a TV or anything in the background.

“You’re not busy,” he observes.

“Not really, no,” Bucky admits.

“You coulda stayed here longer.”

“Nah, you needed time with everything, not me constantly looking over your shoulder. Shield’s yours now, Sam. I’m gonna be at your side, but you and the shield… I got no say in what that relationship is. I understand that now and I’m trying to respect it.”

“So when you’re actually doing the right thing, let you back off?”

“That’s right,” Bucky agrees.

“I’ll try to remember in case it ever happens again.”

Before Bucky can defend himself against Sam’s teasing jab, Sam passes the phone to AJ, camera turned so Bucky will still be focused on him when he starts throwing the shield again.

“Got you propped up on my human tripod,” he informs Bucky, reaching above the phone to playfully shove the side of AJ’s head. “So watch your mouth.”

“Can I say hi?”

“Don’t be a smartass,” Sam warns.

And, of course, Bucky eggs the kids into a long ooooh, like they’ve caught him breaking his own rule. Which they have. But Bucky was being a smartass and the opportunity to let him know is not something Sam likes to pass up.

He’s stretching now—maybe for himself, maybe for the camera pointed his way—gripping his ankles in turn and holding his heels to his ass until he feels the pull in his thighs. Bucky’s not wrong about having this time to himself. Just him and this legendary object that’s feeling more right on his arm every time he slips it through the straps. Still, he misses what they had going the last two days. Not him and the shield, but him and Bucky. Having him here like that… It was different from every other experience Sam’s had with him. Bucky was still, in turns, a grouch and a showoff and a staring machine and a shithead (flirting with Sarah, come ON), but he was also more convincingly a person than Sam’s had the pleasure of seeing him before. At ease and multi-faceted by nature instead of the necessity of adapting in the face of a threat.

Bucky smiled.

They didn’t always bicker.

He looked damn good in the morning when they leaned against the kitchen counter, not talking, sipping their coffee.

Sam wants those minutes back so bad. Living with Bucky here was incomparable to living with him overseas. Lotta reasons for that, including not having to share the space with Baron Zemo. Mostly because this is home and Sam liked pretending, while Sarah did some well-deserved sleeping in and the boys got the hems of their pajama pants wet in the dew in the backyard, that it was real. That this breath between their fights (no longer with each other) could last and that this is where they’d hold it. It could be their kitchen, their mugs, their tousled sheets Bucky’d climbed out of, looking all rumpled and lovely and shit.

But Bucky doesn’t know what Sam pretends and Sam sure as hell isn’t going to tell him. He’s just going to keep faithful to their usual dynamic, trying for less glaring. Not a word to unsettle things, as much as he’s curious how they might handle things being unsettled. As much as his mind plays back the blinding glint off the water as they rolled up their sleeves and went to work together in a way more meaningful, more personal, than they ever have before. Plays it back all the time.

No. Quiet. Sam needs to figure himself out first and knows Bucky’s working on doing the same. Maybe sometime—but probably never—they can see how those selves overlap. All they need to make fly right now is being Captain America and… what’d that moron call himself? The White Wolf? Son of a biscuit…

“Let me see him!” Cass says excitedly, recapturing Sam’s focus.

It’s his brother he’s talking to and Sam watches fondly as AJ turns the phone to show Bucky a grinning Cass, being careful to keep it steady. Pretty damn sweet. Cass even waves while Sam stands there, watching and doing shoulder rolls.

“Hi, Uncle Bucky!”

Sam feels like he just whipped the shield out and caught the return in his stomach. He strides over to the boys and AJ passes the phone back without being asked. He’s stifling giggles despite or because he senses that his little brother shouldn’t have said that.

“One minute,” Sam tells Bucky, hardly glancing at him because he just can’t. He tilts the camera towards the ground and raises expectant eyebrows at his grinning nephews. “Did somebody tell you to call him that?”

In unison, the boys go, “No, Uncle Sam,” which is suspiciously adorable. But they aren’t liars.

“Did you hear somebody call him that?”

AJ and Cass glance at each other and that’s enough for Sam. They won’t answer, so he knows it’s Sarah who’s made this joke, put this idea in the kids’ heads. They won’t give her up though, because they’re Wilsons and they’re loyal to their mother.

Sam turns the camera back on himself, unprepared for the upward tick at the corner of Bucky’s lips that make them even harder to look away from than usual.

“My sister must’ve—”

“I know,” Bucky interrupts.

“You know?”

“Yeah. Sarah called me that to my face.”

“She did what?”

Sarah having her joke is one thing, but saying it to Bucky takes things a little far, in Sam’s opinion. Bucky could think Sarah’s serious. He could think she’s saying that because Sam’s said something to her. Something about coffee and bedsheets and the sweet ache he felt in his chest when he saw Bucky’s smile in the golden light of dawn.

“Last night, before she put the boys to bed. You were in the shower, I think.” Bucky reaches up absentmindedly to run a hand over the top of his head; the flex of his bicep in the long-sleeved shirt he’s wearing and waiting for the end of this recollection are both torture for Sam. “They wanted to hang out with me, but Sarah said, ‘Uncle Bucky’s gotta get some sleep. You’ll see him tomorrow.’ Something like that.”

Now, when Sam’s truly learning the meaning of flabbergasted, Bucky’s mouth cracks into a wide, self-satisfied smile.

“You made that up,” Sam guesses helplessly.

“Nope.”

Sam knows that, with his nephews’ inability to lie and Sarah’s lifelong history of messing with him as evidence, but it would’ve been a convenient escape from the reality of his sister (and possibly the boys too) addressing Bucky as if he and Sam are together.

“Tell me you told my sister to drop the ‘Uncle.’”

Another thing Sam knows: that Bucky didn’t do that. Bucky seems happy to prove his fears correct; he shrugs.

“Sounded kinda nice,” Bucky defends. That makes Sam soften. He knows Bucky doesn’t have any living family, that he’s been struggling to allow himself to make friends. Maybe he just likes being told he belongs to them and that Sarah’s joke makes it effortless for him. Then, Bucky adds, “Pass me back to my nephews.”

Sam points a warning finger at him.

“Watch it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The crease between Bucky’s eyebrows deepens as Sam watches the pain in the ass pretend to be stern with him. “Just throw the damn shield. I thought you asked for my help.”

“I did.”

Releasing a cautious sigh, Sam hands the phone to AJ once more. The boy’s got his silliness under control and he accepts the job solemnly.

Sam’s two steps away, hefting the shield onto his arm, when he hears Bucky shout, “And my hand in marriage!”

The boys’ laughter has them rolling on the cool grass, the phone clutched in AJ’s grip, and by the time Sam wrestles it away from his nephew, the camera’s swung all over the place. Showing Bucky the sky, the dirt, some quality footage up AJ’s nose, and probably—almost definitely—the way his words made Sam smile.

#my writing #tfatws #tfatws spoilers #The Falcon and the Winter Soldier #Sam Wilson #Bucky Barnes #Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes #sambucky

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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Sparkshortstravaganza! (Commissioned by WeirdKev27)

Well this was a needed kick in the pants. When I first heard of the Sparkshorts program I was excited. As a kid I loved PIxar, as an adult I love pixar and as an old man dealing with the loss of his partner floating away in my balloon house, i’ll still love pixar. So the idea of a program focused on giving new fresh talent the room to do whatever they wanted and make content that would be on Disney Plus, a platform BADLY bereft of original animation? It was a dream come true and the first one I saw Kitbull is easily a masterpiece and something that I can vividly recall every part of to this day, which for my terrible short term memory recalling EVERYTHING is a rare feat few works have achived. But given I have a REALLY bad habit of letting things I want to watch sit there if I don’t jump on them immediately.. I let it sit there and didn’t touch any of the shorts and mostly forgot about the program until now. Until Kev, my patron and the only person paying for reviews at the moment, though others are more than welcome wink wonk, just decided what the heck and to test out comissioning shorts picked these ones because why not. And given I had been dragging my feet and reading the descriptions found creative and suprisingly heavy premises... I was fully on board And better late than never because along with Soul this program has EASILY restored my faith in the company after Onward really disapointed. Granted they’ve done worse, while there are pixar films I haven’t seen I need to like Coco or Cars 3, I’ve vowed NEVER to watch Cars 2 unless I have to and that vow has served me well so far. The shorts here are as a whole beautifully animated, have a ton of wonderful concepts and even the two weaker ones are still gorgeous to look at and a decent watch regardless and both come from a very well meaning place with a very well meant message. So yeah i’m thankful for this comission and to show you why let’s go through every Sparkshorts so far and see why their so awesome.. after some background of course.

Sparkshorts, for the uniniated, is a program by pixar where animators are given six months and a limited budget to create a film based on personal experince. The program was designed to test out new ways of animating, directing and creating and to find a creative “spark” in it’s employees. Thus each film feels unique, has it’s own style.. and is utterly charming. I’ll be looking at them chronologically as while this wasn’t my watch order, I feel it’s a bit neater that way. I’ve already taken long enough to get to watching these, let’s open these films up and see what makes them tick shall we?

Purl: An Adorable Yarn Ball Vs Toxic Masculinity Purl.. was better the more I thought about it. The first short released, it DOES have a good message and killer animation. The film takes place at B.R.O., a dude broey brockerage firm that’s painfully relasitic both in how broey it is and in how it looks. That’s to contrast our heroine: Purl, an adorable ball of yarn who just wants to be accepted but is instead ignored by the rest of the company till she changes herself up, donning a suit like her co workers she badly wants to fit in with and adopting their wolf of wallstreet esque douchebaggery. She finally gets accepted.. but ends up shedding her new self to help another Yarn Ball starting up. Director Kristen Lester drew from personal experince, starting work at animation in a mostly male dominated workplace and thus having to adapt and only letting the femine side she’d repressed out when she moved to working at pixar, which had more female employees. The film DOES have a good message about toxic workplaces and toxic masulinty and learning the personal story did raise it a few notches as it made it clear to me that what SEEMED like an over exageration.. was probably just a light exageration given the kind of bro antics we’ve heard about at companies like Ubisoft. So while I didn’t like the film much at first honestly.. it’s over the top because it NEEDS to be because even though it’s 2021.. some idiots STILL don’t get it and kids are better off learning it now so it’ll hopefully stick when their entering the workforce. So we’ll get more people like perl willing to make a change and stick up for those like her and less dude bros. Still a decent and clever short with Perl’s bro form looking really neat and the animation on her in general is really fucking gorgeous. All in all not the best of these but still pretty good and while a bit thick on the message.. it kinda has to be.

Smash And Grab: A Jaunty Ride to Freedom

This was a really fun one. Directed by Brian Larson and inspried by his need for a break from routine this follows two robots, the titular smash and grab who are designed to well.. smash and grab coal-like energy things for a train and have for years and years. The two long to high five, but can’t because their hooked to tubes so they can’t escape. But one day Smash looks out the window and not only sees fellow robots living a better life.. but a way to power him and his buddy/love intrest? I mean bromance or romance, either way it works. Point is our heroes escape, and have to fight security. It’s just a really damn fun and creative movie. While robots wanting a better life isn’t new, the crisp art deco animation, breakneck pace, fun gags and heartwearming relationship between the two bots is just charming as hell. It’s just a fun ride the whole way through with a lot of heart and creativity with the two’s way they throw coal to one another used to take out the guards, and all together just some really good set pieces. Easily one of my faviorites here and that’s a high water mark to pass.

Kitbull: Tiny Orphan Kitty + Big Abused Doggo = Best Friends

As I said this is the only one of these I saw before today and as I said it’s stuck with me. I love dogs. I have one of my own named Yoshi whose just a sweet boy. So i’ve always loved ALL DOGS.. and was thus horrified years ago when I learned about the stigma Bulldogs get. Seen as “agressive’ and “Mean’ and victious.. when really a lot of them, including my grandpa’s own pitbull when I was little, are just loveable as any other dogs. And having also known a former fighting dog my friend owned, if a much smaller min pin rather than a pitbull, who by the time I met him had become the sweetest dog you’d ever meet.. yeah.. don’t mistreat a dog just because some assholes force it to fight to the death because their sick, horrible, ghastly human beings.. if they can even be CALLED human beings after doing that to these poor animals. My point is it’s nice to have a short about such a needed subject. Director Rosana Sullivan actually had the idea for the short for years and intended to do it as a side project, but when the program cropped up she moved it to pixar and the result is one of the most popular and easily one of the best of an already bright bunch, brought on by her love of animals and working in a shelter. It’s also one of Pixar’s first 2d animated projects and proves their just as good at that as cgi. It’s the touching story of a kitty whose alone in the world and initally mistrustful and hissy at a big dog she finds and is naturally scared of.. until she grows to bond with the dog, realizing much like a LOT of fucking people need to that pitbulls.. are just dogs and often victims of circumstance and the poor, sweet pooch who just wants his owner to love him.. is instead thrown into a fighting pit, nearly killed and forced to make a daring escape with their new forever friends help. It’s through this wonderful, heartrending friendship that the dog finds freedom and the cat.. finds them both a home, no longer running from people but instead making sure they both get a person. It’s often brutal at times, with the scene of the dog being forced to fight being one of the most striking: while we thankfully don’t see the action, we HEAR IT, as does the poor kitty, and we see the aftermath: a friendly harmless dog thrown out into the cold just because it dosen’t WANT to fight. It’s just really heartrending stuff that makes the happy ending all the better. It’s also gorgeiously animated which I mentioned but i’ll say it again; the animation here is GOREGOUS, unqiue and stunning. Go watch this if you haven’t.

Float: This is Why Krakoa Exists

This.. has easily been the hardest to review of the bunch. While ALL of these stories are very personal, very inclusive and very intresting, this one.. is a bit rougher than most of them and hits REALLY close to home. See this one was built out of director Bobby Rubio’s experinces raising his son who has autisim.

It’s about a dad who discovers his infant son can float... and thus gets stares of fear or judgment from eveyrone around him slowly getting broken down by this. So he makes a HORRIBLE judgment call and rather than just accept some people are assholes, weighs his son’s backpack down with stones despite him hating it then drags him away when he ends up floating off, before screaming at the poor kid WHY CAN’T YOU BE DIFFRENT.. He DOES instantly regret this and the ending is genuinely touching as the father finally accepts his son is different and throws him into the air while on a swing, letting his son soar as he always should’ve. It is a beautifully animated and well meant film and the filipino representation is truly great: Rubio originally was going to have the characters as white but his fellow animators convinced him to go for represntation and be true to himself and honestly in a time when disney itself has had to be fought to get queer representation most of the time, it’s nice that pixar at least is a part of it that throughly encourages representation and will gladly put diversity and representation over any bullshit “risk factors”. That being said.. while this was a decent short with a very well intentioned message and it clearly connected with a lot of people.. it wasn’t for me and I say this as someone who has autisim. As someone who has worn down people’s patince and been starred at by a freak for something I was way too young to properly deal with. I’ve been in this Kid’s shoes.

And that’s the problem: The metaphor dosen’t really work for me. While auitism CAN have some benifits and I wouldn’t be any other way i’d be lying if I said it was easy having trouble commuincating, constnatly misreading people, constnatly worrying if someone’s going to like you, and hyperfocusing on a problem instead of being able to set it and forget it for a bit to my own detriment. There’s other problems and not ALL of my issues come from anxiety disorder: I also have anxiety and depression. They just bleed badly INTO said autisim sometimes, as it’s hard to effectively combat anxiety sometimes when your mind won’t let you.

What i’m saying is... there aren’t any FAULTS in his powers. See i’m a fan of x-men, so I can only see this boy as a mutant, and yes I know they usually manfifest at puberty but there have been exceptions so don’t at me.. and one of them who has no real downsides other than the unfair stigma of being a mutant. He’s more like storm, who can control the elements and whose power only enhances her life nad lesss like say Rogue, who looks normal.. but can’t touch anyone without knocking them out at best or horribly abosrbing them into her head at worst. There’s no downside other than the fact people judge him and his dad is a dick about it. And the dad part is hard because I get what Rubio is going for: parents make mistakes, parents mess up and their only human even if they should embrace their kids anyway. That’s a good message and one I support.. I just think Rubio was way TOO hard on himself and thus made his stand in into an unlikeable asshole, one whose more concerned with how everyone ELSE thinks and does the horribly abusive action of basically tying his son’s wings down so he can’t fly. He mans well, it’s so his son dosen’t float off.. but instead of finding a way to help him and work with him on it.. he just stuffs rocks in his back and forces the kid to be miserable so other people can be happy. It just goes way too far in the other direction to work. As I said I think it’s the guy being too hard on himself, manifesting his worst moments with his kids and his biggest regrets and making himself into a very hard to like character because he has trouble forgviing himself for how he acted. So I want to say if you ever read this bobby while I wasn’t hte biggest fan of your film.. I do wholly support you and your son.. and the fact you made an entire FILM just to show your sturggle and show people there not alone was a beautiful act. You are not a bad person , we all make mistakes and we’re all just human. You are a good man Bobby Rubio. I may of not liked your metaphor... but your message is beautiful.

Wind: Immigration by Way of Rocket Science

Thankfully moving on.. this one is tied with Kitbull for my faviorite. It has a truly intriguing premise, a great metaphor, stunning animation, and is just really moving, gripping and fun to watch. This one was by Edwin Chang, and as is usualy by now, it was built on personal experince.. but not his. It was built on the fact his father was an immigrant who had to leave his mother, Chang’s grandmother, behind to a better life. She rejoined them eventually but it left an impact on his father and thus serves as the core of this story. And honestly knowing that only STRENGTHENS an already impresssive sci fi short. It’s the story of a boy, apparently named Ellis so i’ll use that, and his grandmother who live in a bizzare, hauntingly beautifuly stygian sinkhole that has floating rocks and debris. The two spend their day farming potatoes and grabbing whatever they can to hopefully make their way out. But it becomes clear to young Ellis after they find a plane his grandmother wants HIM to go alone and escape and is willing to sacrifice herself.. and ends up having to trick the boy into thinking sh’es going along in order to get him to do what he needs to surivive and thrive. It’s a truly gut wrenching story as even when she seems to have found a way for them both to leave.. it’s very clear she’s simply training him with all the welding tools and what not so he has skills to make it out there on his own in the unknown. So he can live without her.. but more importantly.. so he CAN LIVE. Away from the darkness, not having to scrape and to surivive and hopefully find something better out there. While the old parental figure sacrifciing thsmelves so the youngun can start hteir journey isn’t new.. it’s the unique, beautiful and haunting setting and the emotoin, conveyed only through the utterly beautiful animation that make this story feel fresh, along with it’s great metaphor. This short is just haunting, beauitful and really damn sad, and I only dont’ have all that much to say because it’s all in the visuals. The only thing I have left is like all of these really, watch it. But especailly this one.

Loop: Enough Said

This is part of the reason I didn’t like Float all that much. Loop is just.. way better at conveying the experinces of having auitism. While Renee is a more severe case than me I can relate to what kicks off the film: Renee, usually paired with an adult at the camp she at, is forcibley paired with a chatty boy named Marcus. While Marcus is eager to go home and has no idea how to interact with the two the two genuinely bond, with Marcus slowly getting into Renee’s world. The key scene for this and the one that clinches the film is Renee waving her hands over the reeeds in the water, throughly enjoying it with marcus not getting it.. till he tries himself. Director Erica Milsom, whose worked with autistic children and picked this medium entriely because i’ts perfect for a non verbal character and is one that can tackle heavy issues like this in a way to help people understan, really wanted to counter most depections of severe autisim, paticuarlly sensory issues. While we see the good in them instead of JUST her freaking out or being overwhelemed: how her sounds and the things she feels truly relax her and how she really DOES enjoy nature and is perfectly at home there. It’s just a beautiful way to show this disablility is not ALL bad, as many works tend to focus soley on the drawbacks. While I had my issues with Float part of it was it had too much good.. but Loop is superior at this simply because it shows both with unflinching honesty: The beauty of something that calms and relaxes your brain or a touch or sensation that just FEEELS really good, things that while again i’m not on the same level as Renee.. I can still fully relate to. But what puts it over float besides not having a messy metaphor is it DOES show the issues that come with it.. but does so WELL and with nuance. It shows how isolating autisim can be, especially for someone like Renee who can’t talk, how people are sometimes freaked out by you and don’t know how to interact with you and how adults can MEAN WELL, and the counsler setting them off was a good idea in the end... but can also be misguided and not fully know how to handle you without overwhelming you. It shows just how bad a panic attack can be, how you can just.. shut down and drive away. It was easily the sequence that hit the hartest and resonated the most as I’ve had those, and i’ve just shut down with no one able to reach me.. and it makes it all the more touching as Marcus eventually realizes how to handle things, and gives her space despite the setting son and the peril of being stranded.. because he realizes she needs it and offers to simply be there when she’s ready. It’s a touching, wonderful gesture, capped by him giving her a reed.. and the two heading home finally udnerstanding one another.This one is very close to wind in my heart and I think I found even more love for it writing this review and realizing just how much it hit me. And that ain’t bad.

Out: Be Proud of Who You Are.. with the help of a gay cosmic space cat

Speaking of hitting close to home and really resonating with me, we have Pixar’s first short with a gay main character, with his sexuality being the center of this. And as a bi person who had struggle accepting his sexuality let alone telling anyone, even when you know someoen will likely accept you.. this naturally hit hard. I took some time to realize I was bi, and when I did I was terrified of telling my mom, despite her being loving, supportive and just wonderful, same with my brother. Both fully accepted me as I figured and had no issue with it, esepcially sine my romantic history is nearly non existant anyways, but I related to our hero Greg’s fears of coming out to his parents despite them being utterly wonderful, well meaning people. It’s hard to come out, it’s hard to admit that about yourself, and it’s hard knowing you may not be accepted or things may change. I had an even harder time coming out to my dad, who I fully expected being a trump supporter and having said “if gay marriage is leagal I should be able to marry my cat”, to not support me and to loose him.. and was proud and suprised when nope, he was utterly supportive and happy for me.. if a bit awkward with the “be careful with sex” advice.. to someone whose had none and may never will due to being awkward as shit. But he meant well and the point is I really related to this, and it’s easily one of the best coming out stories of this kind, tied handily with Schitt’s Creek’s episode about Patrick coming out to his parents that dealt with the same theme. And naturally given the nature of these shorts it was a story close to Stephen Clay Hunter’s heart, as he group up a gay nerd in the 80′s a time when homophobia was even worse and representation was near non-existent. So when given the shot he wanted to make something for a young him, something they can look at and point to and tha’ts me. And the behind the scenes short for this one sold just how... big this felt for him. To draw two men in love and embrcing, to see guys mo capping that. To see someone LIKE him on screen. It shows just how important representation is and how dumb it is it took 20 goddamn years at pixar for them to get gay.

The short itsel is delightful as we open with a gay space cat and dog appearing in a rainbow. The Cat and Dog are watching Greg, a nice young man whose moving out of his small town with his boyfriend Manuel.. only to panic when his parents who he hasn’t come out to show up to help move and try and hide the one photo he has of them. And despite Manuel seeing it as a very easy thing to do to come out.. it’s not for Greg. He knows it’s hard and a scene of him practicing shows the poor guy breaking down at the thought of telling them despite getting every indicatio their nice people. It’s then the whole Space Cat thing comes in as the cat enchanted Greg’s dog’s collar, so when greg puts it on as a jest, it’s a body swap! So naturally we get tons of REALLY well animated shenanigans as Greg has to get his body back. Seriously the animation here is gorgeous with director Hunter choosing the painted on , impercet style to give it a storybook feel which fits the story perfectly.. seriously if Disney hasn’t made a story book of this do so.. and if they won’t someone on etsy do it because Etsy is apparently where the merch companies should be making happens.

The point is it’s fun, furious and leads to some great gags.. and then we get the emotional punch to the godnand as Greg bites his mom’s hand in order to prevent her finding a photo of him and his boyfriend. He instnatly regrets it, and breaking the photo in the process and goes to comfort her.. and we get easily the most emotinal, most beautiful part of it as Greg finds out his mom is hurt as she can clearly tell he’s keeping her at arms length and dosen’t want to loose him.. and she’s known all along he was gay.. just like the Schitts Creek example it’s clear she’s hurt a bit her son is scared to tell her but just wants him to be happy. So with a brilliant use of a squeaky toy greg switches back.. and comes out, with his dad warmly hugging miguel when he introduces himn and the space dog crying. Just a beautiful, charming, fun, and gorgeously animated short with some badly needed representation.

Also... one last note. This isn’t related to the short.. but Disney, who once again proves they can’t be progressive without stabbing themselves in the foot and no I will not stop giving out about this. This time’s especailly bad as while Out was heavily promoted.. the descripton DOSEN’T mention it having Pixar’s first gay lead and goes out of it’s way to hide Greg being gay despite the fact the short dosen’t and his being in the closet is the whole conflict of the short. And the not mnentiong the first gay lead thing is noticable because Loop DID rightly point out it was their first non verbal proganist. You can’t.. brag about being progressive about one thing and then try to hide your being progressive about another you idiots. Plus the “pleasing the bible belt” ship has sailed and left port. Ducktales is gay as hell with Penny being gay, even if Disney won’t let her just come out and say it, the crew still had her say it as much as they could, Violet’s dad’s being gay, Della being bi and Webby and Lena being as close to a couple you can get without disney screaming at them no. Andi Mack is fully avaliable on D+ as well.. well okay not fully because the dad turned out to be a pedophile, but still a series with a fully gay character is out there. And finally Owl House got TONS of press for having a bi progatanist and having her love intrest be a girl. Even if Dana Terrance had to FIGHT for that, and rightly so good on her, the point is you have queer characters already. The groups that hate you for that aren’t going to magically stop hating you because you hide the fact a short anyone can see from minute one is very , beautifully gay, I mean it starts with a very swishy space cat emerging from a rainbow atop a pink dog. COME ON. I only have a few words left for disney..

Okay whew, one more and we’re out of here.

Burrow: It’s Okay to Ask for Help and To Bang a Willing Salamander This was the first one I watched today. In hindsight had I properly researched the shorts and realized how heavy they were I probably would’ve saved this one for later to help balance out the deep feels of some of these. While Burrow is VERY VERY good, as all these shorts have been even Float, it’s subject matter is a lot lighter. I mean so far we’ve had stories about toxic masculinity, animal abuse, issues accepting your child is diffrent, sacrficing yourself so your loved one can have a better life, autisim and coming out of the closet. Even Smash and Grab which is light and breezy.. still has a disney death, and is still about a heroic rush to freedom from slavery whenyou think about it. This one.. is about an insecure bunny whose afraid to ask for help and ends up learning to get it while ending up plumiting through a bunch of comedic set pieces. It’s basically if Winnie the Pooh and Bugs Bunny had a baby comedy wise, it has the warm feeling of pooh art wise, a storybook quality tha’ts utterly adoring.. but director Madeline Sharafan specifccally wanted the animators to take after chuck jones, using lots of great expressions and reactions. It has a real classic theatrical screwball comedy vibe and given The Looney Tunes, Droopy, and Tom and Jerry mean the world to me and i’m glad nto reocnnect with 2/3 thanks to HBO Max.. I fucking loved it.

Burrow is still a personal story and is based on Sharifan’s experinces having trouble colaberating, wanting something to be fully baked before showing it off, something I agian relate to. She often hid from the others and refused to show her work until it was done while everyone else was happy to help. And as the previously used to slam disney hard with something they own Hickman Era of X-men has shown.. colaboration is just better and more freeing. By having friends and colleuge s to bounce off of you refine ideas, see how people react to them and grow a bit and that’s what the shorts about.

The plot is easily the simpliest of these: A young bunny wants to build her dream burrow but gets self concious when she runs into a friendly mole and rat living next door to where she wants to build and keeps digging to find both privacy and her own place.. and instead ends up digging into various shenangians and other burrows from frogs, to hedgehogs to most memorably some Salmanders taking a sauna.. and in the best and most ‘how the fuck did they get away with this bit of it”, one of the salamanders ends up .. gladly removing his town and being liike “You wanna do this? I mean I got an hour free” And i’m just saying while now wasn’t the time and the offer was a little awkward i’d go for it if I was her. I mean at least ask him out for coffee later. He seems nice enough if low on boundries. Then ride him until the morning light girl, ride it. She also finds the Demon Bear from New Mutants at one point.. so that’s where he retried to after danny kicked his ass again. Neat.

But eventually our heroione digs herself too deep and ends up hitting water before finding a

Who sees her crumpled plans and then does the stygian call of the badger to call all the other animals to help and after they escape the flood, the bunny finally realizes their good people and lets them see the plans. So we end on our heroine and her new friends and possible salamander lover helping her settle in as she finallyg ets the home she wanted, complete with disco. I mean every home should have a disco. If I didn’t have a ceeling fan i’d have a disco ball.. and I still want one just to set somewhere or hang away from the fan . Let me dream dammit. Overally a fun, hilarious, mad dash short with a good message and a good note to go out on.

Final Thoughts: Overall.. the Sparkshorts program is fucking spectacular, a great way to let some of Pixar’s staff get into the directors chair and really shine, and a way to tackle issues that they may not be able to get greenlit into a full film. Lushily animated, well produced, Pixar has announced MORE are coming and I cannot wait. Thank you kev for comissioning this, and thank you all for reading. If your new and liked this review, follow this blog as I talk disney all the time: when they come back i’ll be doing regular coverage of Amphibia, Ducktales and the Owl House as new episodes come out every week, and i’m currently doing a retropsective on the three cablleros kev also paid for, with the finale of it, an episode by episode look at the legend of the three cablleros, starting this week. I’m also covering LIfe and times of scrooge mcduck (though infrequently for a bit), and finishing up a look at darkwing duck’s just us justice ducks, started with looks at all the players involved and finshing next week with the episode itself. So if any of that sounds good to you, check out the archives, but goodbye, goodbye, goodbye for now.

#sparkshorts #pixar #disney #disney plus #disney+#purl #kitbull #out #wind #loop #burrow #LBGTQ+#lbgt #lbgtq #float #smash and grab #robots

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rpd-rookie · 4 years

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Under Her Extra-Large Umbrella - Chris Redfield x Reader (PART 1)

Summary: Chris Redfield has always been an honourable man but the things he's seen at Spencer Mansion leave him no choice. He must infiltrate Umbrella's French laboratory, whatever it takes, even if it means manipulating you. But how far he is ready to go?

Author’s Note: This fanfic involves a Post RE1 / Pre-Code Veronica version of Chris Redfield since it focuses on his trip to Europe that is mentioned in RE2. You will probably notice that I used the letter Chris wrote to his S.T.A.R.S. friends. It is actually what inspired this fan fiction in the first place. Gotta be honest with you, this fanfic made me shed blood, sweat and tears. I guess I rewrote it twice before coming to a rather satisfying version and I must have tear my hair out quite a few times when I was struggling with grammar. (BTW, tell me if you see some terrible grammatical mistakes so that I can correct them) Anyway, as usual, I hope you will like it. Please don’t forget to like/reblog and tell me what you think of it in the comment section.

Tags: Romance, Fluff, SMUT, Explicit Language, Manipulation and Treachery. Angst is come ;-)

Also available on AO3

“Better failing with honour than winning by cheating, son”. Chris could perfectly remember his father telling him those words. It was in 1990. Chris was a seventeen years old teenager finishing his Junior year, and they were driving back home from driving school right after learning he had failed his theory test contrary to that asshole Colin Monroe who had aced it thanks to a crib cheat hidden in his sock. He could also remember that his father’s wisdom had barely consoled him on that day - despite what he had let him believe - and that it had taken him quite some time to swallow the bitter pill and even more time to admit that his father was indeed right and that he should live by this motto. Months actually. Plus a tombstone with his parents’ names on it. Chris never regretted listening to his father. He never regretted promising him that he would do his best to become the man he would have wished him to be. That promise had made him the man he was today. A man who would never stray from the right path however tempting treachery could be. Someone loyal, upright and honourable. Someone his parents would be proud of.

And yet here he was, eight years later, a twenty-five years old cop, breaking the promise he had made his father and doing something so deceitful and selfish it would certainly make him roll over in his grave or wish he were still here to give his son a earful. But today, it was not something as silly as his driving licence that was at stake. It was the justice he owned to his fellow S.T.A.R.S. members, those he had lost at Spencer Mansion and those waiting for him in Raccoon City. It was the security of god knows how many people. This time, Chris had a burden on his shoulders that was way too heavy for him to accept a possible failure. And as terrible as it sounded, he was ready to do something bad for the greater good, whatever the cost, whatever his dead father may think of him from beyond the grave.

“To my bestest S.T.A.R.S. buds,

How are you all doing in that drab, old station? Hanging in there against old Irons? Me? I just got back from a date with a hot chick. Bet you can guess what we got up to under her extra-large umbrella. Europe is amazing. One month is in no way enough to even scratch the surface. Maybe I’ll extend my vacation for another six months. Barry, don’t even think of coming join me. Wouldn’t want to make all the cute girls cry, yeah? So you just leave the babes to me. Jill, if Claire tries to contact you, please let her know I’m OK.”

Chris put down the pen on his nightstand and took a look at his letter one more time with a proud amused smile. He knew that his friends, contrary to Irons, would get the hidden message behind that lame womanizer persona that was so unlike him. And hopefully, maybe the police chief would tell his friends at Umbrella his S.T.A.R.S. poster boy was nothing to worry about and just currently cruising for pussies in Europe.

“Writing to your friends again?” Chris looked up to see you standing in the doorway to his bedroom. You looked very tired, exhausted even, judging by the dark circles under your beautiful eyes, your loosened bun and the way you were leaning against the framework. “Yeah, to give them a small update on my vacation.” Chris folded the letter and put it in the drawer of his nightstand; not very keen on letting you read it. “Tough day?” “You have no idea.” You dropped your bag at the entrance of Chris’ room and went to fall down on his bed, your head on his crossed legs. “Wanna talk about it?” Chris asked as he tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “You know I can’t say much. Professional confidentiality and all. ” “I didn’t know working for Umbrella was like working for the CIA.” Chris joked, trying to tone down the disgust he was feeling each time he had to pronounce the word Umbrella. You smiled, too tired to laugh and glanced at Chris who was staring at you.

God, why did you have to be so beautiful and so sweet and yet so not good for him? Why did you have to work for Umbrella? And how did he allow things to be that way between the two of you?

Chris could remember the day he had first seen you, the day he had chosen not be moral and honourable for once in his life. It was almost a month ago. He had been in Paris for a couple days, trying to find a way to infiltrate Umbrella’s French laboratory, which was even more impenetrable than Zone 51, the lab being a real fortress (with automatic secured doors, CCTVs, guards and a severe ‘no visitor allowed’ policy) only accessible if you were the lucky owner of a white and red badge. And you had happened to be one. Leaving the lab for lunch break, happy to finally feel the warm sun on your face, it hadn’t been your beautiful [h/c] hair loosely tied back in a high ponytail or your twinkly [e/c] eyes that had caught Chris’ attention (even though yeah he had noticed). No it had been that badge, that stupid badge carelessly hanging from the front pocket of your lab coat. And it had also been that badge that, unfortunately for you, had made him organise a plan to trick you and get his hands on it, that badge that had made you the victim of his very first treachery.

Your meeting was – unbeknownst to you – the most unnatural meeting ever. Chris had calculated everything. When? Lunch break. Where? The nearby boulangerie where you used to be eating. What to say? “Désolé. Bonjour. Puis-je m’assoir avec vous?” which meant “Sorry. Hi. May I sit with you?” in French of course, because Chris had figured that playing the part of the poor American tourist with a terrible French accent trying to adapt in the city of love would be much more appropriate for the situation. And it had worked. He had sit at your table, had exchanged a few words with you and had found you surprisingly friendly and adorable for an Umbrella employee. But of course, as the majority of Chris’ plans, the meeting hadn’t ended up the way he had imagined (meaning him discreetly stealing your badge) simply because of a tiny detail he hadn’t thought of; you had forgotten your badge at the lab, leaving him no choice but to improvise and organise a second meeting that he had dared called a rendez-vous.

And here he was, weeks later, sharing your apartment and occasionally your bed and definitely bogged in a way bigger deceit that the one he had originally planned, one he knew he would not be able to get out easily. And to answer the question, did Chris manage to get his hands on your badge? Well, yes and it was now safely hidden in his room to be used at the proper moment. If only he could shut his guilt away as well. Things would be much easier.

“What did you do today? Sebastien told me he barely saw you.” Sebastien was your other roommate. A nice redhead guy as well as a curious unstoppable chatterbox. “Oh, nothing interesting. I woke up early to jog at the Bois de Boulogne then I spent the rest of day wandering in the city.” That was half a lie. Yes, he had gone for a run at the Bois de Boulogne but he hadn’t spent the afternoon visiting Paris. No, he had spent his afternoon trying to reach the FBI from a phone booth in order to know if they had some news concerning Irons or the Mansion Incident. Unsuccessfully. “If you want, we can spend this Saturday together. I’m sure I can show you few places you haven’t seen yet.” “Aren’t you working this Saturday?” You were always working on Saturdays. “I need a day off to clear my mind a bit.” That didn’t sound like you. You were too much of a workaholic to prefer spending your Saturday playing guide to your American roommate. “Now, consider me worried. What’s up at work?” Chris asked, concerned not only because he knew something terrible could be happening at Umbrella but also because he couldn’t help but caring about you, Umbrella worker or not. “Those last days have been a bit tough that’s all.” You wouldn’t tell him more. You couldn’t. For so many reasons. “Well in that case, what do you think about me running you a nice hot bath?” You glanced up at Chris. He had drawn your attention in a very interesting way. “That depends. Will you be with me in that bath?” You asked cheekily. “Do you want me too?” He smirked and you put your hand on his neck to pull him closer to your face. You pressed your lips softly against his; sighing in this kiss you had been dreaming about all day, as Chris brought you against his broad chest, his strong arms now holding you tight against him. You felt so safe in his embrace and that’s what you needed right now.

Chris pecked you a couple times before laying one last kiss on your forehead with a tenderness that made you melt in his arms. “I’m gonna go run you that bath, okay?” You nodded. “Join me in ten minutes.” Needless to say that those ten minutes were the longest you had ever experienced. Probably because they gave you plenty of time to dwell on the things you had experienced today at the lab, the things you had seen, the things you wanted to forget and yet couldn’t. You got up and grabbed the bag you had left by the door to search for a small notebook that you opened with a desperate sigh. Then, you took the pen on Chris’ nightstand and started scribbling notes and drawings in it. A habit you had taken a few months ago and that somehow helped you from not cracking up.

You guessed you took more than ten minutes when you heard Chris clear his throat by the door, only wearing a small towel around his wait. Goodness, what a sight. You quickly closed the notebook as soon as you spotted him and put it back in your bag while he pretended not to notice. “Haven’t you forgotten something, mademoiselle?” He smirked and you giggled. “Have I?” “Yes. I think there is a naked man waiting for you in the bathroom.” He joked and you approached him with a amused yet cheeky smile. You put your hands on his chest, feeling his muscles against your palm, as you looked up at his face with a mischievous look. “Is he hot?” “Right now, he is very hot.” He confessed, absolutely in the mood to play with you. “Better not keep him waiting, then.” You purred and you put your hand on one of the straps of your summer dress to gently make it slide along your shoulder. That small sight of your naked skin made Chris hiss and unable to resist the urge to lay a trail of soft warm kisses from your neck down to your shoulder. You could tell the smoothness and the perfume of your skin were driving him crazy as his mouth soon started devouring you and muffled growls began vibrating in his throat. His calloused hands roamed down your back, making you instinctively move your hips closer to his crotch, and he unzipped your dress. It dropped at your feet revealing your body that Chris gazed at with his brown eyes darkened by desire. They lingered on your breasts and you knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to touch them. He loved them too much for that. And so, his hands cupped them and his thumbs brushed your hard nipples. “Gosh, Y/N.” He breathing in, trying to calm his heart pounding in his chest “I can’t wait any longer.” Chris suddenly grabbed you and hoisted you up with incredible ease, hands under your ass, which made you yelp. Nevertheless, you instinctively wrapped your legs around him, making his towel fall to the floor. “Oops. That was not voluntary.” You giggled. So did he. “Right.” And he rushed towards the bathroom, with you in his arms, his lips devouring yours in a hasty burning kiss on the way.

He set you up on the double washstand and quickly locked the door behind him, giving you a brief view of his divine firm behind, though you liked the front as much if not more right now. “What are you looking at like that?” He smirked. Well, his chiselled chest, his carved abs and that big hard cock. What a silly question! But you couldn’t say that and so instead you urged Chris to come closer to you, spreading your legs to welcome him between them. He obeyed but instead of giving you that lustful hug and passionate kiss you were expecting, he crouched in between your legs and remove your panties, kissing your smooth legs, from thighs to feet, as he did. You clearly knew where that would eventually lead but you moaned anyway when you felt Chris put your legs on his shoulders and burry his face in between your thighs. “I told you I’d help you relax.” “What about the hot bath?” You tilted your head towards the bubble bath he had run for you few minutes ago. “Oh don’t worry, we’re getting there. But first you know how much I like licking your pussy.” He winked and his tongue lapped your slit up to your clit without waiting another second. A loud moan escaped your mouth as Chris sucked your bud loudly, pulling it between his lips, and he looked up at you with a proud smirk before focusing his attention back on your pussy. He was good, very good even, way better than any other men you had ever been with. He knew exactly how to please you. He knew where the tip of tongue had to swirl to make you shiver, knew the right spot to suck to make you moan and when to add his fingers to make you cry out his name - which was right now by the way. “Oh my god, Chris!” You mewled loudly as you felt one of his fingers entering you, his mouth still eating your pussy up. Your legs instinctively clenched around your lover’s head while one of your hand found its way in his short hair. Then you heard Chris hum in between your thighs as he kept on licking you and fucking you with his finger, adding one more in the process. You pulled his hair back, forcing him to look at you. “Fuck me, please. Fuck me now.” Chris complied and, after his tongue slid one last time in between your lips, he stood up to catch your lips in a new passionate kiss, making you taste your juices on his expert tongue. You could feel his cock against you, hard and slightly throbbing already, showing how impatient and aroused he was. “Enter that bath, quick.” He ordered with a deep voice that made you shake against his body.

You obeyed and gladly let your burning body sink in the bubbly water, the lukewarm water cooling you off a bit (which wasn’t a bad thing). You were soon followed by Chris who entered the bath with a brutal eagerness that made the water waved a bit too much around both your bodies. “Don’t flood the apartment.” You giggled as you spread your legs to make him a place in the tub. “I can’t promise you that.” He confessed amused, as he grabbed his length in his hand to jerk it off a bit and guide it towards your begging entrance waiting for him under the water. He tickled your swollen clit with his tip before entire you almost smoothly making you draw a sharp breath. “Damn, you’re so tight.” Chris growled as he took hold of the edge of the bathtub above your head to push himself deeper inside of you, enjoying your wet walls around his cock. “You’re fucking big, you mean.” You said with a painful hiss that brutally calmed his ardour and made him consider immediately pulling out of you. “Sorry. Am I hurting you?” He worried, aware his girth needed get some getting used to and afraid that he hadn’t given you enough. “No, no. It’s okay. Just give me sec.” You cleared your throat and adjusted yourself underneath Chris, spreading your lips with your fingers to welcome him the way you both desired. Hard, big and rough. “Okay. Good now.” “You sure?” He asked, definitely not willing to hurt you. You nodded and pressed your lips against him to show him how much you wanted him right now. He got the message and started moving inside of you, slowly yet deeply for now.

You dug your nails in his biceps and started moaning; taking delight in feeling him going in and out of you. It was just the most divine sensation in the world. He filled you so perfectly. “Chris. Please. Faster.” You begged. He complied and started pounding you more quickly, hands still on the edge of the tub, towering you with his muscular body to assert his dominance over you the way you liked it. But it wasn’t enough for you and so you wrapped your legs around him forcing him to go balls deep inside of you. Chris smirked, loving your initiative. “You like it deep and rough, baby?” You cried out. “I didn’t hear you” “Yeeess.” You whimpered with small tears in your eyes. He hammered you harder, spilling water on the bathroom floor, and you clenched your walls around him. “Oh god!” You yelled, out of breath.

He was relentless, so strong, so fast, so deep you could hear his body slam against your skin and echo the splashes of the waves in the tub. “Come here.” He lay on his back and urged you to come and straddle him. And so you climbed on top of him, admiring how handsome he was underneath you. “Guide me into you.” You did as he said and directed his throbbing cock to your wanting pussy, welcoming him again inside your wetness, Hands pressed against his pectorals, you immediately started undulating on top of him, feeling the pleasure coming back in your lower stomach. “That’s it. Keep going.” He whispered, gazing at you.

Chris’ hands crawled up your body to reach your breasts and play with them a bit, delicately pinching your pointy nipples, as you kept riding him. You knew he loved groping them and you also knew how much he loved them in his mouth as well. Therefore you decided to bent over him a bit, just enough for his face to reach your chest, holding on to the wall in front of you with one hand to keep your balance. Chris smiled, understanding perfectly your little game, and pulled one of your tits to his mouth to catch one nipple between his lips and suck it greedily. It was apparently very pleasurable for him (even maybe more than it was for you, and it was a lot) since he started humming and growling loudly. You enjoyed hearing and seeing him like this very much, so much you stopped riding him to focus on this spectacle.

It didn’t last long though as you soon felt you lover’s strong hands gripping your ass to make you bounce on his cock again. “I so want to cum, baby. Please make us both cum.” His words made you shiver of excitement and you locked your lips with his as you started rolling your hips onto him again. But it was certainly not enough for Chris since after few seconds he suddenly grabbed your hips to slam deep in your pussy and relentlessly pound you from underneath. You screamed his name and hold on tight to him. He was very rough, so rough you could barely breathe, but you didn’t mind at all. Soon, you felt your face become so red and your bundle of nerves become atrociously sensitive. You knew you were ready to explode. “Chris. I’m gonna cum.” He put his hand on your clit to stimulate it and help you reach your release, his cock hammering you even harder than before. You clenched your pussy around his throbbing cock, making him groan because of how tighter you suddenly were. “Tell me I can cum in you, baby.” He asked, panting. He was very close too. “Yes, cum in me.” You didn’t need to say it twice as Chris immediately growled in your ear, slowed his pace, and spread his cum in your pussy with a last animalistic grunt as you came undone on top of him, yelling his name, your powerful orgasm almost knocking you out.

You collapsed on him, incapable of remaining straight. “Wow. That was something.” He chuckled, exhausted and out of breath, and so did you. “You’re okay?” You looked up at him, raising your eyebrows. What a ridiculous question. “No, I’m being serious, Y/N. Wasn’t I a bit too rough?” He asked. “You were perfect.” You admitted before kissing him tenderly. “AND SO FUCKING LOUD!!!” You heard shouting from behind the wall. You both looked in the direction of the noise, understanding that your roommate had probably heard everything but despite the embarrassment you couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Poor Sebastien. “Why don’t we get out of that bath and cuddle a bit in bed? The water is getting cold.” Chris offered. “I’d like that very much.” You smiled and managed to leave the tub, using the little energy you had left in your sore body.

As you dried yourself, you saw Chris head towards the door with a towel draped around his waist. “Where are you going?” You asked. “Taking some briefs in my room. See you in your room in a minute?” He smiled and you nodded, impatient to spend the night in his arms. “Can you bring me back my clothes and my bag while you’re at it?” “Sure.”

Chris closed the door behind him and headed towards his room where he put on some clean underwear and picked up your stuff as you had asked. But the moment he grabbed your bag and caught a glimpse of the black notebook he had previously seen you inside, he knew he would probably not join you as soon as he had told you. He watched it first, hesitant, knowing perfectly well that what he had in mind right now was very bad. It was one thing to steal a badge, but spying on you, that was going too far. “No, Chris. No.” He whispered to himself. And yet, he grasped the notebook and opened it. It was a diary of some sort judging by the numerous dates he noticed as he quickly leafed through it. And if it was a diary then it was indeed very private, intimate even, certainly not his to read. He thought about putting it back in your bag for a second, but what if something valuable to his investigation was inside that notebook? “Argh, fuck.” He cursed as he went to the first page.

“May, 14th 1998

Today made me regret the time I was just the intern bringing Professor Rochois his morning espresso. Umbrella is asking more and more of me, and the pressure they put on us workers is driving me insane. But what’s worse is that I’ve got the impression they are not telling us everything, especially concerning the experience the seasoned scientists are conducting in the north wing. But I guess I’ll soon have answers to my questions since Professor Rochois said that he was genuinely impressed by my devotion and was thinking of promoting me.”

Chris frowned, apprehension knotting his stomach. That didn’t sound good at all. He needed to learn more about that even if the moment was far from convenient. You could show up anytime and catch him red-handed. He turned a few more pages, rapidly skimming through some notes he would definitely read another day, until he spotted a weird drawing of some octopus-like creature. What the hell was that thing?

“June, 7th 1998

The NE-a parasite. A parasitic species indented to retain intelligence. It has been developed by Umbrella Europe for years. At first I thought it was just a revolutionary way to cure brain damage. After all, that’s how it had been advertised to me. But the more I study it, the more I believe Umbrella may be up to something else other than treating brain injuries or Alzheimer. I don’t know what and I’m not even sure I want to know.”

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. His body was shaking and he could feel fear eating him up and he started imagining terrible things. What if you were involved in the Spencer Mansion incident? No, no. You couldn’t be. And yet, Chris decided to have a look had the entries you wrote in July. He needed to reassure himself. One immediately drew his attention.

“July, 28th 1998

My superiors have been quite on edge lately, something to do with an incident that happened with the American branch of Umbrella from what I overheard. I don’t know what it is though, but I’m sure it must be pretty big because they doubled down security in the lab. The team and I have the impression we are living in a 1984 remake. The CCTVs are always recording and I sometimes have the strange sensation I’m being permanently spied on, even in the locker room. Maybe they have doubts about me because of the many questions I often ask about Project Nemesis.”

Project Nemesis? Y/N, what the hell were you working on in that lab?

#chris redfield #chris redfield x reader #resident evil #fanfic #under her large umbrella #re2 remake inspired fan fiction

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gastrobrack · 4 years

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Brave New World 2020 review from probably the biggest fan of the book you’ll meet in your life

(Mostly Spoiler Free) Okay so. I’ve been waiting for this show for a really long time because I absolutely love the book and it means a lot to me. My standards were admittedly pretty low because it can’t get worse than the 1998 movie, so I didn’t really mind when I saw the trailers and stuff where other people were complaining.

TL;DR I thought the show was actually pretty enjoyable, but you have to read the book first in my opinion, or else it seems like it would be hard to follow at times. Where the show really screwed up royally was Mond’s storyline, which felt completely out of place and confusing, and when it ended up dominating the end of the final episode it just kinda ruined the story for me. The show is definitely more focused on the setting and characters than the societal predictions and themes of the novel, and for me that’s okay because we have the book to tell it better anyways. I’d say watch it if you liked the book or are curious about it, but I don’t think it would really be enjoyable for the average viewer.

Side note: I watched this in the wee hours of the morning and some of the praise might just be the special interest talking, I’m just happy to be here and get more content

That being said, I think this show is like the Riverdale of Brave New World. However, in its defense it’s at least got the energy of the parts of Riverdale like the “epic highs and lows of high school football” and the “serial killer gene”, so it’s at least pretty funny. Personally, I knew that they would have to change a lot both to adjust for the longer runtime (around 9 hours) and to make the book enjoyable to a TV audience, because of course in the book you can have 2 chapters of exposition at the beginning and that’s not as enjoyable for a TV experience. So, let’s get into the pros and cons of the show!

PROS

-I really liked Bernard! In the book he means a lot to me personally (hell, I’m writing this while listening to my Bernard playlist) so I was of course kinda worried they might screw him up again like they did in the ‘98 movie, but I was pleasantly surprised! They did change him and divide his original personality between John and Lenina, but somehow they managed to create a new Bernard that both kept me on my toes and at the same time felt authentic and likeable!

-Honestly, almost all the characters were done very well. They were all expanded upon in an interesting way while also staying generally pretty accurate to their book counterparts. I generally felt the same about them as I did with the novel, so I think that means they did a job well done. I think that John and Lenina were very different, but they still ultimately had the same general motivations. A lot of the cast’s interactions felt very natural, and I liked that they expanded upon Lenina and Fanny’s (or Frannie as she’s called here) friendship.

-The show looked great, I know a lot of people really didn’t like the look of it because it wasn’t what they thought it would be when they read it, but for me that’s basically exactly what I imagined it would be. The costume designer clearly had fun making a bunch of outlandish outfits for everyone to wear and it’s all very pleasant to look at.

-I think they did a good job fixing some of the problematic elements of the book without actually damaging the integrity of the things they were changing. For example, in the book, the savage reservation is quite literally just a native reservation, written in a way that clearly suggests Huxley didn’t really put a lot of thought into his depiction of real people. In the show, it’s a theme park where British people get to immerse themselves in the cultures of the old world, with the savages themselves being poor theme park workers reenacting events to shock and mystify the Brits. Now, admittedly, I think this makes a lot more sense as it ties into the consumerism that runs deep within their society. I know some people are mad about this because they think it’s cancel culture or something but honestly it’s not a big deal to me.

-This one might not be as important to some people, but I liked that the cast was pretty diverse, and the fact that John is the only straight one honestly made sense to me considering it would be in the World State’s best interest to encourage bisexuality amongst its citizens. Some of the characters (Helmholtz and Mond) are being played by women, and some people are kinda upset about that but I don’t really think it changed too much, although to me it is funny to think the showrunner thought he was doing something by “casting women of color to play white male characters” considering everyone I know who read the book didn’t picture either of them as white.

-Honestly, I think the show did humor very well. It was very funny in a sort of dry way, and never felt forced or out of place. It all seemed like it naturally stemmed from the characters’ awkwardness and culture shock (on both sides) and it made me really happy as someone who loves all these characters to see them make me laugh.

CONS

-Now, I’m not usually one to complain about this too much, seeing as I love the book in a non thematic and academic context, but the message kinda got lost in all of it. I think the issues they brought up certainly were there, and could lend themselves very well to being good. The writers just focused on the entirely wrong things in the last episode, and that misguided focus completely changes the lens in which the rest of the show is retroactively viewed for me.

-Mustapha Mond was just, where do I even begin. In the book, Mond doesn’t show up much except to provide exposition, and his position as an authoritative figure ultimately moves the plot towards the end of the novel. In the show, Mond gets this weird AI plotline that makes no sense, as in this version they have a sort of internet contact lens type system that allows them to connect to everyone else, and it is powered by said AI. The system itself doesn’t bother me as much as how poorly handled this plotline was. Not only was it completely random and was the only plotline in the show not to have some sort of roots in the events of the book, but it was extremely confusing to me. This leads into my next point, which is:

-The ending. Oh my God the ending. Now, look. I’m not gonna say much because I want this to be as spoiler free as possible, but the ending just honestly was a dumpster fire. The writers chose to focus the whole ending on the aforementioned AI plotline, despite the book providing a much more solid framework for an ending that they already seemed to be setting up. This shift in focus comes very late into the final episode, and it honestly doesn’t make any sense why the writers would really want to go this route. It feels like they were just adding things that didn’t fit into the story, and I can’t really discern why except for the possibility of setting up an unnecessary second season. I love the book, it’s my special interest, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we do not need a second season especially if its gonna be full of plotlines that make no sense and serve no purpose. This heavily changed ending not only undermines the whole thematic purpose of the novel but honestly kind of goes actively against everything the book was trying to say in the first place.

-They really don’t set up any of the world building, and although I caught on very quickly due to my familiarity with the book, it seems like it might get confusing for unfamiliar watchers. In the book, they explain their process for birthing and then conditioning children into their social body very in depth before they get into the actual plot and characters, and I think this show could have used some of that. Here, they talk a lot about conditioning but don’t actually explain what the conditioning is or why they have the caste system in the first place.

-This is a minor disappointment more than anything and I didn’t actually notice till about the second episode, but there’s no more Ford talk, which is kinda disappointing cause it was pretty fun in the book.

-Obviously it goes without saying that there’s sex in this, I mean it IS Brave New World. However, in this one, it just feels excessive and kinda just like it’s there for shock value more than anything.

-This isn’t really a con so much as it is just a disclaimer, I know a lot of people are excited for Demi Moore as Linda and Joseph Morgan as the new character CJack60, but don’t get your hopes up too much, they don’t get to do much. If you read the book, you’d know that about Linda but I’ve seen reviewers get upset that she wasn’t in it more when she was one of the big names attached to the project. (FWIW she did a great job and I loved Linda in this whereas I didn’t in the book) As for CJack, he spends a lot of time just standing there and looking at things and doesn’t get to do much until the last 2 episodes or so.

CONCLUSION

As someone who really loves the book’s setting and characters sometimes even more than the actual messages and predictions, I’ve always wanted an adaptation that focuses more on those elements, especially since that would make for an easier transition to the screen. Seeing this was a very nice breath of fresh air, because it embraces the inherently satirical and dare I say funny aspect of the story, as well as the characters’ individual quirks and distinct personalities. Obviously it’s not as hard hitting and important as the book, but I think those messages were better left in book form anyway. For someone like me, who loves the book with all my heart, this show honestly gave me most everything I wanted and it felt the most true to the spirit of the book’s world and characters out of any of the adaptations. I would say check out the show if you’re interested in it or enjoyed the book, but you should definitely be familiar with the book before you watch this.

#brave new world #sorry this is so long #i pulled an all nighter to watch the show as soon as possible and im running on 2hrs of sleep #anyway stan bernard!

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eamesandbellamyaremyheaven · 4 years

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Somewhere, Now and Then Ch1 || Arthur x Sansa (Kalots/GoT Outlander AU)

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword x Game of Thrones Outlander AU (there’s no such thing as canon)

Warnings: None for now, later smut and violence.

Summary: England, 1945. After serving in the war as a nurse, Sansa Bolton (former Stark) seizes the opportunity of going on vacation with her husband Ramsay to rekindle their relationship. But what happens when Sansa finds herself travelling back in time, to the 6th century, where she meets the King Arthur and his Knights?

A.N.//- Needless to say, this is loosely based on the Outlander premise. The story is told through Guy Ritchie’s interpretation of the Arthurian legend, and for that locations and traditions - and the time itself - had to be adapted to work accordingly. Any questions you have, feel free to ask!

A.N.//- This chapter will centered in Sansa and her life in the present time, so our King and his Knights will not be making an appearance yet. Fear not, I’ll be updating the next chapter sometime today!

Chapter One - The Stranger

England, 1945

How Sansa got bamboozled into vacationing through England, she would never know. One day, she was visiting her aunt Lysa and her husband Petyr after being three years apart, the next, she was walking through grass and mud, her eyes overlooking the ruins of stone, the last remainder of what must have been a majestic castle centuries ago.

Petyr Baelish had always bragged himself of being descendant of noble heritage, a direct progeny of one of King Arthur’s Knights, an information the Baelishes passed from one generation to the next without any concrete proof. As the Second Great War devastated the world , he used the time provided by his lack of involvement to study his ancestry.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Petyr asked, his gaze following the same path as hers “These ruins were most likely the house of King Arthur and his Knights, including my ancestor Sir William”

Sansa turned to him, arching an eyebrow as her curiosity peaked “Most likely?”

Petyr’s lips curled into a smirk, clearly proud for capturing the young woman's attention “Yes, well, there are no factual evidence of the man himself, only tales.”

“Folk tales of magical swords, and stones, and wizards, my dearest” Ramsay’s voice echoed from behind her, in its natural arrogant tone “I highly doubt of the veracity of any of it”

Petyr had arranged the union between Sansa and Ramsay at the early years of the war, but as both enlisted the army, as a nurse and MI6 officer respectively, their marriage consisted in a few months together followed by years of correspondence. They had little in common, she had medicine and botany, he had secrets and a general disdain for life. But they were still married, and Lysa insisted that the young couple would benefit from a countryside vacation, even if it’s one to accompany Petyr and Lysa through their historical quest. After all, it was due to Ramsay’s stationing in London that they had discovered long lost records that placed Petyr’s ancestor in that castle during the 6th century.

“You don’t believe in the Arthurian legend?” Sansa asked, as she entwined her arm in her husband’s, following Petyr and Lysa inside the ruins

Ramsay scoffed “A man that pulled a magic sword from a stone and was crowned King? How can anyone actually believe that happened?”

“Now that you put it that way, it does seem far fetched” Sansa agreed, with a frown

“He was just a man, Sansa. All those extraordinary stories were made just to impress dreamers like you and your uncle”

Ramsay had spoken bluntly, as they walked past an archway, his words clearly meant as an offense. Sansa jolted her arm free from his, a little too harshly than she had wanted.

“Do you think of me as just some easily-impressed girl?”

Ramsay looked around the stone walls, making sure they were alone before speaking

“That was not what I meant, but even you have to admit... Coming all this way to England just to search for a man that lived 1500 years ago, just because your uncle might be his descendant? That’s insane.”

Sansa took a few steps back, creating physical distance between them. She shook her head, her anger and disappointment flushing through her cheeks, her vision blurred by stubborn tears that came through, unwelcomed.

“I didn’t came to England for Petyr. I came here to save our marriage”

He tried to reach out to her, but she refused to let him touch her. He was never the loving, caring kind of husband, but Sansa was coming to realize that not only Ramsay was not the romantic partner she had hoped for, he was also cold and bitter and had not an ounce of empathy in his entire body, not even towards the woman he had promised to love for the rest of his life.

Had he ever loved her, at all?

※※※※※

Sansa and Ramsay had barely spoken for the rest of the day, after their previous argument. She was hurt, he felt insulted. Even at that moment, as the four of them were dinning with Mr. Manderly, their host and a fellow local historian, they briefly partake in the conversation, but never address each other.

“So, what did you think of the castle, Mr. Baelish?” Mr. Manderly asked, although his eyes came down to his plate, focusing on the stake instead

“It’s quite a sight. I wonder what it must’ve look like in its prime”

The man nodded “Majestic, I can only imagine. Do you truly believe it to be the seat of King Arthur’s throne?”

“The records clearly state that Sir William lived there. Since he was a Knight of the Round Table, one can only assume that it was, indeed, the court of King Arthur.”

“It’s such a shame we can’t find actual proof to support any of those claims” Ramsay spoke, then taking a sip of his wine, his eyes focusing on Sansa’s, obviously trying to get any kind of reaction from her

“Maybe it’s for the best” Sansa retorted, her voice vicious “The truth could destroy the myth. I’d rather hear tales of incredible heroes than accurate stories of flawed man.”

The table felt into a discomfort silence. Ramsay watched her, his icy blue eyes piercing her like daggers, to which Sansa replied in kind. After a few moments of awkwardness, Mr. Manderly cleared his throat, and tried to change the mood of the table.

“Mrs Bolton, your uncle told me you’d taken quite the interest in botany”

Sansa looked from her husband towards her host, softening her features “Yes, for medicinal purposes”

“Then tomorrow you should visit the Stonehenge. There’s plenty of variety, you’ll find something useful, I’m sure of it.”

“I read that it used to be the ground for pagan rituals, because people believed that the stones had a very powerful, ancient magic energy” Petyr boasted, never missing the opportunity to show off his knowledge

Mr. Manderly paused, seemingly considering what to say next “Actually, the rituals still continue to this day. Tomorrow, at dawn, the local women will be celebrating the Samhain, but I advise you not to be lurking around during the act, they do not take kindly the presence of strangers.”

※※※※※

Although Sansa had read about pagan traditions, she never found the matter interesting enough to pursue. But now, being able to see one of their rituals being performed in front of her, that had peaked her interest. That, and knowing she definitely shouldn’t be there.

And that was the reason why she was up an hour before sunrise, had borrowed her uncle’s car, and had wondered deep in the forest into the clearing only in her dress, shoes and wool mantle. She had been afraid of waking Ramsay, so she’d put on the first items she managed to found in the dark. At that moment, she was starting to regret that decision.

That was until she heard voices approaching.

Sansa hid behind a rock, watching the group of women walk towards the stones. They were all dressed in white, and each one of them held a torch in one hand.

Then, they started to dance. Well, it was not actually dancing, more like swaying around, spinning and swinging their arms and torso, as if they were being guided by the wind. Their dresses flowed in unison, the light fabric coming up and down in waves. The torches emitted an yellowish glow, tracing momentarily the air with each of the girls movements. They sang harmoniously, in an ancient dialect, creating rhythm and energy to their bodies to follow.

Sansa stood watching, in awe. Her skin had turned into goosebumps, and although there was a voice inside telling her to leave, she dare not to move. The voice, more like a soft whisper at the ear, disappeared as soon as the women stopped.

They dispersed quickly and quietly, a sense of peace was all they left behind.

Sansa waited a little while longer, making sure none of them had been aware of her presence. She finally rose to her feet, and walked towards the stones, her eyes set on the taller one, that stood right at the centre.

The wind was stronger now, rushing through her with all of its fury, merciless against her skin and hair.

Her steps were firm, unknowingly determined, as if she was being commanded by an unseen entity.

Sansa stopped in front of the rock, her heart drumming wildly, and she felt the urge to touch it. She held her hand up, five fingers spread wide, and finally she allowed the trembling palm to come in contact with the cold stone.

One moment she felt it all, the next there was only dark.

Taglist is OPEN!

#sansa x arthur #sansa stark #arthur pendragon #king arthur legend of the sword #game of thrones #outlander au #time travel au #crossover #sansa stark fanfiction #sansa stark imagine #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon fanfiction #eabamh masterlist

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kyberphilosopher · 4 years

Text

Seven: Chapter Eleven

ChA^pT3r Eleve^n

“You look absolutely ridiculous.”

I glance down at my feet, focusing on one specific scuff of dirt on my black boots. They’re the same boots I wore to the stakeout, because it’s the same outfit I’ve been wearing for the past few days. Cops around the precinct have noticed, but they’ve gotten used to it by now. One woman came to report a crime and actually thought I was human for a second. I knew she would stop being nice once she found out about what I really was, so I just stayed polite and didn’t dare correct her.

Celeste Amora, however, has been anything but nice or polite to me.

All day, she’s gone out of her way to inconvenience me. It’s ironic in a way, because she’s probably inconvenienced herself more than anyone.

At 9:15am, she threw two paper balls at my head in the morning meeting. Even Captain Ericson rolled his eyes at it. At 11:17am, Celeste deprived everyone of coffee by putting the grounds in her bag, just so I wouldn’t be able to give any to Cal. It was ok though, because I found a ten dollar bill on the floor not too long after and I gave it to him to buy coffee for himself. By 12:31pm, Celeste emptied the contents of my stakeout bag, which included my jacket and uniform. Honestly, it’s not a big deal, because Icarus will just send me another one through Captain Ericson. Celeste struck again at 1:28pm, when she left sticky orange liquid on my desk. Again, this was no big deal, because I identified it as orange soda and looked up the best way to clean it.

Now, at 2:53pm, our perpetrator makes another attack. I swear, she must be following me around all day to know when and where to strike. It’s almost… saddening?

I’m in the locker room. Not an actual locker room, just a sort of hallway by the evidence room lined with white lockers. Cal packed me a bag of clothes and toiletries for our trip, and left them in his unit for me to grab before we go. He seemed really proud of himself for remembering to put the toiletries in, because apparently he has a habit of forgetting to pack them, even for himself. I didn’t have the lack of manners to tell him I probably don’t need them. Tooth paste? I don’t need to brush my teeth- they’re always white. Pads and tampons? I don’t get periods unless I press a button. A pack of tissues? I’m incapable of sneezing, but I appreciate the sentiment.

So, that’s the scene for you. I- the Android- am reaching into a stark white locker to obtain a pack of a road trip. Celeste Amora- the officer who can’t do her job- is behind me, leaning against the wall talking to Blaise Shovelman- an officer who gets nervous around me but remains kind enough. In the corner, guarding the evidence room, is Officer Blackwell. Both Shovelman and Blackwell are entirely uncomfortable and nervous with what’s about to go down.

So, cut back to Celeste Amora saying, “you look absolutely ridiculous”.

I sigh to myself softly, disappointed that this was unavoidable. I tug the duffle bag out of the locker, and push it closed.

“Hello, Officer Amora,” I greet as I turn around. It’s satisfying to watch her twitch with anger every time I say that.

“What’s with the bag?” she says, glancing down. “I could cuff you right now for it.”

“No you can’t,” I frown. “Officers can only arrest if they have witnessed a crime, and you haven’t witnessed a crime- I assure you. You also do not have probable cause that I have committed a crime, or a warrant from a judge. Therefor you cannot arrest me.”

Oh, she looks so angry. Shovelman is trying not to laugh, and Blackwell’s lips are pulled inside his mouth to keep from smiling. “And the bag is for my road trip with Detective Kennedy.”

“A road trip?” Celeste mocks.

“We’re going to see his father and brother for his birthday,” I explain diplomatically.

Celeste scoffs. “And he invited you?”

“Yes.”

She is so unequivocally frustrated and full of rage that it’s funny. Shovelman knows this, Blackwell knows this, I know this. I’m sure back in the bullpin, Cal knows it too. Everybody in the entire universe might know it.

“You still look homeless in that outfit,” she seethes, and everybody knows it’s because she can’t think of anything else to say to me to mock me. She’s just defaulting back to an insult that doesn’t make much sense for plenty of reasons.

“You wore prostitution clothes for the stakeout, and I didn’t say anything.”

Blaise Shovelman spits out a sharp laugh. Quickly, his hands fly to his mouth to cover it up as a cough, but the damage is done. Celeste glares at him.

“Can we please be done, Officer Amora?” I ask, still determined to be as diplomatic as my Social Relations program is begging me to. “I need to join Detective Kennedy before we leave at 3pm. We’re taking a half day.”

“You have-”

I don’t bother for her to finish her sentiment before I start to walk away. I can hear some muffled words the farther I get, but I don’t actually care enough to register them.

Cal is sitting on his desk, on his phone. It makes me excited to see his keys in his hand. I’m actually going to be spending time with him outside of work, which could help improve our relationship and thus the chances of us solving cases. I’m also excited because apparently he actually got his car cleaned, and it’s going to smell just like a new one.

“Ready?” he asks without looking up.

“Yes,” I say. “Just Officer Amora giving me some trouble.”

“Feel free to run to my car and hide, Tin Fuck. I’ll be hiding right there with you.”

A slight smile graces my features, because when Detective Kennedy jokes like this, he makes me feel at ease. He has that effect on me, just be being his sarcastic self. I don’t think he even realizes it, but I admire how brave he is when it comes to social norms and just being social in general. He has no ‘Social Relations Program’. Or maybe he does, and he just chooses to ignore it every day. He talks back to Captain Ericson constantly, openly tells people he does not want to talk to them, and doesn’t even attempt to hide his rolling eyes and clever, biting words in conversations. It doesn’t matter how polite or kind you are to him- he is going to cuss or blow smoke in your face.

“This bag weighs approximately 16 pounds, what’s inside of it?” I question, hefting the bag in my right hand.

“Clothes,” Cal says mysteriously, still not looking up from his phone.

“How many clothes? We’re only staying for two nights.”

“I’ve packed the clothes I’ve packed. Go out to the car before I beat your ass.”

“Okey-Dokey,” I say cheerily. I get a better grip on the straps of the bag and carry it out to Cal’s car. While tomorrow is still scheduled to have Cal’s favorite type of weather, today is simply dry and cold and flat. There is a slight wind, but nothing overly harsh in the air. A few of the Seattle citizens have decided to wear their coats today, and I see three different women wearing the same one. They were most likely taking this as an opportunity to show off their new clothing.

I’ve never had to do that, though I guess I could do so on this trip. I don’t know what kind of clothes Cal has brought for me. An outfit for dinner and a set of pajamas maybe? I’m uncertain. My only choice is to trust Cal’s taste in fashion for me.

I open up the trunk and am immediately met with a variety of different smells. Some I find pleasant, others not so much. Still, the trunk of Cal’s car is clean and empty. I put the bag inside and close the latch. The door is locked, so I don’t have much other option than to stand at the ready for Cal to come out.

I don’t have to wait for too long, because he’s walking out of the building at 3:01. Still looking at his phone, he shoulders into someone entering the building. The man whips around, staring at Cal and waiting for an apology. And Cal, being my hero, just keeps walking and staring at his phone. It’s a glorious sight.

I hurry over to the trunk and open it again for him. Cal sticks his phone in his pocket and hefts his pack into the trunk. The shading of the outside makes the circles under his eyes more prominent, almost maroon or ash brown.

“You ready to go?” he says as he closes the trunk of his car.

“Correct.” I mirror Detective Kennedy in going to the car doors and waiting for the little click to show they’re unlocked. I in the passengers seat, he in the drivers, we close the doors. “You should put on your seatbelt,” I advise him.

The car begins to drive in reverse as we pull away from the parking lot. “And you should stop being so goofy looking, but you don’t hear me saying anything.”

Cal sighs as I look down, trying to stifle a smile. It’s not in my Social Relations Program to do this, it’s just something that’s coming naturally on my mechanical face. It must be because I’m spending so much time with humans and I’m adapting to their nature. I look away out the window as the corner of my lips fall into a soft upturn- one that not even Detective Kennedy could detect.

“Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” I ask. I turn back around to watch Cal, whose one hand is steady on the wheel while the other rests nonchalantly.

“Why would I want to talk about anything?”

“The drive to Spokane is around four hours,” I explain. “I thought maybe we could do something to pass the time?”

“You mean like just waiting for it to pass?” Cal quips sassily as he looks at me sharply. “What could an Android possibly have to talk about?”

My led goes yellow. I have over 9,000 topics to discuss in my memory.

“Are you excited for your birthday?” I ask cheerily.

Cal shrugs his shoulders. “Not really.” I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Luckily, Cal picks up on this and quickly adds to his words. “As you get older it just becomes less of a big deal, I guess.”

I process the information. “I’ve never had a birthday.”

“Really?” Cal questions. I can tell he means it when he glances over at me.

“Yes. What’s it like?”

“Well it’s… it’s like-” he cuts himself off as he struggles to find the words. The hand on the wheel clutches it tighter. “It changes each year, I guess.”

“What did you do last year?”

Cal’s expression darkens slightly. “Same as this year. Dinner with my father.”

I want to ask more, but something other than my social program tells me not to. I close my mouth and turn my attention back in front of me, out the windshield. We’re already at the edge of our district, and luckily scheduled for no traffic since it’s during the work day for most people.

I wonder what it’s like to have people worry about you.

Adelicia is my handler, of sorts. In truth, I am not even fully sure what she is to me or to Icarus. She has an affiliation with them, but for whatever reason her criminal record and occupation is blocked off from me. I only know that she appears in a virtual reality with me, and that she is more powerful than I and I answer to her.

But she doesn’t worry about me. And why would she? I’m a machine. Nothing more.

“What’s with the frown?” Cal questions next to me.

I don’t even realize it until he’s brought it up. “Sorry,” I say quickly.

Cal Kennedy glances at me. Eyebrows slightly creased together, lips parted- he’s concerned, maybe. High probability of thinking of me or something relating to me. “Hey, there should be something under your seat. Can you get it?”

“Alright,” I say. I double over in my seat and reach my right hand under my chair. I feel around for four seconds before my fingers graze against something. I grip it and pull it out. I turn it over in my hands, observing the object in my hand.

It’s a disk case. Square and plastic, the front of it is covered in a dark background with purple words printed onto it. ‘BLACK SABBATH, MASTERS OF REALITY’ never looked so solid to me.

Analyzing…

Title: Black Sabbath: Masters of Reality

Band: Black Sabbath

Genre: Rock, Metal, other

Length: 34:29

Label: Vertigo

Release Date: July 21st, 1971

“This came out approximately 43 years before you were born,” I say aloud, my eyes glued to the case.

“Yeah, best album. Put it in.”

I turn the album over in my hand a few times before opening it. Watching the iridescent lines swirl against the disk, I lean forward to stick it in the player next to the radio. Not many cars have that anymore.

We only have to wait 10 seconds before the first song starts to play. The electric guitar rings out throughout the car and Ozzy Osbourne calls out ‘Alright, yeah!’. Cal nods his head to the beat merrily.

Song: Sweet Leaf

He looks happy. I turn my head out the window while Cal sings along. He knows all the lyrics to the 5 minute song. I replay every little hum of his voice, every thrum that falls from his lips. I’ll keep it in my memory forever.

Software InStability ^

After 3 songs, Cal leans forward and turns the volume down a few notches. “So, you’ve listened to it now,” he says. I swear, he’s actually smiling naturally. “What do you think?”

My led goes yellow. “I think so,” I say. “It’s full of this… enjoyable energy.”

“I’m glad,” Cal grins. He turns the volume back up and we continue on our ride.

I watch him while the rest of the album plays on. He never misses a beat or a lyric. His sharp jaw compliments the smirk on his lips, the spark of charisma in his eyes. He’s almost unrecognizable. He’s so happy, moving, and alive in contrast to the exhausted, rough, and grump detective I know. Most people have come to hate him around the precinct in what they describe as a ‘record time’. But the air around him seems brighter when he sings and weaves along to the music. It’s like I’m being exposed to an entirely different being. I think I like it. It gives Cal more… what’s the word? Depth.

“What’re you looking at me for?” he asked after a while of my staring. He’s still smiling, so I know he’s in a good mood at least.

“Nothing,” I told him, still transfixed on his demeanor.

But the album ends eventually, and Cal takes the disk out of the player. It’s so sad to watch him do, because I know now he’ll go back to being so distant. I want him to be warm again. Not for me, but for himself.

We make polite conversation the rest of the ride, broken by long bouts of silence. It’s not uncomfortable- it’s normal between us. I ask Cal if there’s anything I should know about his father.

“He’s…” Cal’s grip on the wheel tightens so much, his knuckles pale. His heartrate increases and his pupils dilate momentarily. “A man.”

Very descriptive.

“What’re we going to do about your led, anyway?” Cal asks shortly after.

“I can hide it under my skin when we get there,” I explain.

“I didn’t know you could do that.”

“It’s an added feature that helps with being disguised. I’m the only model that can do it.”

Cal grunts in response.

“What about your brother?”

“Hm?”

I swallow, even though I don’t have to. “Your brother. You were very elusive about your father, so I’m asking if there’s anything I should know about your brother.”

“He’s an idiot.”

After that, I mostly pay attention to the driving. We drive through a road guided by large trees overhead. The autumn leaves fall in confetti pieces of auburn and tangerine around us. Mountains stand in the distance eerily. Depending on the way I face, I can see buildings and skyscrapers. And while I don’t think I enjoy the looming silence between Cal and I, it’s peaceful and calm.

Soon, the fall trees turn into highways. The highways turn into suburban neighborhoods. The neighborhoods turn into a house.

As we near 7 o’clock, Cal pulls the car over in front of one of the houses. It’s white and two stories tall, with a decorative wreath on the door. I can see little porcelain rabbits by the door on the porch, most likely covering a spare key. All the windows are covered by curtains that look vintage or something of the sort. Even from the outside, it still looks cozy.

“Stay here,” Cal orders while he turns off the engine.

“Where are you going?” I ask curiously.

I know Cal heard me, he just doesn’t answer. He opens the door, removes himself, and closes it. I watch him come around the side and saunter to front. He knocks, and a man opens the door after a moment.

The man resembles Cal somewhat. His figure is slightly obscured from where I sit, but I can make out that much at least. It’s something about the face shape. Despite that, the man is shorter than Cal, but far grumpier looking. Name: Arthur Kennedy

Date of Birth: August 2nd, 1980- Age 61

height: 5’8

Weight: 173 lbs

Race: European American

Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan

Occupation: Naval Officer, Accountant[Retired]

Family: Caroline Kennedy, Wife (Age 58, Deceased) James Kennedy, Son (Age 23), Callan Kennedy, Son (Age 26)

Finding Related Articles… Articles Found. Searching ‘Kennedy, Arthur’…

The exchange between the two doesn’t last long. There’s a few head nods, and then the door closes. I am not expecting this.

The pair didn’t even smile to each other. They didn’t hug or shake hands. It was like they were strangers instead of father and son.

“What did you do?” I ask when Cal hops back in his seat.

“Just told my dad we’re here.” He twists the key in the ignition and the car starts up again.

“We aren’t staying here?”

Cal scoffs. “God no.”

After that, he drives us to a hotel. It’s about 33 minutes away and the color of cream. It stands out against the black ink color of the sky, freckled with faint little stars.

However, it is not until we walk into the place that something in my circuits twitch. The man at the counter catches a glimpse of my led from under my cap. Cal asks him to make an exception, but the man refuses with malice. Cal flashes his badge at him. Cue the man hurrying to apologize and sending us on our way.

As Cal opens the door with the key, I feel happy that I came.

Software Instability ^

Taglist: @omg-we-really-doo

[I hope you’re having a good day, S]

#detroit become human #detroit: become human #detroit become human fanfiction #detroit: become human fanfiction #dbh #dbh fanfiction #fanfiction #story #android #androids #technology

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mirage-babey · 6 years

Text

Apex Legends - Hogwarts!AU

full character AU breakdowns under the cut

(will be updated as more details are thought of)

Bangalore

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Bravery, Daring, Nerve

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Fir wood, Dragon Heartstring core, 12 1/2”, Rigid flexibility

Fir: “Gerbold Octavius Ollivander always called wands of this wood ‘the survivor’s wand’, because he had sold it to three wizards who subsequently passed through mortal peril unscathed. There is no doubt that this wood, coming as it does from the most resilient of trees, produces wands that demand staying power and strength of purpose in their true owners, and that they are poor tools in the hands of the changeable and indecisive. Fir wands are particularly suited to Transfiguration, and favour owners of focused, strong-minded and, occasionally, intimidating demeanour.” [via Pottermore]

Dragon Heartstring: “As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Defence Against the Dark Arts

Patronus: White Stallion

“Those with the white stallion patronus possess a strong sense of self. It is difficult to convince them to turn away from personal beliefs or change who they are. Strength and durability in character make the white stallion especially formidable compared to the conjurers of other horse type patronus. However, those who wield the white stallion can often be provocative and rub people up the way.” [via patronusmeaning]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Wampus

Extra:

Gryffindor Quidditch Team Beater and Captain

Gryffindor Prefect

Actually pretty good at charms but that doesn’t quite live up to the rep she’s built so she keeps that on the downlow

Bloodhound

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Dedication, Loyalty, Fairness, a good finder

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Hornbeam Wood, Phoenix Feather core, 12”, Unbending flexibility

Hornbeam: “Hornbeam selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single, pure passion, which some might call obsession (though I prefer the term ‘vision’), which will almost always be realised. Hornbeam wands adapt more quickly than almost any other to their owner’s style of magic, and will become so personalised, so quickly, that other people will find them extremely difficult to use even for the most simple of spells. Hornbeam wands likewise absorb their owner’s code of honour, whatever that might be, and will refuse to perform acts – whether for good or ill – that do not tally with their master’s principles. A particularly fine-tuned and sentient wand.” [via Pottermore]

Phoenix Feather: “This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Care of Magical Creatures

Patronus: Crow

“The crow is a very well-known bird that some believe is an omen of dark magic, but the crow is very resourceful, ambitious, and cunning. Once they set a goal, they always seem to get what they’re after. Crows are also fearless. Regardless of what sort of creature they find in the way of their goal, they will do anything they can to overpower it. They are also very smart and have been observed using tools to achieve their means.” [via mugglenet]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Thunderbird

Extra:

Was a hatstall (in addition to their Hufflepuff nature, they demonstrate a few Slytherin traits too, particularly with their resourcefulness)

Hufflepuff Quidditch Team Seeker

Hufflepuff prefect.

Caustic

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Intelligence, Learning, Originality

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Walnut Wood, Dragon Heartstring core, 12 1/4”, Stiff flexibility

Walnut: “Highly intelligent witches and wizards ought to be offered a walnut wand for trial first, because in nine cases out of ten, the two will find in each other their ideal mate. Walnut wands are often found in the hands of magical innovators and inventors; this is a handsome wood possessed of unusual versatility and adaptability. A note of caution, however: while some woods are difficult to dominate, and may resist the performance of spells that are foreign to their natures, the walnut wand will, once subjugated, perform any task its owner desires, provided that the user is of sufficient brilliance. This makes for a truly lethal weapon in the hands of a witch or wizard of no conscience, for the wand and the wizard may feed from each other in a particularly unhealthy manner.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Potions

Patronus: Buzzard

“Those with the Buzzard are natural observers, rarely missing anything. Often less talkative but still involved in what happens around them. However, choosing to watch goings on and be less talkative does not mean they lack communication skills. Those with the Buzzard patronus have great communication skills and can be very persuasive.Those with the Buzzard are often goal orientated. They know what they want and will do anything to achieve it.Analytical, those with the Buzzard are often found thinking and can outsmart there way out of any problem.“ [via patronusmeaning]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Horned Serpent

Extra:

you’d think he was a Slytherin given how much time he spends in the dungeons

Gifted at Herbology, but he doesn’t actually have much interest it in - he’d rather show of his talents in Potions and DADA

Gibraltar

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Loyalty, Fairness, Dedication, Hardwork

Blood Status: Muggleborn

Wand: Rowan Wood, Unicorn Hair core, 13 1/2”, Reasonably Supple flexibility

Rowan: “Rowan wood has always been much-favoured for wands, because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and in my experience renders all manner of defensive charms especially strong and difficult to break. It is commonly stated that no dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand, and I cannot recall a single instance where one of my own rowan wands has gone on to do evil in the world. Rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure-hearted, but this reputation for virtue ought not to fool anyone – these wands are the equal of any, often the better, and frequently out-perform others in duels.” [via Pottermore]

Unicorn Hair: “Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Charms

Patronus: Buffalo

“Few possess just the right strength of character for their patronus to take the form of a buffalo. Those that do are dedicated individuals who are fiercely protective of those close to them, and not in a general way, either. Anyone foolish enough to attempt to harm another under a buffalo’s care is unlikely to come out unscathed. When all is well, they are placid but often outgoing, with strong personalities and who like having fun with those they bond to. However, going too long without contact with friends or family can lead to a buffalo feeling anxious or sad, and they will usually be at their best when sharing time with others. They are steadfast friends that enjoy being helpful and lending a hand to complete a task, or just making someone feel better.” [via patronusappreciation]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie

Extra:

Hufflepuff Quidditch Team Keeper and Captain

Head Boy

Always ready to lend a helping hand to younger students

The best to go down to Hogsmede with

Lifeline

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Ambition, Determination, Preservation, a certain disregard for the rules

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Aspen Wood, Unicorn Hair core, 11 1/2”, Surprisingly Swishy flexibility

Aspen: “The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Potions

Patronus: Chow Dog

“The loyalty tends to only extend to those they have chosen to bond with, and they are fiercely protective of these individuals. They don’t usually bond too well with just anyone and tend to be aloof around those they do not yet know well. Chows may also chafe under authority if those in charge do not suit their taste or if they think the person in charge doesn’t seem to be a good leader. As such, they can be very stubborn and strong-willed in the face of anything from a small argument to some great danger. When at rest, they’re generally easy-going people, but an occasional temper in those with a chow patronus definitely isn’t unheard of.” [via patronusappreciation]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie

Extra:

Helps out in the hospital wing

Stays at Hogwarts over the holidays because she’s not fond of her family’s views

Sometimes struggles with whether or not she actually likes being on Slytherin - one on hand, the traits and values match her, but on the other, the house was founded on the pureblood-beliefs she disagrees with

Mirage

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Intelligence, Wit, Creativity, Acceptance

Blood Status: Muggleborn

Wand: Spruce wood, Dragon Heartstring core, 13 1/4”, Reasonably Supple flexibility

Spruce: “It is quite true that it requires particular deftness to work with spruce, which produces wands that are ill-matched with cautious or nervous natures, and become positively dangerous in fumbling fingers. The spruce wand requires a firm hand, because it often appears to have its own ideas about what magic it ought to be called upon to produce. However, when a spruce wand meets its match – which, in my experience, is a bold spell-caster with a good sense of humour – it becomes a superb helper, intensely loyal to their owners and capable of producing particularly flamboyant and dramatic effects.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Charms

Patronus: Magpie

“Those with the Magpie patronus have an impressive mind. Although they may not seem it, conjurers of the magpie are often very intelligent. Perceptive, those with this patronus are often able to understand and process information exceedingly fast. Those with this patronus are the most intellectual of all. Another feature of those with this patronus is the ability to observe, this watchful nature allows people with the Magpie patronus to absorb information just by watching things happen around them.The downfall of those who conjure this patronus is that they can sometimes be willful and will not change their mind easily, sometimes this leads to disputes. However, this willful nature comes from the need to constantly be improving. Those with the magpie patronus strive for better.” [via patronusmeaning]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Thunderbird

Extra:

The youngest in his family, he’s also the only wizard - when he got the letter from Hogwarts, he was incredibly excited but felt guilty about leaving his mother as at the time his brothers were all beginning to move out

Incredibly talented at Charms, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy - he’s good at combining the muggle and wizarding worlds

Secretly enjoys creating his own spells.

Pathfinder

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Ambition, Fraternity, Determination, Resourcefulness

Blood Status: Halfblood

Wand: Vine wood, Unicorn Hair core, 12”, Whippy flexibility

Vine: “Vine wands are among the less common types, and I have been intrigued to notice that their owners are nearly always those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. Vine wands seem strongly attracted by personalities with hidden depths, and I have found them more sensitive than any other when it comes to instantly detecting a prospective match.” [via Pottermore]

Unicorn Hair: ��Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Muggle Studies

Patronus: St Bernard Dog

“Those with this patronus are playful and bright in character. To cast this patronus takes a large and loyal heart. People with this Patronus are typically thoughtful and committed. Once they pledge allegiance to someone, those who cast the st Bernard show true commitment to friends, family and lovers. Ever thoughtful, those who cast this patronus can seem in their own world. Those who cast the St Bernard are very positive and emotional, often warm and bright. Those with the St Bernard can sometimes be hurt easily by others but more often than not, offer a ray of sunshine in a dark world. Often adventurous, conjurers of this patronus are always looking for fun. Often following a quest all of their own.“ [via patronusmeaning]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Thunderbird

Extra:

Grew up with his muggle mother, never met his wizard father

Aims to succeed in hopes that one day he will find his father

Slytherin Quidditch Team seeker

Wraith

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Self-preservation, Cunning, Determination, Resourcefulness, a certain disregard for the rules

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Silver Lime wood, Phoenix Feather core, 11”, Unyielding flexibility

Silver Lime: “This unusual and highly attractive wand wood was greatly in vogue in the nineteenth century. The reasons for these wands’ desirability lay not only in their unusually handsome appearance, but also because they had a reputation for performing best for Seers and those skilled in Legilimency, mysterious arts both, which consequently gave the possessor of a silver lime wand considerable status.” [via Pottermore]

Favourite Class: Defence Against the Dark Arts

Patronus: Adder

“Serpents in general are often seen as wise, as well as symbols of healing or change, and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. To have a snake represent any part of you is very powerful indeed. Those that associate with the serpent tend to be wise and cunning individuals, known for being both sympathetic and beautiful. Adders in particular are very intuitive about people and situations, and may have a healthy sense of foresight. Adders tend to have very good self-control and are able to accurately judge things as they happen.” [via patronusappreciation]

[alternatively] Ilvermorny House: Wampus

Extra:

Unaware of her blood status as she doesn’t know her parents - she was abandoned at a young age [they thought she may be a squib and couldn’t have that], and though she initially viewed Hogwarts as a place to find answers, it’s grown into a place she finds refuge

Really talented at apparition. her favourite class is DADA, but her best class is Divination, in which her grades are almost supernaturally good

A fairly decent Legilimens, though it’s not a talent she’s necessarily proud of.

#apex legends #my post #apex hogwarts!au #bangalore #bloodhound #caustic #gibraltar #lifeline #mirage #pathfinder #wraith

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venus-says · 5 years

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Aikatsu Friends! Episodes 58-63

Smiles are the seeds that bloom into flowers of happiness.

Me? Posting Aikatsu again? Oh boy, I think I’m sick. XD

Okay, jokes aside, aikatsu is back in the blog. I promise I still like aikatsu, the thing is, the subs come out very late and I kinda forget about it because I have stuff to do, and since doing these without subs ain’t the best idea (you gonna see why in a minute) the episodes end up pilling up. I’m a mess, sorry. XD

But anyway we got a lot to cover so let’s get going.

Episode 58 is the start of the Sorbet Kingdom ark.

So to starters, I have to apologize. I always very mad about the whole borders situation last time I did this mostly because I thought Sorbet was like an entire country and what they’ve shown us was just the capital, but from this episode is clear that this isn’t the case. Sorbet is either a city-state or a microstate, pretty much like what Monaco is (the difference being Monaco doesn’t have a king, when sorbet has one), so denying their visa wouldn’t do much since they were traveling to another country that has free passage to Sorbet. So I’m sorry.

Now back to the episode itself, I think they went a bit overboard with how Alicia treated the girls. I’m not saying that she should receive them with open arms and everyone be happy forever, but when you have a scene of she coldly saying that they should fuck off and in the next scene she says to let them use rooms from the castle it gives mixed signals and it just seems dumb. I think they should either had toned her coldness in the first scene and denying Hibiki in a less rash way or make Charles find another place in town to put the girls and be something like “my sister doesn’t want you all here, but I know she’s in pain and I wanna help so I’m gonna sneak you guys to X place”, either option would’ve worked better.

That little flashback about the kingdom was nice, but I don’t think it had a lot of purpose. I think it serves to show Hibiki why Alicia went back to her country and never went to meet her again, but seeing that their relationship was already going places via their text messages and phone calls, it’s odd that this was never brought up by Hibiki or Alicia. I must say for a show about friendship, people in this universe don’t seem to talk to each other at all and is just weird.

The performance... it was okay, I guess. I still don’t know why they had to perform the most basic song in their most basic outfit but I really don’t care that much. What I’m more curious about, as someone who lives in a country where snow isn’t a thing, is can you actually make a stage out of snow and have people stand on top of it without the whole thing collapsing? XD Friends from the northern hemisphere, please tell me.

One last thing before we move on, CHARLES IS ADORABLE AND HE’S THE BESTEST BOY EVER AND I WANNA HUG HIM TILL HIS OUT OF BREATHE. Thank you. XD

I kinda wanna skip talking about Episode 59, because I don’t have a lot to say about the episode itself and all I have in my mind is Mirai’s performance because that’s the only interesting thing this episode has going on for itself.

Like, LMT is there and that’s nice (even though I don’t see why they traveled separated from the main group), I didn’t really understand the whole evol ustakia thing (but those three sisters were a lot of fun), and I honestly didn’t see the point of having Tamaki flashing here and there having troubles just to upload a video.

That final scene with Hibiki and Alicia was nice, we got a little bit of the jeweling dresses lore and a lovely moment of Hibiki promising that she’ll bring everyone’s smiles back. But that’s not enough to hold the episode high.

Mirai’s performance does lift things up a bit, Nice na to meet you is an A M A Z I N G song and it was very refreshing to see something new (which for some reason it seems to be a very rare thing for friends!). This reveal could’ve been more impactful if the opening hadn’t spoiled Mirai’s dress? I believe yes. But even that can’t take away the positives of this performance that was, without a doubt, the highlight of the episode.

While 59 was meh Episode 60 was kinda good, I quite enjoyed this one, I dare to say this is the best one of this ark.

This episode goes hard on the emotional side, we all know this is the first time in the Aikatsu series we see a character die, and it is a very strong scene. Sadly it seems that all of the emotional parts were focused only on the flashbacks and they forgot of bringing this to the present a little bit.

Like, in the present we see more of Alicia’s struggle on trying to be a good ruler for the people and the country she loves while still wanting to do Aikatsu, but everything is still very undertoned. We know she didn’t want to stop Aikatsu but she had to because in her mind that was the correct thing to do, but we don’t see that being verbalized or acted in the present, we see glimpses of it which is interesting, but we could’ve seen more of that.

The main conflict of this episode works just fine, and I like how Tamaki deals with the situation, but when they pull out a kotatsu out of nowhere they lose me in that scene, like how’s that supposed to work outside? Aren’t those things electric? Where are they plugging it in????? C’mon people. I’d like much more to see more of Alicia, maybe she talking to Charles about her duties and everything so that we can see in her the desire to do Aikatsu again rather than the kotatsu scene (even though Mirai’s impression of Aine was really fun to watch).

Seeing Hibiki perform is always great, but seeing Alicia asking Hibiki to perform holds more meaning and is one of those glimpses that I mentioned that I wish we could’ve seen more. Regardless is still great and the moment when Hibiki reassures her promise to Alicia from the last episode just crown up this episode as a good one, despite its flaws.

Loose notes from the episode: Hibiki and Mirai’s competition was fun, I like Karen being the one who gets to win even though she wasn’t competing; the three sisters again are a treat like always; Charles remains the goodest boy ever and I want a plushie of him; and to top it all we got to see Honey Cat for a little bit so we know at least someone in the writing team didn’t forget they exist so, points for this episode.

Episode 61 is the polemic one.

So, the first time I saw this episode I watched it without subs and I watched it alone without watching the 3 episodes past. And at that moment it worked for me, it seemed like a good resolve for this mini-ark.

But watching now with the subs I don’t like it as much.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love Alicia’s performance and the moment she and Hibiki reconciliate is pretty good. I also appreciate having more lore in the Jeweling dresses, I feel like we desperately need a lot more info on them because so far they all just seem like a gimmick and they don’t have a purpose or reason to exist at all so any bit of info we get I’m happy.

HOWEVER.

This episode has a massive throwback, everything on this episode was build upon a lie. I get that Mio’s suggestion was supposed to be a “white lie”, a lie that causes no harm. But that doesn’t work when you make AN ENTIRE CITY LIE and tells them TO PRETEND THEY’RE LIVING AN EXPERIENCE THAT CAN GET THEM DEAD just to make their princess sing and dance on a stage. This is so selfish and so wrong. *sigh* I don’t even want to continue talking about this. Let’s just move on.

Episode 62 is a good change of pace after the low point that 61 was.

Yeah, it was silly. I have a lot of questions about how Love Me Tear got there earlier than the other, and what was the point of the frogs, and how they didn’t give much of a reaction to knowing about Karen’s house when none of them went there before.

But I’m okay with all of that because this episode was very sweet and it was good seeing the “side” girls get some attention. And how good of a combination that Reflect Moon and Wakaba was, I’m legitimately surprised I wasn’t expecting this to work so well, but they formed a very good group to follow around for this period of time.

Having two performances on this episode was a cheap move probably to fill up time but you know what? I’m not complaining. I’m just glad I got to clear my pallet from the terrible after taste last episode left in my mouth.

Episode 63 was nice. I like that they had an episode to reintegrate Alicia in the idol world. Sadly the episode had to share space with Karen's plot that wasn't as strong and interesting and makes a potentially great episode become just a regular one in the end.

And this time I'm being true to my words when I say I don' have anything else to comment about this episode. Like, Karen's dress looks good and her song is nice as well, but I like her old ones better. I don't see the point of Karen hiding to read her fan mail in the middle of the night. And most of Alicia's adapting process was very fun but there's not a lot there to create a conversation on my eyes.

Like, my brain didn't have a lot of work going on while I was watching it, it was a nice watch to just space out a bit while I was thinking in the job application I just dropped in the mayor's office today. I'm sorry if I wasn't as invested in this one as I was for the other ones I promise to dedicate myself more next time FOR THE HONEY CAT EPISODE THAT I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT. See ya~ XD

#Aikatsu Friends!#aikatsu

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this-is-a-witty-url · 6 years

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the great reylo fanfiction apocalypse 2018 part 25.4

the moral of the story that i have taken from the great reylo fanfiction apocalypse 2018 part 25 is that i don’t know how some of these kids survive in enc1102 or ap english comp.

their general consensus is that ‘fanfiction shouldn’t be criticized’ and the whole point of literature, no matter what medium it is in, is that it is open for interpretation and through interpretation comes criticism. that means that even if the author ‘does not want criticism, only praise’ for their work, the fact that they have posted their work on a public forum and have enabled comments on their piece automatically means they have opened themselves up to both criticism and praise.

whether they take it amicably and maturely is a whole another ball game. but for this writer here, nah. she’s trash.

moving on~

literally using the ‘rick and morty’ meme as a basis of argument to deflect the problems in a story is just down right fucking h i l a r i o u s.

and while historical, the writer has no idea how interracial marriages work or how racial tensions impacted interracial marriages. so to defend a historically inaccurate trashheap and tell poc that they are absolutely wrong about the way she has approached the sensitive issue is also f u c k i n g hilarious.

there’s nothing in the trash story that even remotely connects to any interracial issues that either character experiences in the story. in fact, the only line that remotely brings up the issue of interracial struggles is some brief one-liner,

faux!Finn and faux!Rey‘s marriage works until faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes decides to torment and sexually assault her repeatedly. When faux!Rey finds out that faux!Finn is having an affair with her friend faux!Roase, she is angry and resentful to both. faux!Finn then leaves faux!Rey for faux!Rose, but not before faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes brutally murders him and rapes faux!Rey.

faux!Rey’s entitlement here is one of the many problems that run rampant in this shitfest. the issue of an interracial marriage is treated so carelessly and the flimsiness of the events leading up to this so called ‘divorce’ in order to get faux!Finn out the picture so faux!Rey can become faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes sex toy is the reason why POCs are pissed off with this story.

not once does evil-shenanigans ever once tackle the race issue or struggle of race in her story. it is not once a driving factor, but suddenly out of the blue, time spent at a bunch of protests and rallies is enough to set them off. and when faux!Finn, a black man, declares that he feels marginalized in his marriage because he feels that his white wife is hiding him of his race, faux!Rey immediately rejects him and declares that in this instance she is right.

it doesn’t matter what he thinks because she sacrificed her little white privileged world to be with a black man.

this is white entitlement. this is the reason why a town in florida in 1920 was burned down to the ground and it’s citizens murdered and lynched. because a white woman suddenly felt affronted by a black man.

now, of course, faux!Rey does not run to faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes and sets up a murder pact. in fact, it’s far more disgusting than that as i described earlier, but the mishandling of the interracial issue is why people are upset and to dare call this historically accurate is a fucking joke.

the rest of the story is just pure snuff trash with faux!rey being physically and sexually assaulted for multiple chapters on end, faux!poe being complicit and faux!hux accompanying faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes on their walmart brand clockwork orange tour of a rape and pillaging (faux!Hux brutally rapes and murders faux!Rose for no other reason).

and don’t get me started on how offensive it is to use mental illness as a deflection for problematic behavior.

racism is the last fucking problem with this story. the biggest offense to this thing is taking established characters to forcefully twist and deconstruct them into empty husks with the names that happen to be the same as the star wars characters. this is not a fanfiction. it is an original work that is written by someone who is trying to seek validation from a fandom that quite honestly does not need it. darkfic can be written in a way that does not sacrifice the integrity of the source material.

there are a shit ton of novels that focus entirely on psychological and physical harm. a clockwork orange, the hannibal series of books, stephen king’s it (and many others), the handmaid’s tale, to name some. there are also stories that cover the issue of race and sexual abuse such as the color purple, beloved, the joy luck club, etc. not to mention a decade of films just dedicated to vigilantism brought upon by a violent sexual act such as the death wish movie series and shows focused on criminal profiling like netflix’s mindhunter (good show btw do recommend).

so no one is saying that rape and murder and race can not be talked about. it is the way in which it is presented. but there is a point and time where things just go too far. stephen king got a lot of shit for writing a multi-page graphic orgy scene between 11 year old kids in his book, “it”, and it is never included in any film adaptation for a reason. the rapists and murders in most stories are never glorified and usually end up either dying in the end, suffering by the hands of their victim, or put away for good.

but when it comes to fanfiction there’s just lines in the sand that shouldn’t be crossed. star wars is one of those IPs where stories like this just don’t fit. if this was a hannibal fanfic or a mr. robot fanfic or an IP that actually touches upon and has characters with those tendencies, then it makes sense to go this deep and write a story covering those topics. but this trash here is not star wars. it’s not in character. it’s not even remotely trying to even come off as a star wars fanfic.

faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes is not kylo ren of the star wars franchise. he is a made up character from another world that was once named Nikolai Gunther. faux!Rey is a woman named Adel Pathsia. these characters do not represent nor belong in the star war fanfiction universe.

if you wanna know how the story ends, its all right here under her fiction press account. spoiler alert, faux!Kylo with the Green Eyes is going to impregnate faux!Rey in the last chapter.

and apparently they have two kids that are also fucked up and then there’s a third part but i can’t be bothered.

basically, there’s a bunch of white knights defending rape and racism and that’s why there’s so much trash on ao3 and why people like malovent-reveire/evil-shenanigans can get away with literally copying and pasting their original novels by just switching a few names. fanfiction is not original fiction. the two do not belong together. if people wanna write original fiction, then write original fiction but keep chewbaca out of it.

thanks for coming to my ted talk.

#reylo #long post #sorry folks #imma cut this later

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lil-miss-methodical · 7 years

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Black Panther Review Articles 3

May contain spoilers

“Just because something works, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”

Shuri: Young, vibrant and intelligent -> the Carefree One Shuri is easily a favorite. Every character had a part to play and Shuri’s the one of untampered youth. She wasn’t naive, or even childish. Know the world, it’s history and being responsible for the technological aspects of her people’s livelihood kinda pushes those concepts away. But her brother has been able to keep her shelter from danger, from the harshness of life as much as possible and so while she has great capabilities and task she remains this breath of freshness. She’s a jokester, choosing her brother as her victim whenever possible. It’s her easy excitable nature that makes her so enjoyable- she just as intelligent if not more so than Tony Stark but has nothing of his flaws of grandeur. Her skills are amazing and she knows it but she never comes with a vibe of I’m better than you because I’m more intelligent. In fact get her to talking about her tech and she because more alive. In the film she’s allowed this carefree vibe that allows the production to present black youth as it is in social standings - you get amazing lines from her like the ‘what are those’ throwback.

“I am loyal to the throne, no matter who sits on it.”

Okoye: Controlled, powerful and responsible -> the Resilient One A lot of people claim to hate the strong black woman trope - toting dangers to nature forgetting that that trope actually was born from the many women who had to become resilient to their circumstances. The danger is not a strong black woman but the world that expects her to only just. Okoye is defined as strong not because she’s capable of maintaining her own in battle, but because she’s of conviction. She vows to do and so she does. Strength is sometimes simply being and or doing even when you don’t want to. A woman can be strong without being a stone wall of impenetrableness and the film never intended to write her as such. Easily on we’re introduced to her other sides, the teasing side, the side that considers her King a friend despite the boundaries that would normal eliminate such feelings. The soft edges of love. Although you bet your ass I’m here for the concept of her standing for her values no matter what and man literally dropping to his knees before her in repentance.

“It was my duty to fight for what I love.”

Nakia: Stubborn, determined and self confident -> the Willful one Nakia was everything weak people complain about (def men) - stubborn, opinionated, knowing of her own worth, determined and focused on her own desires and goals. These traits that black women are often faulted for having were not at all considered bad in Nakia. In fact they were her strengths and the exact thing that saved not only T'Challa but Wakanda itself. She the so call elusive woman, unpredictable and free but they don’t pull a pin up on her. They don’t make her overly sexual or seductive. They don’t overwhelm her presence with feminine whiles. She’s not there to be served on a platter to the Black Panther. Instead their chemistry is genuine. Old relations where the flame hasn’t died. She’s his confidant and his voice of reasons many times.

The ladies of Wakanda are beautiful and important because they are the reason Wakanda stands. Through the intelligence of technology, the strength of presence and the nature of determination. It’s Shuri’s creative mind that Wakanda’s foundation resides upon - the same technology they all depend on even in battle. Okoye leads the Dora in protection of the throne, its her single audacity to stand for that throne despite her own heart that stops the battle on the field. Nakia is a spy that has to adapt to every situation she’s placed in - and we see that strength constantly. It’s Nakia’s voice of reason that brings the white guy back that later stopped all their weapons from leaving. It’s her sense of right and determination that gets Shuri and the Queen from the hall - Erik would’ve killed them just because their loyalty is to T'Challa. It’s Nakia’s daring nature that puts T'Challa back in the power of the Black Panther. Wakanda would not still be standing as is without these brave women.

The film doesn’t tell you that these women are outstanding…they show you.

People say the women stole the show but that’s because they don’t understand the women were the show. T'Challa may be the King but they weren’t afraid to represent everyone else. They weren’t afraid to shine on those around him. I think people should understand this push of - all our people are important. The writers intention of show all sides of black people as we’ve never been shown. They showed you who all the characters were - that’s rare. Only the main leads get that treatment in most projects. But we know for us - black Panther was a chance to here about us and they took that opportunity. These black women - the carefree, the resilient, willful ones - they’re often bad mouth in real life, people ability to see only their flaws knows no bounds and yet the movie presents you with only their best.

These women were different from one another, they all surround the King for one reason or another but none stand within his shadow. They’re their own people and bring their own skills to the table.

Fashion and other important elements when it comes to women: The fashion was so on point with these ladies and it was not about the greedy eyes of men, it was not about the female form being sexualized. These women were not here to be anyone’s eye candy. They were beautiful just because they were. One of my favorite moments is in the beginning when Okoye tells T'Challa not to freeze when he sees Nakia and you automatically expect her to be decked out looking made up but when we actually get the first shot of her she’s in regular garb and has a head wrap on and yet T'Challa is still floored. It was a nice way to lead with the messgae that a black woman in her normal state is still beautiful. We were all pleased that they cast a dark skinned woman in such a role. They let her hair out and kept her in the wear. The clothing of the female guards are not fleshy and pretentious - in fact - when they tell Nakia to put on the outfit the words that were used was - its armor.

Danai is someone we’ve seen in this kind of role. Her work in The Walking Dead has exposed us all to seeing her in this kind of form - but, the difference with Black Panther is we get to celebrate her type of beauty. You have these women who walk around bald and they’re proud of it, they prefer it. I’ve said once that all women should cut their hair off at least once - because the experience of walking around in a world they thinks they get to decide what your hair should be and taking that away from them in every aspect is a powerful thing and has the ability to shoot your confidence sky high (trust I’ve done it twice). There’s nothing wrong with a woman without hair. She was more beautiful when she took off the wig and threw it at her opponent. We get to see Danai in this gorgeous flowing red dress that just looks like vengeance as she jumps from the upper floor.

My favorite wear came from Shuri though! Such diversity in her wear and yet none overly topping who her character was supposed to be. She rocked the braids but they showed just how fucking changeable that hair is. She rocked the solo bun, the double buns, the half up ponytail, the cropped back with the design - and it was a nice one too! She had the all white with the dress and sneaks, the belly design top, and then she had the nerve to be all decked out for battle! Y'all know she had that already prepped on the low rih? She just knew they were gonna need her on the battle field on day. She had her own weapons prepped and with accessories. It’s difficult to come better than Shuri - she was smart, funny, brave, and a fashionista all in her own right.

The film didn’t balk on showing these women’s greatness while not using it as a peepshow.

Woman can be deadly in anything. They can be gorgeous in any state. And more importantly they hold the autonomy to their own being.

Casting:

I love this whole cast - I’ve said it since the casting list was released. Letitia Wright was a new face for me. I’ve only seen her in one other production and that was Black Mirror - and I was super hyped afterwards because she is so phenomenal. She def the breakout queen, the love people have for her after Shuri will hopefully propel her career because she’s got it. seeing her and Chadwick play ff one another as siblings was one of the best elements to the entire movie. Shuri is one of the best things in the entire movie if we’re to be frank. She meshed into this character, slid into them shoes as though they were her own.

It has def felt like Lupita has been killing the game recently and she deserves it. She just brings so much light and fun with her. I think a lot of us look up to her confidence and her nature to not back down in this world thats hardly ready for a woman like her. I felt like she had been waiting to play this role. Like I said before - its imperative for women like her to be presented with roles such as these. Its only then that you can see theres no difference and we can deliver just like everybody else.

Danai has been my love since she first walked onto the screen In The Walking Dead. Seeing her kickass, seeing her being emotional, seeing her being so predominate in fandom was just exciting. So when I heard she was getting cast for this I was ecstatic. You cannot go wrong with this woman. I feel like she does so well because even with cast mates its not a competition for her, its not about outshining or outdoing. She just has this presence and she brings that to her characters.

I’m happy they went with these women. If they make a part 2 I demand they bring them all back!

#black panther #women of wakanda #shuri #nakia #okoye #letitia wright #lupita nyong'o #danai gurira #reviews #black panther review articles #part 3 #movies #spoilers #marvel

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