#I love that it's revenge for real. I love it. She is terrible (appreciative) and she actually has a point | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dollypopup · 1 year

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colin should 'suffer' for penelope

aka: 5 short reasons why wanting colin to 'suffer' or 'grovel' or whatever other bullshit this fandom keeps pulling is stupid and makes no sense and should have been buried ages ago, how is this still a thing?

1: it sets a terrible and unhealthy dynamic between an endgame couple

especially considering Polin's motif is that of a mirror, if Colin is expected to grovel or suffer for Penelope's affection and forgiveness, it only stands to reason that Penelope then, too, would have to reciprocate. how Penelope treats Colin's ills is setting the precedent for how he's expected to handle her own against him, of which there are many. giving him the cold shoulder, holding what he said over his head and rubbing it in his face, potentially not even explaining why she's upset at him: these are not signs of a mature woman ready for a marriage to ANYONE

2: Colin's slights against Penelope are considerably less harmful than Penelope's against Colin's and it makes no narrative sense for her to be on her high horse about it

'he ruined her prospects' 'he talked about her behind her back' 'he laughed at her' (we don't even know if that one's true, frankly speaking)

but Penelope did the exact same to him and she did so first. Please remember that Penelope is the reason Colin and Marina broke up, and it was her express goal the entire time. Penelope humiliated Colin and Marina both by exposing them publicly (not to mention rubbed the salt into the wound for days afterward). Penelope didn't even think about Colin's feelings because she tried to confess her crush on him immediately after his engagement went poof. Penelope holding Colin accountable for what he said without herself recognizing the ways in which she's hurt him, too, makes her out to be a hella hypocrite

3: it's weirdly catholic on main?

love isn't about suffering points or penance or guilt and i'm tired of Christianity pervading every damn thing. sorry not sorry, some of us want an actually fulfilling love story

4: y'all are just mad Colin didn't love Penelope back from jump and it's a revenge fantasy

which, fine, that's what fanfic is for, but it's OOC, y'all are aware of that, right? because if he DID want her from the start, we all know that it wouldn't be Polin? why are you shipping a friends to lovers ship if you INSIST that the friends to lovers dynamic is less than? guess what? unreciprocated love is kind of part of the deal. you don't hold a grudge against your friend for not loving you back immediately. Colin shows he cares about Penelope in SO MANY WAYS that somehow are completely invalidated because it isn't meant to be romantic? imma say it: fuck you if you think that way. friendships are important and beautiful and deep and fulfilling with or without romance. Colin sticking his neck out for Penelope to help her family from Jack's scheme? an act of love. Colin sending Penelope letters after her father passed? act of love. Colin telling Penelope she's 'really very good' and holding her hand in appreciation of her coming to talk to him? act of love. if you think those acts of love mean nothing just because he isn't fucking her seven ways to sunday, maybe analyze your own viewpoint of relationships and ship Pen w/ some random stranger who makes heart eyes at her tits from jump

5: it makes Penelope an asshole to her own long term partner

dude, if a friend of mine insisted I crawl on hands and knees to determine whether they want me back in their lives, i don't want to be around that person? so many of these narratives make Penelope a straight up terrible person. if you want your partner to suffer? you probably don't actually like them very much, but Polin is narratively MEANT to be the couple that likes AND loves one another. be real, if your friend ghosted you for months, gave you the cold shoulder when you tried to talk again, treated you like shit (you can't argue that him 'suffering' isn't treating him like shit in some way shape or form) as you tried to apologize, and then you find out that she was the reason you and your ex broke up and she wrote straight up nasty things about your family for YEARS, you would want absolutely nothing to do with that friend. why should Colin be expected to be any different? do these two not deserve a lovely love story built on love and affection and trust and honesty? a healthy happy relationship in which they see one another and appreciate one another for all they are? no? so why do you ship them?

+1: it's oversaturated in this fandom

polin is a fantastic ship. how is THIS their main trope?

find a new fucking idea, PLEASE

#polin #penelope featherington #colin bridgerton #dude i have so many more #it's OOC for both of them #it strips colin of his character (and let's be real this fandom has proven they don't give a shit about him anyway)#it continues to open the door for weird crack and sideships this fandom is strangely obsessed with #why is it weird that when i say i ship Polin i mean i ship POLIN #like. . .exclusively. as my otp. i don't give a SHIT about your dumb pen/oc or whatever bullshit crackship y'all pulled out your arses #it's BORING #there are at least five other people ahead of colin who should be apologizing for their actions to their love interest #like. . .you do realize one them literally almost married his wife's sister yes????#what exactly does colin have to 'grovel' for?#'oh the groveling gentleman is a popular trope and colin and penelope are a good match for it'#when anthony is RIGHT THERE????#on a meta level it's been noticed for ages that polin doesn't have any or very little love for Colin #there are other ships that step to BAT for their couples and we're here constantly shitting on half our OTP #you don't have to put down one half of your ship to make the other half desirable #they literally live a love story #OBVIOUSLY he's gonna make her feel desirable #without having to be treated poorly whilst doing so #could i just shut up about this dumb trope? maybe so #but i am first and foremost: a hater

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liminalpebble · 2 years

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The Refugee: Chapter 32

Masterlist link

CW: Self-harm and suicidal ideation. Themes of torture and trauma. Please read at your own discretion. Minors DNI

Lenora lost all sense of time in her dark cell.

It might have been days or weeks. At odd intervals, food and water would be passed through by unseen hands, and retrieved again at some other odd interval. She drank, but it was hard to eat. She didn't particularly mind the darkness, or her shackles, or how it was always just a little too cold, or that there was nothing to do. After a lifetime of persistence, the refugee had to admit that she had no place left to flee to, nothing to accomplish, and didn't fight the surrender or the emptiness. Every now and then she would wonder with vague curiosity what his next move would be. The only twinge of real feeling left in her, was loving worry over if Magnus would remain safe, since Loki could do a good deal worse than he had done if he chose. The little Morhari woman, the dark lady who had risen from the ashes to gain power and then lost it all once again, simply sat, resigned to the black cloud of unknowing.

---

Loki sat at his desk, reviewing reports of the war's progress, satisfied to see that they were still making enormous victories. The Jotun seemed to have been betting on a windfall of some sort which never came their way, and in their diversion, his generals took the advantage. Loki shook his head disapprovingly. He saw the Heksejotun as unpredictable secretive cultists, and thought Laufey a fool to rely so heavily upon them. The emperor told himself that he ought to be happy about his victories; in the war, and over Lenora, but he wasn't. In both cases he had done well to take advantage of the other parties' hesitation. That wasn't a very satisfying way to win, though in character for him; the god of all things underhanded. The victories felt diminished and so did he. He felt lonelier than ever, here at the top of everything.

He sighed, wishing she could know the other side of why he did what he did; the broad scope of his reasons. It was ruthless, terrible, and cruel, certainly. He was furious and did want revenge, towards her...towards them both, but that wasn't the whole of it. Maybe eventually he could tell her. Maybe she would understand in time.

The kindly, gray-haired medic who had comforted Lenora took a deep fortifying breath and tapped politely on Loki's study door. The king perked up, surprised to have a visitor come to his office. He thought, huh...odd for someone to visit here, even more rare since...he couldn't bear to finish the thought, so he simply raised his eyes and said “Enter.”

The poor woman was clearly nervous, so he tried some smiling charm, hoping to put her at ease.

“Good day, Your Highness,” she said in a soft, concerned voice.

“Likewise, doctor. What can I do for you?”

“Uh..sire...your...the prisoner. The one in the dark cell...”

Loki considered her with a practiced neutrality, then pretended to glance around at his work as he spoke. “Yes, doctor, I know of whom you speak. What of her?”

“I'm concerned, sir. She's barely eating. She can't even be heard moving around the cell. She probably needs a bath and some medical attention by now.”

Loki sighed. The poor doctor. It must have taken her so much courage to approach him like this.

“I see. Thank you for your report. I think the time has come for me to intervene. I appreciate your concern.” Loki smiled yet again, trying to reassure the woman, and then dismissed her. Letting out a long sigh, he dropped his stylus a bit more aggressively than he intended.

----

Lea heard the voices and footsteps coming towards her down the hallway. They were saying “Sire” and “Highness” making it crystal clear who was striding toward her cell. She didn't feel fear. She didn't stand up. She didn't do anything except wrap her arms more tightly around her knees. The king's smooth voice said, “Show me the girl.”

A guard said, “Sire, before we do I must warn you that she will probably not be in an appealing state. Would you not rather have her...tidied up...and then sent to you.”

“I said, show me the girl!”

“Yes, Sire.”

The walls turned transparent again and a blinding light flashed into her cell. She sat with her eyes squeezed shut, sparks of pain shooting through her head.

Loki's breath hitched at what he saw. Her skin, usually a warm olive hue, had drained to a sallow jaundiced color. Her usually round cheeks and buxom body seemed sunken, diminished. Limp, unwashed hair hung over her shoulders. She didn't move to get up, and he wondered if she was physically able to. He thought he had braced himself enough to see her like this. He had not. It would have been easier to have her “tidied up” as the guard suggested; sent her to him wrapped up like a pretty gift with all signs of damage erased. No, he thought, That wouldn't do. He owed it to her to at least face the extent of the devastation he had orchestrated. This sense of accountability, he realized reluctantly, was a lesson she had taught him. Loki recalled the day the Vanir pleaded for his help against the corrupt Laufeyson governors, and how the two of them had argued. Her words still stung and rung in his head, skewering him with guilt (a fairly new, but frequent sensation for him in the last year).

You didn't listen, Loki. You didn't want to hear it so you made sure nobody told you, or if they did, you wouldn't have to listen or care.

And...

Pretty words from you, Silver-tongue. Always such pretty words and promises. It almost makes one forgive and forget the awful things you actually end up doing.

Lea was too skeptical to forgive and forget his sins. She hadn't then. She definitely wouldn't now.

“Lenora,” he said. It felt strange to call her by her name, this creature who barely resembled his Lenora; the Lenora who brought him to his knees, to tears, with her brave confrontations. “Come closer.”

She got up slowly, stiffly, and moved towards him, shackles clinking. As she moved towards the force field, he could see that though her eyes were mostly hollow and dark, there was the tiniest bit of challenge in them; a ghost of his Lenora. It was as if she were saying, Satisfied? knowing that he wasn't, mocking him. “I presume you've learned your lesson, Lenora...done your penance? I'm going to remove your shackles and take you out of this cell. I don't think they will be necessary since, I needn't remind you, Magnus' continued safety and happiness depend upon your obedience. Correct?”

She nodded.

He glared at her. “You will use words to address me, Lenora...polite ones.”

“Yes, Sire,” she said, and the sound of her dry, rough, unused voice unsettled him.

The barrier dropped and the guards removed her shackles. Loki gestured for her to come with him, and she followed without a word, like a gruesome but demure ghost. He took her up the back staircases. Punishing her was enough, he would at least preserve her dignity in front of the rest of the citadel. Parading their future queen in this state would be distasteful, he decided.

In the private medical room where she had awakened, the medics worked on her. Some were visibly shocked by her state. They communicated sly silent disapproval of their king's cruelty through sidelong glances to each other. It needled him, how similar they were to Magnus' disapproving looks. Loki noticed the crossfire of their unspoken messages but chose to ignore it. What did it matter what they thought of his methods? He told himself he didn't care.

He sat by as they healed the stiffness in her joints, the ache in her muscles, the sensitivity of her eyes. They infused her with nutrients to turn her skin back to the right color, though it was too early to force her to eat more. When they had patched her up as best they could, they were startled to hear the mute creature speak. She said, “Thank you” and gave them a kind smile. They nodded and smiled back to her, all of them wordlessly condemning the inhumanity their leader had subjected her too, but unable to say so.

Before she knew it, she was following Loki up the back staircases again. She was a bit disoriented, having never traveled through the castle via this route and was surprised when the door opened to the emperor's private bath house. She remembered the first time she'd visited this glittering lagoon. It was a kindness from him, an apology, and she felt kindly towards him that day as they sat together in the hot water. The recollection taunted her now, itched like the sting of a mosquito.

The last time he welcomed her graciously, beaming with happiness as he watched her delight in the wonders of the aquamarine room. Now he simply said, “Get in. Clean yourself.”

Lea didn't mind obliging this order, glad for the opportunity to bathe after...how many days? She couldn't recall. In any case, it felt good to rub the soap over her skin, and scrub away the cold oily odor of the dungeon cell with hot clean water. The warmth was delightful, and in spite of her numb grief, the pleasant sensation was able to reach her just a little. Loki didn't join her. He sat aloof and fully clothed in a dry corner of the room, eyes focused nonchalantly on the pages of a book. He licked his finger and lazily turned the pages.

What was this?, she thought, some kind of adolescent passive aggression? Is he...moping? She almost let out a bitter little laugh at the realization. Did he think that she would really miss his presence with her? That his silent disapproval or coldness could mean anything at all to her now? That he had the right to mope, even though he was the cause of his own sadness, as well as her torment? She ignored it, and continued her bath. She buried and refused to acknowledge the obnoxious truth that, yes, she actually did miss his presence, even after everything. Or rather, she missed the presence of anything at all that could bring comfort to her. She missed the versions of him which were brilliant, sensitive, clever, charming, and caring. The floor had fallen out from under her and she was still free falling, like Alice down the rabbit hole. She just hoped to touch ground and figure out which way was up.

She was about to wash her hair when a sharp pain shot through her arms as she tried to raise them to her head. The weight of the shackles keeping them down for so long left a stiffness that even the doctors couldn't immediately magic away for her. Gritting her teeth with a hiss, she tried to continue anyway, until she heard a swish of water behind her. He had undressed and was stepping into the pool. He reached her in long easy strokes, then huffed with exasperation. “If I wait for you to wash your own hair, we'll be here all night. Come here.”

She did as he said. Despite his show of being greatly inconvenienced, he was washing her hair as gently and attentively as he had the first time. She remembered it clearly. You know I'll take any excuse to play with your hair, he said, and kissed the top of her head, then they smiled to each other.

Loki was recalling exactly the same memory with a bittersweet ache as he rubbed the soap through her hair and rinsed it carefully. Having her naked body so close, touching yet not holding her was torturous, but his pride was a stubborn creature who would not be tamed. As he scanned her body in the water, he noticed the faint but large scar on her back where his blade had breached, sliced, and twisted into her flesh. He'd never noticed before, but she also had a very faint scar around her neck and he wondered which wound had etched it into her skin. How many times did he injure that beautiful throat? How many scars did she have on her small body from him? There were none written on her skin before him. The god of mischief was flooded with a terrible self-loathing at the thought. This wasn't just mischief, or just a game, he realized. This was love. This was a war. This was scorched earth devastation on the landscape of her. He had won, but at what cost?

Loki realized his task was done and he no longer had an excuse to keep stroking her hair, but he had trouble stopping. He dropped his hands abruptly but reluctantly. Lea turned her head slightly to look him in the eye as she said a quiet “Thank you.” Her eyes looked so sad, so blank, so devastating and devastated that it made his own grow misty. He was glad for the water and steam disguising it, even if she wouldn't be fooled.

“My pleasure,” he responded, meaning it more than he wanted to show. He couldn't stand to meet her gaze any longer. He couldn't stand the sound of his own voice softening as he said, “You may stay here as long as you wish. There are clean clothes over there for you. I presume you remember the way to your quarters?”

She nodded. He glared. “Use words, Lenora. Polite ones.”

“Yes, Sire.”

As the echo of his footfalls grew more and more faint, she continued to sit in the hot water. She then walked towards the deepest part of the pool like a woman mesmerized. Lea stopped moving and simply let her pale body sink down as the long dark ribbon of her hair billowed up above her. It was so blessedly warm and silent and blurry around her. As her feet touched the bottom, she recalled a disembodied piece of information about how it is supposedly impossible to drown oneself on purpose without implements. They say your lungs will not allow the breath to be held and the buoyancy of the body will float you back up to the surface. Lenora wondered at the persistence of the body and mind, against one's own best efforts at self-destruction. Perhaps it was an old wives tale, perhaps not. She was tempted to test the the hypothesis, but she wouldn't try sinking the ghost ship of herself today. For Magnus, she would let this wrecked husk, this ghost ship of her soul, drift for as long as possible.

Loki also drifted, sprawled in a dead man's float atop his large empty bed. He had been awake for hours in the ocean of pitch black with his pale eyes turned sightlessly to the ceiling, like a corpse. Signs of life began to surface. His tears streamed down onto the silk, his face strained, and his breath was ragged. The king was crying like a lost child. He was gripping Lenora's hairpin, repeatedly running his fingers over the wood grain as if they were prayer beads, as he had so many times before. He jolted as a heard a sharp snap, and realized he had broken the little wooden trinket. The tears came faster but he stayed as he was, knowing it was inevitable, knowing he was woeful at fixing things. He could only break them. Instead, as he lay there, he purposefully pushed his thumb hard to the splintered end and gritted his teeth, until the skin broke, letting his blood seep out. Letting out a miserable little gasp he stabbed each finger and thought, I'm so sorry little empress. If only you knew everything...why I did this... perhaps you could forgive me.

@gigglingtigger @lokisgoodgirl @goblingirlsarah @unlucky-number-13 @thedistractedagglomeration @thenerdyoldersister @peaches1958

#loki fanfic

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atopearth · 2 years

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Ikemen Prince Part 8 - Clavis Lelouch Route

I'm so excited for Clavis!! It seems like his route will delve into why he hates Chevalier, which is interesting. On the other hand, I love how he completely ignores what the heroine says and drags her around causing trouble for all the princes, it's just so funny hahaha! I think the funniest was him digging a pit trap in the garden and having Yves and Licht fall into it because they started running away from him the moment they saw him coming hahahaha. Even though I love Clavis, I have to admit that if I was the heroine, I would be so creeped out by him because of how entertaining and "interesting" he views the heroine's reaction to people dying around her, especially since he's forcing her to watch it as a part her duty as Belle. Lolll at Clavis lockpicking to get into her room and seeing how she is, this guy really does whatever he wants haha.

Honestly, it was pretty cute how Clavis cooks terrible food, but seeing how happy and appreciative he was of the heroine actually eating his food instead of outright rejecting it was very sweet. I'm surprised she's the first one to actually eat it though lol! Guess the others have no qualms towards rejecting his suspicious food, which I guess makes sense lol. I like how Clavis helped her think about looking at the history of Belles and seeing what kind of kings they chose to help her think about what else she can take into account when it comes to her decision. Lmao when Clavis was about to stab Chevalier to wake him up, I guess it would be the fastest way. How interesting that Clavis' mother was Chevalier's mother's maid and their family had served as their servants for generations🧐 Lmao at the heroine willing to spoon feed Clavis to try and avoid his nasty looking soup🤣 I can't remember if it was mentioned much in detail before, but knowing that Flandre's hatred for Chevalier came from seeing his family be sacrificed 'for the kingdom' and having to witness his family and probably all his friends and everyone in that village burned to death is definitely understandable. Obsidian are the despicable ones though, so the fact that he 'helps' them in Chevalier's route to get revenge on Chevalier just goes to show how blind he is towards his revenge. Anyway, Silvio isn't my type but Gilbert certainly is🤭 Omggg, a drunk and vulnerable Clavis is the cutest thing ever. Especially when he asked the heroine for a lap pillow haha, that's so adorable. Honestly though, I love how Clavis came to her rescue and carried her back to her room even though he can't take alcohol at all, but his desire to protect her outweighed everything else, my heart melted for that.

Well, Clavis was going to cause real trouble sooner or later so I guess we'll just have to see what comes out of him escaping with an Obsidian spy. On the other hand, it was really nice to see how Clavis really treats everyone the same, including the town he watches over. It was so funny to imagine everyone running away at the sight of him and then talking shit about him in front of his face haha. But it was also really sweet to see him remember these people and try to enrich their lives instead of punishing them if they did something wrong. I assume Clavis' mother's death is the reason why Clavis hates Chevalier. It's actually really cute how all along Clavis never allowed anyone to enter his room because it was filled with books and documents that revealed how diligent he was in his work and studies to the point that he doesn't even have a bed for himself. How unexpectedly sweet. It was also nice to see that little snippet where little Chevalier told the little crybaby Clavis to achieve something that he can't, and then he'll acknowledge him as a prince since Clavis was always sad that everyone praised Chevalier as a prince but never him.

Nice to see the heroine finally figure out why Clavis let the spy go since it was to protect her, and honestly it's pretty cute how despite how crafty Clavis may seem to be, his heart is probably one of the most pure out of all the princes and he genuinely would protect his people over his kingdom no matter the costs and sacrifices to himself. I didn't expect Clavis to have actually been captured on the Bloodstained Rose Day because he didn't want to give up on the prisoners and tried to save them. He really is true to his words, and a very silly but admirable prince. I also didn't expect Cyran to actually be Obsidian and to have been part of the soldiers who burnt those prisoners to their deaths. I can now see why he follows Clavis and follows everything he does. If you told me that Clavis was a loser his whole life before I started this route, I would have laughed and said no way, but seeing Clavis never waver even at moments of life or death, ready to continue to go against Chevalier's rationality and stick to his principles and ideals to save all the people he can save as his meaning to live, he's such a cool loser that can't win against Chevalier, but will always be a winner in many people's hearts haha.

I'm happy for Clavis that he found something he can believe in and worth risking his life for. It's funny how Chevalier is one extreme where he prioritises the kingdom above all else, and it's because Clavis has seen his way of life since they were kids that he decided that he won't live his life like that, and ends up on the other end of the extreme where he prioritises human lives above all else. I really enjoyed the heroine's pep talk of encouragement when Clavis was about to give up when faced with Chevalier. He's always been suppressed by Chevalier's intelligence and failed to see how smart he is as well so I was glad the heroine helped him remember and realise that what's stopping him right now is him giving up at the sight of Chevalier and not because he's giving up knowing that there's no other choices left, since even if there are seemingly no other choices left, Clavis is the type to make one out of something even if it may be futile. I expected him to create a new kingdom to fix all the problems but I didn't expect Chevalier to quite easily allow it, I guess he's soft towards Clavis after all haha. I love much Clavis doesn't care about Clause 99 and just told the heroine that he'll take responsibility for making her fall madly in love with him, and then asked her when does she want to move in with him🤣🤣 I really loved Clavis's confession, it really showed how much he loved and appreciated the heroine, and I'm glad the heroine also understood that clause 99 isn't something that would stop Clavis when he founded a new kingdom and was ready to die to save people he barely even knew. I love how when Clavis was talking to Gilbert, he said that Chevalier will save the thousands he can't save, and he will save the dozens that Chevalier abandons because I really believe that. It was really nice to see the heroine and Clavis so happily tease each other and spend time together, they're so cute.

Overall, Clavis really lives up to his charm in his route and I loved every bit of it! He probably has the best route tbh because not only did we get to know him on a much deeper level, but he never lost his fun and charm throughout the route. He was always teasing the heroine, always being silly, but he always so kind, so sweet and cool too haha. The fact that he has so many weaknesses and worked hard to keep up with Chevalier and hope to beat him one day made him all the more endearing and I loved how he never gave up on doing what he believed he was right no matter the cost. He wavered at times, but the heroine was there to support him and I love how she always did her best to try and understand him and got to know how hard he worked for his people. As Gilbert noticed, Clavis is an amazing guy that underestimates himself because of his genius brother, but I'm sure the heroine will always be there now to tell him how great he is and support him. I really enjoyed their romance and I really enjoyed unraveling Clavis as a person, definitely not a disappointment and would 10/10 recommend his route!

#ikemen prince

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citadelofmythoughts · 2 years

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There's something about MHA's reputation as a deconstruction bonanza, yet I could make the argument that those deconstructive elements are not really used to examine why the Class 1A girls are so often shunted to the side or assume more passive roles, and then reconstructing that later on or something.

Like how Momo's potential to be a truly powerful hero with the sheer versatility and creativity that Creation could give her is being stunted by her bad luck, both in fighting against Tokoyami and her terrible internship with Uwabami shaking her confidence in herself, and then expanding on that by how her situation with Todoroki caused her to take the mindset that she was only any good as a passive/support role.

Or what about a call back to her being ignored as a candidate for Class President by Izuku due to picking Iida without considering her? Maybe hypothetically Iida's revenge attempt on Stain gets out among Class 1A, and use that as a springboard to really examine if Iida was the right kind of person to be in a position of leadership due to him never really considering his flaws in regards to his rigidity of mindset, and other people pushing Momo to really take a look at her position and examine her own lack of confidence on the matter.

In regards to Mina, I kinda imagine that having an Acid Quirk and her seeming ineffectiveness despite having such a dangerous power could be examined as her being too scared to use the more lethal applications because she's such a fun-loving and gregarious person that wanting to lethally hurt people is something she doesn't really like to do. In addition, maybe she just lacks the full chemical knowledge to add more variety to her Acid usage due to her low book intelligence (another point of deconstruction, where having a great power doesn't mean much if you're not smart enough to understand how to use it effectively), something she could build on with the help of Momo, who'd probably appreciate the confidence boost from helping her friend figure out another application of her quirk.

There's probably more that I could come up with, but then this ask is already getting pretty beefy and I'm hitting a blank right now, so yeah.

The key problem is a lack of interest from the writer about actually making the female characters anything more than arm or eye candy.

All the girls have the potential to be exceptional but TBH Horikoshi would rather write more scenes of Mineta being a lecher than any real development for the girls.

This is something that REALLY pisses me off about MHA. Only good thing I can say is that it was great motivation for making a fic where the girls do get respect.

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underfell-crystal · 2 years

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Overall Thoughts on ATLA?

It is INCREDIBLE. The character arcs, especially Zuko's, are EXTREMELY satisfying. The characters are all fun, memorable, and distinct. I'm really impressed with how they portrayed war and its effects on people. I also thought the fight scenes were amazing, and I appreciated that there isn't a lot of talking during them; your focus is supposed to be on the choreography of the fight.

My favorite characters are Zuko and Iroh. Their dynamic was always enjoyable to watch, from start to finish. Zuko being happy his uncle got his own tea shop and gladly helping run it was honestly super touching to me, and them being wonderfully coordinated like in the Earth King's palace was a testament to how much they understood each other. I also appreciate how Zuko acknowledged multiple times how he treated his uncle was terrible, and he didn't try to make excuses when apologizing to him.

Aang's character growth through the books was extremely real and relatable. His struggle with being the Avatar and having to defeat the Firelord was very sympathetic, and he was a delight to watch. His love for his friends always made me root for him, and watching him interact with Appa, Momo, and other animals was what really endeared him to me.

Katara was very fun to watch, especially interacting with sassy characters like Sokka and Toph. I felt for her when she realized she had a chance for revenge on her mother's killer, but ultimately couldn't go through with it despite wanting to.

Sokka had probably the second most character growth in the series. He started out as a food-oriented jokester, but he grew and matured into a true warrior by the end. I appreciate that the Gaang recognized that Sokka was a vital part of their group, and none of them looked down on him for being a non-bender, and neither did the writers. While he was obviously weaker against benders, he was always protrayed as smart, quick on his feet, and serious when he needed to be.

Toph was incredible. Her desire to break free from her parents' restrictions was very relatable, and I loved how the series didn't make her any less stronger than the other members of the Gaang despite her disability, but also never ignored it. And her inventing a whole new bending style due to her specific circumstances was AMAZING to watch.

The side characters were all very memorable and fun to watch. I was never bored watching them, and I was ecstatic when a ton of characters we'd met over the series were brought back for the finale.

The villains were also extremely real and intimidating. The series didn't show Ozai right away, instead building up to his appearance as we learned more about the Fire Nation's heinous actions, which I thought was wonderful. He wasn't cartoonish or evil in a way that made me think he couldn't exist in the real world; he and the other villains felt like actual people with viewpoints you could understand but condemned.

I also liked the redemption arcs for side characters like Mai and Ty Lee. Their arcs obviously didn't get as much focus, but their final rebellion against Azula felt very realistic and earned.

And the WORLDBUILDING. Oh MAN. The settings were gorgeous, the different clothing styles for the nations were beautiful and distinct, and they felt so full of life and lived in, from Ba Sing Se to the Southern Water Tribe.

So yeah, those are my thoughts on ATLA! Let me know if you want me to elaborate on anything.

#crysanswers #atla experience

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scrapyardboyfriends · 2 years

Text

Late watch of the episode...

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about that episode because so much of it I really really liked and so much of it was this show at its best but also...I hated it because they had all that good and then it all gets ruined and it makes me mad.

The Cain and Charity scenes were great. I always like when we get more mature Cain who makes a great listener. I love him being there for Charity and letting her process and helping her make sense of it all. I loved her returning the favor about Caleb. And I’m glad Bails was just dead and not out of prison because I don’t mind revisiting this story in an emotional way rather than a melodramatic way. Much like Aaron was still dealing with the effects of what Gordon did and still is, Charity is the same with Bails and it’s good to show that and those scenes were all really well done.

I liked the scenes with her and Noah. I’ve been confused about the direction of Noah’s character for a while now with all the personality switching and such but when he has these nice scenes with Charity, I always really appreciate them.

The scenes with Caleb and Cain trying to make nice were also great if I ignore the last thirty seconds. This is what I wanted it to be. I wanted Cain to thaw and realize he was being an idiot. I wanted Caleb to just want to get to know his family and have them connect and build that relationship. Chas annoys me but I didn’t even totally mind the three of them bouncing off each other because the chemistry was there and it was kind of nice in a lot of ways if I could block out the things that make me mad. I just want Cain and Caleb to be brothers and friends and that’s it.

But no...they had to go and ruin it like I knew they would in the last thirty seconds. All episode I was just waiting for it and it’s so goddamn predictable it just pisses me off. Why is it necessary for Caleb to have some ulterior motive? Why does he have to be shady? And what could he possibly be trying to do by reeling Cain in? I hate every theory I’ve seen out there. I just don’t buy him being an imposter because what would he possibly have to gain from Cain Dingle and co if he were? And how would he even know about Caleb’s meeting with Cain thirty years ago to even be able to exploit that situation? And I loathe the Chloe’s adoptive gangster dad theory so much. Because just like...why?! Why would that be a good story? What purpose would it possibly serve? And again, if he’s faking being Caleb, why would Chloe’s gangster dad possibly fake being Cain’s long lost brother? What would he possibly want? I just don’t get it. Even if Damian Harris met real Caleb in prison and they cooked up this plan together, what would real Caleb possibly want? Revenge because Cain said his mom was dead thirty years ago as a coping mechanism? It would just be absurd. And if real Caleb is somehow Damian Harris then I just....it would be absurdly convenient and I still don’t know what he’s trying to do. Like...nothing in this possible twist makes any goddamn sense. I just want him to be a long lost brother trying to get to know his family?!?! WHY CAN’T I HAVE THAT?!?!? WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE EVEN MORE CONVOLUTED AND COMPLICATED?!?! I HATE THESE PRODUCERS SO MUCH!

And that’s not even getting into my frustrations with the Charity and Mack side of things because that...that also pisses me off. Just the idea that they killed off Bails so she could have all of these meaningful scenes about Bails and about all of the terrible men who have used and abused her over the years just so she can take solace in a man who has also cheated on her and lied to her. And so they can drag it all out for months and months just to make Charity look more like an idiot for trusting him and for trying to help Chloe etc? What are they trying to say?! And that’s without Charity literally having this story before with Jai. Like why are they doing this to Charity’s character? And why are they doing it to Mack’s character too? I mean I don’t think they’re really well suited for each other because ultimately, like Jai and Charity, they want different things. Mack does want kids and Charity doesn’t want anymore. And that’s fine but it means this was never going to last. And even still, I still feel like this whole relationship started because she was after a bit of fun to distract her from missing Vanessa and after that she got back together with him because Vanessa wasn’t ready to try again. It’s always just felt like she was settling and like this relationship was just a stop gap story while they waited out Michelle’s maternity leaves. So like, I’m not even totally mad at him for cheating even though it’s fucking dumb but now they just have him lying to her forever and while Chloe is responsible for her own actions and absolutely does not have to have this child, I do feel sort of bad for the way he’s treating her too. And I just don’t really get why they want to do this to Mack’s character. And the fact that they’re dragging it all out so long is infuriating. It certainly makes me appreciate the Robron version all the more where Robert told Aaron the truth relatively quickly and then they got to really deal with it because ultimately they did love each other and their love was strong enough to survive all of that. With Mack and Charity, it’s just a prolonged reason for them to ultimately break up and that’s annoying. And it makes both of them look bad in the process. And I mean, I do believe Mack loves her and I do believe she loves him but they’re still so obviously not meant to be together and it’s just frustrating to watch, knowing where it’s all going and knowing it’s going to be forever until we get there.

On the other hand, I didn’t mind seeing Chas and Paddy talk about how Chas doesn’t love him because it hopefully means they won’t try and put them back together. I hope I hope I hope.

Chas not forgiving Cain is still annoying. I mean...Cain was an idiot and it’s definitely his fault Al is dead but I’m also just done with Chas.

I did enjoy the scene where she was leaving the voicemail for Charity though because Lucy’s deadpan delivery of that was actually quite funny. I miss that version of Chas.

So yeah...there’s my super long essay about this very frustrating episode...

#ed lb #emmerdale complaints corner

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maya-malfoy1012 · 2 years

Note

Right! Hello! It’s episode 4 (of TDJ) time. I watched this ages ago but life got in the way, so that’s why there’s been a bit of a pause from my episode reactions. So, my review/thoughts won’t be quite as in-depth as I will be referring to (my page-long) notes. But I hope they’re still entertaining!!

[Terrible quality screenshots are incoming]

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoyed this episode, I feel like it was set up nicely into 4 different sections: The court case/the Mum (Acting as the “net”, i.e the sequence of events which will lead to Daddy Bandit getting his revenge) The Dinner Party (The people he will be rounding up) J.S.A’s character reveal (The “hitch” in this plan) The backstory (The reason for the revenge)

I enjoyed Ji Sung’s acting choices in this episode, I feel like it's the first time we see real nuances to his characterisation of Daddy Bandit. I personally really enjoyed the way he interacts with Nam Jang in one of the opening scenes. He’s acting like Mister Big Bollocks but as soon as she turns away, he deflates just enough for us to know that something is going on with him. I really appreciate that subtly.

In terms of the revenge storyline, I like it but I do think it’s a little convenient for the plot. However, I do believe there’s something else going on beyond what we know (otherwise it’ll be too easy). I like the way he punished Nam Jang and her son (reminds me of SPOILER the rapist and his dad’s punishment from The Crowned Clown); although, I wish… right, okay, when it came to the flagellation scenes, I just wished they had used a whip, or flog, or the cat of nine tails, etc. instead of using a belt. It just didn’t have the same impact (ba dum tss), for me at least. I love the concept of the punishment and how it enraged Nam Jang, forcing her to show a lack of care towards another child. [also the Daddy Bandit cult uprising???? hello!!! that is scary]

The dinner scene…. Well….. I’m going to ignore Gaon for a sec because I have thoughts about him and instead, want to focus on Daddy Bandit being clever. I like how he’s brought Gaon into the picture and showed him the people he intends on murdering/getting revenge on (not that Gaon can see that). I like the last episode of Squid Game vibes for the dinner sequence.

I like how the classical music crescendoed to a point where the visuals and music were claustrophobic in nature.

[Side note: the sexual assault scene made me very uncomfortable because of the lack of action from the other characters. Which definitely seemed like the intended purpose and of course, for it to be something egregious enough that J.S.A broke her facade to reveal her true dominatrix Mother self…. I love this for her, I wasn’t surprised by it but I do like this choice for her character. I feel like she’s going to be such a headache and perhaps… an “ally” turned villain turned “ally” turned… so on and so on.] The actual church scene had some very nice pacing. I did find some of the choices to be a little obvious (the “rich people are scumbags” narrative and the way the fireman stole the watch… the way none of the paramedics cared to check on a burnt man and an unconscious child??? ALSO, smoke inhalation is more dangerous than fire, so they probably both would have died or become brain damaged from that level of exposure) BUT I found the sequence overall to be so tragic. Also this shot:

Is so renaissance painting… it’s frankly beautiful. The religious imagery throughout this show is really tastefully done!! I love to see it! [I feel like this shot reference an actual painting but I can't figure out which one] Also…. Daddy Bandit is Phantom of the Opera CHURCH (especially with that chalandier drop)

Okay… now onto Gaon. WHAT IS THIS BOY’S PROBLEM??? Why is he still living at DB's gothic mansion??? Why is he acting like Madame of the house? He’s bonding with his new stepdaughter/niece. He's getting reallllllly comfortable, even referring to the room he sleeps in as "his" room.... duddddeee! (gender neutral) How embarrassing! The clothes-changing scene had SO much queer-subtext that it is basically 100% text. Also, Daddy Bandit really brought his twink to a work event as his plus one and really confirmed to the audience (and himself) that Gaon is not interested in women... and actually, sexual advances/flirtatious attention from them (or any age) make him uncomfortable.

I found the unneeded physical contact to be sooooo telling. [also the opposite - almost yin and yang - colour scheme is interesting... the way Gaon's silhouette is quite "feminine"...]

ALSO also!! Is Gaon going around wearing Daddy Bandit’s clothes?

Cause, unless I missed something, they’ve not shown him going home, he hasn’t gone shopping, D.B hasn’t gone shopping… sooo??? This guy is really out here investigating his employer (with whom he lives) whilst wearing his undies. COME ON!!! he's so silly

Also TDJ and BE both have their twinks directly (and with WAY too much confidence) accusing their love interest of murdering their sibling. I just wished BE had given us Dong Sik pinning Joo Won against the wall by the throat…. Joo Won would have cried his eyes out (and just died from being too horny) whereas Gaon was super into it??? This BOY!!! I can’t! (he really said "choke me harder, daddy bandit!! prove to me you didn't kill your sibling whilst awakening a kink in me")

Anyway, yes, I wrote more notes but I don’t remember what they mean anymore. But overall, I really did enjoy this episode the most so far. I hope my ramblings are amusing! Bye for now :)

SO, hi! I'm so slow in replying to ask helpp but tbf to myself this week's been hectic (currently writing this as my sir bails on my session T-T).

Episode 04, that fucker.

So, my review/thoughts won’t be quite as in-depth as I will be referring to (my page-long) notes. But I hope they’re still entertaining!!

I love hearing your thoughts, it doesn't matter if it's in depth or not 😂 Besides how could I not find your thoughts on Hoodie-Daddy-Trauma Bandit lmao

Imo, TDJ so far has done a very good job of sectioning off arcs, scenes and interactions. (A bit derailing thought but storyline wise) Gaon is subjected to this divide between Kang Yohan the Chief and Kang Yohan the man who roams the rouse in robes and although there's certain overlaps between the two personas ("I saw him driving recklessly" "Did you see something else?"), Gaon doesn't necessarily make it a point to interact with them in a similar way? At least in the ending of Ep3 and start of Ep4 (e.g when Gaon doesn't showcase much of the deference expected in workplaces when he teases Yohan or that one scene before the party where he turns this way and that on bed talking to Yohan). But the party! I think it's intentional on Yohan's part but the party! It completely rekindled that suspicion (+forced Gaon back into the role of the spy/Judas --and that's something I find interesting too, the role given to Gaon). And you're right!

I like how he’s brought Gaon into the picture and showed him the people he intends on murdering/getting revenge on (not that Gaon can see that). I like the last episode of Squid Game vibes for the dinner sequence.

Remember the revenge plot? I only realised this way later (still stuck on ep 10 help) but Yohan is essentially showing off the face of his brother to the people he intends to get revenge on and just, waits, observes to see if anyone can remember. ANd no ONe REMEBERS. I feel like from the subtle nuances of emotions we've seen from Yohan, that even a little remorse or reflection would have gone a long way but who knows.

I like how the classical music crescendoed to a point where the visuals and music were claustrophobic in nature.

I agree, it was very Squid Game vibes. It was just, a cacophony. Something meant to be beautiful & bearable turned vicious in its stifling chaos.

SO, this wasn't an observation of mine but I read it somewhere where they juxtaposed this SA scene with the extremely uncomfy vibes with Chairman Seo and Oh Jinjoo from the other ball/party. How in the previous one Kang Yohan was able to save Oh Jinjoo whereas when Jung Sun-ah tried ("She's an associate Judge...") she was brushed off but in the second party Jung Sun-ah was able to save the waitress whereas Yohan couldn't because of the persona/role he was playing. It was speculated/theorised that it's the status of the victims that allowed such difference? The waitress was practically no one, so letting her go (in public) would no impact anyone but the associate judge however is a much bigger presence and holding off the chairman could have questioned the roles.

Also, when you said SA, I originally thought of Gaon being literally submerged under those ladies (i think in an interesting way, that also juxtaposes with Oh Jinjoo's experience. While her interaction was taken as something to be wary of Gaon's isn't seen with the same lense of seriousness?)

the “rich people are scumbags” narrative and the way the fireman stole the watch… the way none of the paramedics cared to check on a burnt man and an unconscious child??? ALSO, smoke inhalation is more dangerous than fire, so they probably both would have died or become brain damaged from that level of exposure) BUT I found the sequence overall to be so tragic.

It does seem like the obvious plot route for why Yohan does what he does, especially with "the rich people are scumbags but oh whats this its not like poor people are any better" (cue Yohan and Gaon's convo returning from the party) but I think the whole set up, esp the renaissance painting feel, is actually hinting at a idk Shakespearean level of tragedy?

Also the look Yohan gives the camera, cradling little Elijah is chilling

Okay so! The religious imagery! I'm not closely related or know of much Christianity so idk much but, it's very interesting how from the beginning Yohan is implied to be Jesus when Gaon is given the role of Judas, meant to betray (?) Jesus/Yohan and, "Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him. And yet He chose Judas as a disciple and kept him near. The Bible doesn't say why, other than Jesus knew that God had a plan"

So. I'm very much excited to see where this story goes. Also another reference to Yohan having the role of Jesus is the bloody cross on his back ffs.

Can we also talk about (how I totally didnt know) how Judas' full name is Judas Isacriot and how it means City Slicker??

plus, Judas is known to have betrayed Jesus because he was possessed by Satan? It's very interesting that Yohan is called the Devil when he's also hinted to be Jesus and the side portrayed to have uphold justice is associated with Devil / or the priests who called for Jesus's fall.

Also…. Daddy Bandit is Phantom of the Opera CHURCH (especially with that chalandier drop)

that chandelier drop took me out

Okay… now onto Gaon. WHAT IS THIS BOY’S PROBLEM???

I wonder the same thing... Gaon pls what is going in on your brain

Why is he still living at DB's gothic mansion??? Why is he acting like Madame of the house? He’s bonding with his new stepdaughter/niece. He's getting reallllllly comfortable, even referring to the room he sleeps in as "his" room.... duddddeee! (gender neutral) How embarrassing!

Han Juwon only broke in a few thousand times but Gaon said "fuck that this is my home now" My dude honestly took to the role of spouse/lady of the house like fish in water.

The clothes-changing scene had SO much queer-subtext that it is basically 100% text.

I kid you not, I literally screamed at that scene.

Also, Daddy Bandit really brought his twink to a work event as his plus one and really confirmed to the audience (and himself) that Gaon is not interested in women... and actually, sexual advances/flirtatious attention from them (or any age) make him uncomfortable.

Kang Yohan: Two birds in one stone

I found the unneeded physical contact to be sooooo telling. [also the opposite - almost yin and yang - colour scheme is interesting... the way Gaon's silhouette is quite "feminine"...]

THE CLOTHES! THE FUCKING CLOTHES! You are so right, also love how symbolically yin/yang are masculine/feminine energies. This show hints at a lot of things, I missed 2/3 of everything when I first watched the eps.

GEFJDCNIEFDJKC i think the clothes he wore in the manor are yohan's (or maybe new clothes who knows, daddy bandit is a rich bandit afterall) but i think maaaaybe the clothes he's wearing here are his? i mean he could very well have dropped by his house before meeting soohyun idk but itd be hilarious if they're yohan's clothes pls

I just wished BE had given us Dong Sik pinning Joo Won against the wall by the throat…. Joo Won would have cried his eyes out (and just died from being too horny) whereas Gaon was super into it??? This BOY!!! I can’t! (he really said "choke me harder, daddy bandit!! prove to me you didn't kill your sibling whilst awakening a kink in me")

REIDJKCXIRDSJKRE SDHELPP I CANTHIJDF

I agree, but! in a weird way I also can't see Dongsik doing that to Juwon? Like, hmmm idk man, maybe it's because I don't see Dongsik as a violent person? His go to is fucking with the other guy mentally not throw fists, like even with Kang Jinmook, as a victim he could have knocked the mf out and blamed it on grieving smth smth but he holds back and instead schemes and talks (even when Kang Jinmook tried to strangle him). But oh boy Yohan and Gaon. Well. Yeah they seem super into that "hold me by the throat sir"/"pin me against the wall" thingerfjkd

Anyway, yes, I wrote more notes but I don’t remember what they mean anymore. But overall, I really did enjoy this episode the most so far. I hope my ramblings are amusing! Bye for now :)

That's so fair, I write some notes I leave for 5 mins i come back I have no clue what they mean anymore. It was very amusing, thank you for your rambling lmao, ta for now :)

#kim gaon taking one step closer to achieving stage 1 of pathetic han juwon #meanwhile daddy bandit is. well. daddy bandit #the devil judge #kang yohan #kim gaon

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ticklishfiend · 4 years

Text

The Persuasion Machine (My Hero Academia)

Lee!Bakugou / Ler!Class 1A Girls ⚠️PLATONIC⚠️

(A sequel to “Pure Gold”: read that first!)

A/N : sorry it took me a while to get this one out! school has been terrible and i’ve been sick with migraines for days but hopefully this is good enough! i’m working on another mha fic rn so hopefully i don’t quit on it lmaoo. hope u enjoy!

Summary : Bakugou begrudgingly attends the girls sleepover Mina has invited him to so she doesn’t blackmail him with incriminating material. When he doesn’t answer one of their gossipy questions the way they wanted, they decide to use a little persuasion to guide him their own way (leading to some interesting results).

Word Count : 3461

REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!! MWAH <33

Bakugou had been dreading today from the moment he agreed to attend this stupid ass sleepover in the first place. Since when did he start caving so easily to puppy-dog eyes of all things?! His friends were starting to make him go soft, and this is NOT something he needs hanging over his head while trying to become the world's number one hero. Especially not from someone who now knows his deepest, darkest secret; he absolutely loves romance anime.

He couldn’t help it, the stories were always so compelling and they drew him in every single time without fail. Sometimes he’d catch himself getting emotional at the worst of the worst shoujos out there, but dammit if he didn’t love a good confession scene, alright?! There’s just something so satisfying about the build-up, the angst, the tension, all of it is just enough to make the stone-cold, stoic future pro-hero shed a few happy tears. He really couldn’t help it. Especially considering he’s been having feelings of his own for someone recently, so that mixed with those heart wrenching scenes..it’s impossible not to cry, okay?!

But now that he’s got someone else who knows this secret about him, he can’t allow it to get out there in the world. Mina is one of his most trustworthy friends, but she’s also the most inclined to gossip. She’s not one to turn away from good blackmail material, and now that she was lying on this pot of gold there was nothing that could turn her away from it, not even good old-fashioned tickle torture like he had already tried. It seemed Bakugou’s real, true, only option at this point was to attend that dumb fucking sleepover and get this shit over with once and for all.

So that’s what he did. Even though he tried his best to ignore the nagging dread building up as the day slowly dragged on, the moment he heard that excited knock on his door at 6 that evening, he knew there was really no escape. He was being forced against his will to have...fun.

With an exasperated sigh, Bakugou trudged from his bed over to his dorm door, throwing it open only to be attacked in a vicious hug by a flash of bright pink. The girl held his arms tightly against his sides as his eyes drooped in annoyance, Mina letting out an excited little squeal as she tired bouncing the boy up and down in her hug.

“Eeeee! I’m so excited, Blasty, you have no idea! Tonight’s gonna be the best night ever!” She giggled giddily, finally letting him go before grabbing his wrist and quickly leading him out into the hall towards her room. He growled at the contact, though didn’t put up any resistance. Better to just get this shit over with and let the little nuisance have her fun, Bakugou thought as they finally reached the door to her room. He could hear chatter from the inside, assuming the girls had been hanging out for a few hours before Mina had decided it was time for her little guest star to arrive. She placed him a little ways away from the door, standing in front of it and facing him with a wide grin. He was taller than the girl, having to look down to her in order to see the bright smile that seemed to be plastered onto her face at all times.

“Okay, so, here are the rules for tonight: don’t be mean. This is a FUN night, I don’t want you ruining it for the rest of the girls, got it?” She pointed an accusatory finger up towards his face. Bakugou only lowered his eyelids in response, obviously annoyed. She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Okay, fine, you can be a little mean, but only because we find it kinda funny sometimes. Just no making anyone cry!”

Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and throwing his eyes towards the ceiling. “Fine. No one will cry.”

“Good. Next: actually try to have fun with us! Don’t just sit there all mopey like you’ve done during dorm game nights. Actually try!” Mina entangled her fingers together and held them up to her cheek, giving Bakugou the biggest, most pathetic little puppy eyes the explosive teen had ever seen. “Pretty pleeeeease?~”

“Good god, Pinky, I get the fuckin’ idea! I’ll try, alright?! But if you show that video to ANYONE, so help me god you’ll never see another sleepover for the rest of your damn life!” Bakugou shouted, and though his screams would be terrifying to anyone else, Mina only chuckled in response, throwing up a thumbs up towards her taller counterpart.

“Get ready, Blasty, cause this is gonna be great.”

Bakugou couldn’t help it. He was stiff when he first arrived, feeling awkward and out of place. This wasn’t his territory, wasn’t his environment. He was surrounded by giggly girls who wanted him to play their little games and gossip, and it just felt...wrong at first.

And it just kept getting worse.

“Soo...Hagakure...any new interesting developments with Ojiro?” Mina grinned towards the floating pair of pink pajamas rested on a purple bean bag. The other girls all giggled, Tsu even shoving at Mina playfully with a funny scowl on her face. Bakugou knew what they were talking about, and he was not interested in this conversation at fucking all, and for more reasons than just general annoyance.

“I mean, just the same old same old I guess. Not that that’s a bad thing! I’m loving how we are right now, he’s just so sweet and loving and...yeah. It’s going good,” the invisible girl shifted in her seat, and though they couldn’t see her, the smile on her face was blatantly evident in her voice. “Have you guys got any crushes you wanna discuss?”

Jirou’s face turned bright red, though she remained silent and frozen in place. Mina spoke up first. “Nope! Not for me, at least. Still waiting for the day I’m a pro and can finally try to win some with Hawks. God, that’ll be the fuckin’ day,” Mina sighed happily, and Ochacco just giggled and punched her shoulder playfully.

“You won’t get within two feet of the guy before he files a restraining order,” Uraraka said snidely, making the girls laugh. Even Bakugou had to stifle a small chuckle behind his palm.

“Hawks, huh?” Bakugou finally spoke up, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his legs on the bed. He decided the best way to speed tonight along was to engage in their conversation. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

“Ohoho yeah. What, you tellin’ me you don’t think he’s hot?” Mina chided, looking up towards Bakugou from her place on the floor.

“Didn’t say that. And I didn’t say I was shocked either. ‘Course you picked a pro to crush on and not anyone you actually know,” Bakugou said mockingly, but it only prompted a sadistic grin to appear on Mina’s face.

The pink girl quickly popped from her spot on the ground and up onto the bed with Bakugou, Momo, and Jirou, leaving barely any room on the space. “Hey, what the f-!” Bakugou started, before Mina plopped herself cross-legged right in front of his face, and evil look glinting from her eyes.

“Who do you have a crush on then, Blasty?” Mina’s grin was face-splitting, and the look in Bakugou’s eyes gave her everything she ever could have wanted.

“Crush?! Why would I of all people have a fucking crush!? I don’t like people!” Bakugou shouted, though from how close Mina was to his face right now, it was impossible for her to miss the small tinge of blush on his cheeks. She was striking gold again already.

“I don’t believe you~” Mina sung, her two index fingers wiggling at his chest in teasing mockery. “C’mon, Bakugou, you’re so easy to see through! Just tell us and noooo one has to suffer!”

“The fuck are you talking about?! I don’t like anyone, end of discussion, okay?!” Bakugou shoved Mina away from him (not too forcefully, of course, just enough to shove her towards Momo sitting on the pillows). Mina sighed with a smile, shaking her head with tuts of disappointment.

“Y’know, I didn’t want it to have to come to this, Katsuki Bakugou, but you really leave me no choice,” Mina looked around at her friends with a knowing but evil shine in her eyes, and they all perked up with understood smiles, and Bakugou couldn’t help the tinge of fear he felt shiver down his spine. “Girls...I think it’s about time we introduce our guest to the ‘Persuasion Machine.’”

“The fucking what-!? -hey! The hell do you think you’re doing! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” Bakugou shouted as all the girls pounced on him at once, all grabbing at him for an arm. Tsu, Uraraka, and Hagakure all took his left arm, while Jirou and Momo prompted for his right, each of them holding onto his limbs back tightly enough where he was restrained. Mina plopped herself down on his outstretched thighs, now uncomfortably close to his face.

Mina wiggled her fingers out in front of the boy’s face, and all at once Bakugou understood what was about to happen. This wasn’t just persuasion. This was revenge for last night.

“You’ve got one last chance to talk, Katsuki. Who do you have a crush on?” Mina spoke in a low interrogator voice that would usually be amusing to Bakugou if it weren’t for the fact he was very obviously about to be tortured by tickles.

“NO ONE, PEA FOR BRAINS! LET GO!” Bakugou pulled at his arms, but in all honesty...he chose not to put up that much of a fight. He wouldn’t let the girls know this, of course, but...if he’s here to let them have fun, then dammit he’s gonna let them have their fun, even if that means sacrificing his dignity even just a little. At least it’s these girls and not anyone who’d actually judge him.

“Fine. Have it your way,” Mina smirked, looking towards her friends restraining Bakugou on both sides. “Girls, pin him.”

Before Bakugou could even blink, the girls had him pinned on his back against the bed, now sitting on his arms.He tried to move them, really move them that time and...nothing. Shit. Oh shit. He was actually restrained now. He really couldn’t move at all.

Fuck.

“Pinky, I swear to god if you fucking touch mE-” Bakugou grunted, locking his jaw together when he felt those evil, evil acrylics scribble on his belly. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, tossing his head to the side trying desperately to distract himself from those skittering fingers that never relented.

“Ooh, little ticklish, Bakugou?~” Mina teased, pushing his black tank top up just slightly to reveal his toned but quivering belly. She scratched her nails along his sides, making him grunt out a giggle much to his dismay.

“NO! I’m nohot!” Bakugou giggled as her index finger scratched right below his belly button, his face twisting up in a smile he absolutely despised. “FUCKIHIHING QUIT IHIHIT!”

“Wow, he must be really ticklish. He broke pretty fast,” Tsu spoke bluntly, and though she was only rationalizing the situation, her words somehow felt so teasing to him in the moment, making his giggles go even higher pitched than before.

“Right? Mina’s barely touched him and he’s already giggling,” Jirou chuckled from her side, her eyes never leaving the giggling boy below her. “Can’t wait to see how he reacts when she really gets going.”

Without warning, Mina began kneading her thumbs into the sides of Bakugou’s belly. The explosive teen threw his head back in mirth, cackling and just barely kicking his legs out behind her.

“NAHAHA! STAHAHAP! FUHUHUCK YOHOHOU!” Bakugou spat out between his cackles, prompting Mina to gasp in mock shock.

“Well I never, Bakugou! Is that really how you would speak to your bestest friend in the whole wide world?” Mina moved her fingers up towards the bottoms of his ribs, sending him into a whole new wave of giggles and cackles, digging his heels into the bedsheets. “Aww, are your ribs sensitive, Blasty? You real ticklish here?~” Mina pinched at his bottom ribs quickly, and Bakugou was hysterical.

“GAHAHAHA! NOHOHO! I’M NOHOHOT! QUIT IHIHIT!!” Bakugou laughed, tugging at his arms restrained by the girls on top of him. “MINAHAHAHA!”

“Oh my god! He never calls me by my actual name! We’re actually getting through to him!” Mina shouted in excitement, slowing her tickles til she was just resting her nails on his ribs in teasing warning. He breathed heavily at the relief, but his cheeks were flushed in embarrassment and he only opened one eye to look up at his interrogator. “You ready to talk yet? Cause I know there’s gotta be a love interest in that mean little head of yours somewhere!”

Bakugou growled up at her through bared teeth, still breathing harder than he wanted to be. “Fuck...you…” He grumbled at his interrogator, clenching his fists in anticipation as he felt those nails just barely start to move again. They moved at an agonizingly slow rate, making him squirm but not yet giggle.

“Maybe we’re not being mean enough. Jirou?” Mina looked up towards the grinning purple-headed girl in front of her, who already knew what she had to do.

“With pleasure, Mina,” Jirou chuckled, extending her earphone jacks down towards Bakugou’s exposed armpits, just barely letting them touch the bare space. Bakugou’s eyes widened in excited fear at the sensation, his body jerking involuntarily.

“NO! Fuck, no, wait!-”

“You wanna talk?” Mina asked, nodding her head at Jirou, alerting the girl to begin moving her jacks in his underarms. She just barely tickled the area teasingly, but he was a puddle of giggles in no time. His teeth were clenched shut and eyes screwed tightly closed, but the high-pitched, breathy giggles that made his chest shake were unmistakable.

He shook his head in answer to her question, before barking with loud laughter as Mina dug into his upper ribs right below where Jirou continued her teasing onslaught of tickles.

“NAHAHAHA! STAHAHAH-” Bakugou cackled, his words getting lost in the mess of laughs and shrieks as the girls continued their torment on his sensitive body.

“Aww, he’s so ticklish! I really didn’t expect this from him to be honest,” Uraraka cooed, using one of her free hands to scribble one nail down his exposed neck on her side. Bakugou let out a surprised squeal, scrunching his head down to shoulders, effectively trapping her finger in the terribly sensitive area.

“GAHAHAHA FUHUHUCK! QUHUHUIT! I SWHEHEAR!” Bakugou screamed with his own aggressive form of pleading, kicking his legs out in playful agony.

“All you have to do is say one little name, Bakugou~” Mina teased, her right hand staying to squeeze at the hypersensitive spot on his ribs, while moving her left to down to vibrate her index fingers into his very lower rib, the exact spot and method he had used on her the night before.

Bakugou lost his mind.

“FUHUHUCK NO PLEHEHEASE! STAHAHAP IHIHIT! GAHAHA SHIT NOT THEHEHERE! NOT THAHAHAT!” Bakugou screamed, bringing his knees up towards Mina’s back in a desperate attempt to curl up, before resorting back to his hysterical kicking like before.

“Tickle tickle, Blasty~” Mina cooed, turning the cackling boy beneath her a bright shade of red.

“Oh, he’s blushing!” Momo awed excitedly, pointing down at the boy’s face.

“NO I’M NOHOHOT!” Bakugou howled, squeaking when the finger Momo used to point began wiggling in his pit along with Jirou’s jack. He threw his head back in mirth, shrieking and cackling at the overwhelmingly ticklish sensations on his body.

“Somebody can’t handle being teased, huh?~” Hagakure pointed out.

“Nope. Poor thing’s gonna break in a minute, I promise you,” Mina spoke as if Bakugou wasn’t even there to listen, which only added fuel to his flustering fire. “So you ready for a break, Explosion Boy?”

“YEHEHES! GOD FUCK PLEHEHEASE!” Bakugou pleaded, gasping for air when all the ticklish sensations stopped at once. Tired, breathy giggles tumbled from his lips, his chest rising and falling in giddy exhaustion. “Fuhucking hell…”

“Crush, Bakugou. C’mon,” Mina crossed her arms, only resulting in Bakugou to roll his eyes.

“Is it that big of a fucking deal?!” Bakugou groaned, jumping with a yelp when he felt a single finger poke his belly button, “FUCK OKAY, OKAY! NO MORE! I’LL FUCKING TALK!”

“Finally,” Jirou muttered, chuckling when she saw Bakugou slightly blush from his spot under them.

“Just...this can’t...this can’t leave this damn room, you got that shitfaces?!” Bakugou’s insult wasn’t laced with his usual fiery aggression, and the girls knew he was serious.

“Bakugou, you would be surprised by the extensive list of secrets that have yet to leave these sleepovers,” Momo placed a non-tickly hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and she could feel the boy deflate relaxingly under her touch.

“Seriously! Nothing leaves this room, Blasty,” Mina gently grabbed Bakugou’s chin, turning his head to face her. His eyes finally met hers, and she nodded. “Nothing.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, again refusing to make any eye contact with the girls. “Fucking fine...but not because I want to…” he sighed roughly, shutting his eyes tightly before lowering his voice into a whisper that was just audible enough for the girls to hear. “It’s Kirish-”

“YES! I KNEW IT!” Mina threw her hands in the air with an excited screech, making Bakugou jump a little from surprise.

“I kinda thought the same thing, kero. Just wasn’t positive,” Tsu spoke with a finger on her chin before gently climbing off the boy. The other girls followed, and once he was finally free he pushed himself back to his spot against the wall, bringing his knees to his chest to lay his arms on top.

“So fucking stupid...why did you wanna know that shit so bad anyways, huh?!” Bakugou still couldn’t make complete eye contact with any of the girls out of embarrassment.

“Just thought it would be cute!” Mina smiled widely, before turning to face all the girls again. “So, anybody up for Just Dance?”

“Aw, really? You’re turning in already?” Mina whined up at Bakugou who was already making his way towards the door.

“Pinky, it’s 1 in the goddamn morning. I’ve already been tickled to death, played Just Dance, painted Kermit’s fucking nails, watched a shitty-ass horror movie, AND told you my who my stupid fucking crush is; I think I’ve got the whole damn sleepover experience,” Bakugou grunted before turning his body back towards the door before pausing his hand on the knob. “Actually, uh...come out here a minute, Horns. Gotta ask you something.”

“Already told you once, Blasty, they aren’t horns!” Mina said as she got up from her spot on the floor and over towards the door with Bakugou. “I’ll be back guys!”

“Alright. Night Bakugou!” Uraraka waved at the pair with a wide smile. All the other girls said their goodnights as well, Bakugou only nodding in response.

The pair made their way into the dark, quiet hallway together, shutting the door behind them. “So what’s up?” Mina asked in a whisper.

Bakugou pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “How...how did you know?”

Mina’s brow quirked. “What?”

“You said you knew I liked him...how?”

Mina couldn’t help but smile. She shrugged. “Pretty obvious, Blasty. He’s the only one you tolerate. I used to think it was just cause you respected him, but when I found you watching that romance last night, it all just kinda made sense,” Mina chuckled, enjoying the slightly embarrassed silence Bakugou gave her in response. That was before Mina gasped suddenly.

“Oh goodness, I completely forgot! I’ll delete it right now, promise!” Mina took out her phone, when Bakugou made a small confused noise.

“Huh? Delete what?” the boy asked.

“The video I took of you. Y’know, the whole reason you came here tonight?” Mina turned her phone around to show Bakugou the clip of him crying at the screen of a romance anime, which made the boy blush in the dark.

“Oh, yeah,” Bakugou huffed. “You, uh...you do that.”

Mina just giggled before deleting the video for good. “Goodnight, Bakugou.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Bakugou rolled his eyes with a small hint of a smile, poking her once in the tummy. “Night.”

Mina watched as Bakugou trekked his way back to his room, and couldn’t help but smile. She knew, without a doubt, that that explosive kid with no friends…was definitely her friend.

A / N : thank you for reading, i hope u enjoyed!! sorry it took so long to get out, i’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff in my personal life lol. pls leave a like and pls pls reblog if u can!! <3 xx

#tickling #my fic #mha tickle #tickle community #ticklish!bakugou #my hero academia #katsuki bakugou #mina ashido #kyoka jiro #momo yaoyorozu #tsuyu asui #ochako urakara #hagakure tooru #class 1a #tickle fic

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willowcrowned · 4 years

Note

Okay but has anyone considered Obi-wan/Cody/Satien (is that how its spelled?) Regardless, hes got two hands for his two mandalorians, the au where this happend is gotta be top notch ridiculous ye?

Okay thank you so much for giving me a reason to think about this, because this AU contains three things I adore: polyamory, ships where everyone is frighteningly competent, and Obi-Wan

In this AU, Ventress is somehow even less well-adjusted (bear with me). What this means is that, instead of taking a gap year and finding herself after her family is brutally murdered, she decides she needs to get revenge even more now. What does this mean? In the short term, she still becomes a bounty hunter, but in the long run? She’s looking for a Sith lord team up so she can punch Dooku (with a lit lighstaber) in his stupid, elitist, backstabbing face.

So when Maul invades Mandalore, what happens? Ventress comes right along, ready to give her ‘I know we hate each other, but consider teaming up to kill someone we both hate even MORE’ space TED talk. And though Maul may be terribly annoying, a closet theater kid, always in a tits out kind of mood, and denying his gay awakening, he’s not stupid. He knows Sidious is coming for him, sooner rather than later, and he knows he needs more people on his side than his (impressively beefy) brother. He and Savage agree to the team-up.

Cue Obi-Wan showing up, ready to save his sort-of girlfriend, and finding Pre Vizsla, who got REAL sus the second ANOTHER lunatic with a red lightsaber showed up, occupied by capturing Maul, Savage, and Ventress.

Obi-Wan saves Satie, who convinces him to call Cody for a quick evac, and they’re running away, flirting, and arguing over shooting things (as usual), when they spot Ventress, Maul, and Savage, about to be executed.

Oh, they both think, hell no. And then, because they have a stupid moral code that makes them do stupid moral things, they go save them.

A little background on Obi-Wan at this point: He has been fighting in a war for over two years. He is exhausted, close to a breakdown, and seriously questioning his place as a General. Next to him at all times, supporting him, helping him, and saving him, is Cody, who is clever, kinder than he has any right to be, and is, of course, devastatingly handsome when he does his special, unique-to-Cody half-smirk.

Obi-Wan, to put it mildly, is totally gone on him. Obi-Wan also, to put it less mildly, is his commanding officer in an army that Cody can’t leave on pain of death. To do anything— make any advance beyond the flirting that he engages in with most people— would put Cody in a very uncomfortable position, whether or not he returns Obi-Wan’s feelings. So Obi-Wan watches him from afar, hoping against hope that his affections are returned, and that one day, after the end of the war, there will be a future for both of them.

A little more background on Obi-Wan at this point: He has always respected Satine. Their correspondence fell apart just a few months after the end of his mission with Qui-Gon, but he’s been keeping up with her professional accomplishments for years. Over time, the love he bore for her faded, leaving him with good memories and an enduring appreciation for her courage, her cleverness, and her ability to deliver devastating blows to someone’s confidence with a few well-placed words.

Until he sees her again. And yes, alright, he might be angry that she’s choosing to stay out of the war— he knows what good she could do— but he understands her fears, understands the very real possibility that if Mandalore gets embroiled in yet another war, they may never recover. The thing is... well, she’s still very beautiful, especially when he’s yelling at him, and as slowly as his feelings had faded then, they come back in a rush now.

He has very much fallen in love with Cody, and he is very much still in love with Satine.

Cut back to the present— Obi-Wan and Satine rescue the three most annoying Sith in the galaxy and get the heck out of dodge. Cody, because he’s Cody, comes swooping in with a last-minute rescue.

At this point, two things are occurring.

The first: Obi-Wan is stuck in a room with four people he’s periodically flirted with over the past few years, two of whom he’s desperately in love with, one of whom he had a weird encounter with that he can never tell Anakin about when she and him got trapped in a middle school auditorium, and one of whom is definitely wearing no shirt and all that jewelry for a reason. It is Supremely awkward for him.

The second: Every single person in that room, each of which is (barring Savage) deeply attracted to Obi-Wan, is realizing that Obi-Wan is dressed in Mandalorian armor, and while Obi-Wan in three layers of tunics and a cloak is an absolute knockout, Obi-Wan in Mandalorian armor may very well kill them (and he won’t even have to touch his lightsaber to do it).

For one single moment, everything is absolutely still as they all stare at each other.

...And then Maul starts on the ‘I will rend your flesh from your bones, feel my wrath, Kenobarrgh’ spiel, and Satine stuns him. Oh, and Savage. Ventress agrees to watch the two of them if they don’t stun her, and Obi-Wan agrees.

Which then leaves him, Cody, and Satine in a room alone.

A word on Cody at this point: He has been bred from birth to be the perfect soldier— loyal, clever (but not too clever), and rigourously adherent to protocol. Yet, within three months of knowing Obi-Wan, he’s, well, calling him Obi-Wan in his head. Even just that is a gross breach of protocol, but he’s compromised in more ways than one. He talks to Obi-Wan, now, not just as a subordinate, or secondary advisor, but as a friend, as a councilor. Every time Obi-Wan touches him— never for longer than a brief second— his skin lights up under his armor. One time, Obi-Wan fell asleep on him for half an hour, and Cody’s was sure everyone would hear his heartbeat.

What he’s doing— how he feels— he knows it’s putting Obi-Wan in danger, knows that if the Kaminoans had wanted to the clones to be equals to the Jedi, they would have told them so. And look, he knows what the natborns would call the way he’s feeling, but he can’t feel that way. He’s a clone— he’s expendable by definition. Even if, on some off-chance, he makes it out of this war alive, there’s nothing for him. Obi-Wan couldn’t care for him like that, couldn’t care for a man with the same face as millions of others, born and bred only for war. So it doesn’t matter how he feels.

A word on Satine at this point: Obi-Wan, when he left, was a gawkish, bumbling thing of red hair and freckles and the sweetest smile. Obi-Wan, when he came back, was graceful, eloquent, and very, very handsome. He is also infuriating. (This does not change how attracted she is to him in the least.)

She’s not a romantic, really, but she is a realist, and she knows she’s loved him in some form or another for over twenty years. She knows she can’t ask him to return it— knows that asking him to leave the order for her wouldn’t just be for her, it would be for Mandalore, and while the politician in her cries for her to claim him, the person in her who loves Obi-Wan could not abide tearing him away from his culture for her own purposes. She still loves him, deeply and irrevocably, and she knows he still loves her. (Maybe, she thinks, after the war... But she can’t afford to be sentimental).

What do Cody and Satine have in common? They’re both extremely competent, both instinctively ruthless, and they both love Obi-Wan. Oh, and they’re also both immediately jealous of their counterpart.

They know they shouldn’t be. They know it’s not fair, not when Obi-Wan isn’t theirs anyways, but it doesn’t change the surge of envy and dislike that happens when they see Obi-Wan use the soft voice he only uses for the people he likes best on the person across from them.

Cody knows he can never compare to the Duchess, who is beautiful and well-spoken and has held Obi-Wan’s heart since they were fifteen. Satine knows she can never compare to Cody, who has been at Obi-Wan’s side every second since the war’s beginning, who is so much closer in ideals to Obi-Wan than she is, however it might appear on the surface.

Fortunately, they don’t have to deal with it for long, because Ventress comes in with Maul and Savage and proposes a team up, at which point Maul reveals the identity of the Sith Master.

Obi-Wan swears a string of words that Cody and Satine are both very impressed by, and agrees to the team up. Cody and Satine, who are both going to Coruscant anyways, agree to it too.

What ensues is a good deal of scheming, during which Cody and Satine avoid each other like the plague, Obi-Wan is repeatedly told to get some sleep, and Ventress cuffs Maul to a door on multiple nonconsecutive occasions. When they get to Coruscant, Satine has already told Padmé, who has in turn told her group of anti-war (and anti-Palpatine) senators, Cody has given Rex a heads up, and Ventress, Maul, and Savage have been metaphorically sharpening their lightsabers for ages.

(It occurs to Obi-Wan, at one point, after he’s woken up from his enforced 25-hour nap, that Palpatine must have created the clone army for a reason— must have a failsafe in place— and he asks Ahsoka to pull all the data the Kaminoans have on the clones. They find out about the chips, and Ahsoka immediately immediately holds the Kaminoans at laser sword point until they reprogram every order into a command that dissolves the chip.)

The thing about organizing a coup together is that it makes it very hard to avoid each other. Cody and Satine are forced to work together, and, what do you know, it turns out that even with seething jealousy at work, they end up respecting each other. (Note: Obi-Wan comes into a room at one point to see them both bent over a commlink, heads together and hands nearly touching. He short circuits.)

In any case, coup, Palps dies, Republic fixed, whatever.

What’s important is that Obi-Wan gets really, really injured— so much so that he might die. Cody and Satine have dealt with him being dead before (Deception arc anyone?), but this? Watching him slowly fade, knowing there’s nothing they can do about it? That’s worse.

One night, when Anakin has fallen asleep, they have a long conversation in low voices about Obi-Wan, darting from fond to furious to devastated over and over again. If he wakes up— if, not when— they agree to say something to Obi-Wan, to let him know that they love him. It’s a meager consolation after all they’ve been through, but this is the end, in one way or another, and they deserve to be honest with him.

(Cody thinks, privately, that he will be— well, not tossed aside, because Obi-Wan isn’t the sort of person who does that, but there won’t be a place for him by Obi-Wan’s side anymore. Obi-Wan is a Jedi, a negotiator, a peacekeeper, and Cody is a soldier for a now-ended war. He is already steeling himself to accept Obi-Wan’s polite rejection with equanimity, to not cause more pain to the man. (It will be easy, he knows, to wish him every peace, every happiness. Cody has only ever wanted to see Obi-Wan happy. This does not mean it will not be painful.) Obi-Wan said once that he would have left the Order for Satine if she’d asked— she will ask, now, and Cody knows Obi-Wan will leave, can see the love written in his face, in his spine, in his hands, whenever he is around her. Satine will ask, and Obi-Wan will leave, and Cody will be left to look for a place in this new galaxy.)

(Satine thinks, privately, that Obi-Wan’s feelings for her must be long faded, replaced by his obvious ones for Cody. Obi-Wan is a warrior, a Knight, and Satine is a diplomat who foreswore violence long ago. She is already steeling herself to accept his rejection with grace. (It will be easy, she knows, to wish him well. She has only ever wanted good things for him. This does not mean it will not be painful.) He said once that he would have left the Order for her if she’d asked, and whatever he’d felt then for her pales to what he feels now for Cody. Cody will ask, and Obi-Wan will leave, and Satine will rule as she always has.)

And then Obi-Wan wakes up.

Cody and Satine let him have his long talk with Anakin first, partially because they know how important it is to him, partially because Anakin wouldn’t let them if they wanted to, and partially because they are dreading their own coming conversation. When Anakin has finished, and Obi-Wan is asleep again, they go in, hand-in-hand, and wait for him to wake up.

When he does wake up, he sees them holding hands and immediately comes to several wrong conclusions. Wrong Conclusion A: Cody and Satine are in love. Wrong Conclusion B: Cody and Satine are going to try to break the news that they’re in love to him gently. Wrong Conclusion C: This conversation is about to break his heart.

Then they speak.

At the end of it, Obi-Wan has some Thoughts. Thought One: alkdfjhskhsgjljlbhkgkjbjvnab,gkjvn;qlerghjsv?????!!!!fwbfwlkrehwogwhuwrijvhfdbhkf!!!! Thought Two: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Thought Three: Oh, we’re all idiots. Fantastic.

He then passes out, because being on the edge of death for days and then having a shock to your system this big tends to do that to you.

When he wakes up, he is mildly more coherent. Then he sees that Satine and Cody are asleep on each other, and the coherence is lost, but he does manage to wake them up and get across three things:

Thing One: He is desperately in love with them both.

Thing Two: He’s leaving the Order for a multitude of reasons, but they are a Significant Bonus.

Thing Three: He would very much like if they both held his hand while he falls back asleep.

Cody takes Obi-Wan’s right hand, Satine takes Obi-Wan’s left hand, and the three of them stay like that, fingers intertwined, for a long, long, while.

#this is. Long #obi wan DOES have two hands #i have not checked this for grammar mistakes #asks #missstar489 #obi wan has two hands au #codywan #obitine #codyobitine #star wars #star wars au #obi wan kenobi #satine kryze #commander cody #willow's aus #god this is 2.4k #no wonder it took me so long #me: I'll just reply to this ask real quick :)#me an hour later: oh. oh no

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linkspooky · 4 years

Note

HI! I love reading your metas! They're really insightful and they make me appreciate series I love a heck of a lot more. Especially JJK and MHA. Could you talk about what some of the characters cursed techniques may represent in the story, im super curious on what you could say on that.

Sure, but I’ll just do the main four characters for now because that’s easier. I’m also going to simplify the cursed techniques because that’s easier to show how they’re symbolic in story. Gojo’s two main techniques are “the infinity” and “unlimited void”. They each serve as symbolism for the central flaws of his character.

The infinity is something which makes it impossible for any techniques to reach Satoru. It makes him untouchable at all times.What is Satoru Gojo’s greatest difficult as a character? It’s getting closer to other people.

Gojo has it in his head that the only person who can stand next to him is someone equally as strong as he is. Which is why he allowed Geto in for a long time, until Gojo became “the strongest” alone. In the year after that moment, Gojo and Geto grew further and further apart because Gojo was now strong enough to handle every mission on his own. When Geto just leaves, Gojo is shocked that he can’t reach him. Gojo is an untouchable person, and, someone unable to reach the person he truly cares about in time. He can’t touch Geto, at least not in a way that matters, not in a way that would save him.

This is also something Kamo Sr. complains about later, specifically referring to this scene. For Gojo, other people will only ever be something that gets in his way, specifically because of his cursed technique.

Gojo’s second technique is the unlimited void. He specifically says this to Jogo when using it against him for the first time.

Here’s thes skinny, the real irony here is he’s talking about himself. Gojo is someone capable of anything, and yet he’s incapable of affecting the world in the way he wants. He wants political reform,but the way to do that is to bow your head and play politics, the two things Gojo is terrible at.

Gojo is someone who can do anything, and yet at the same time fails at everything he sets out to achieve. His great power doesn’t really enable him to do anything he wants, because he’s just one person like everybody else in the world. He could kill all the higher ups but that wouldn’t change things. Gojo is bad at politics so, when he fails in Shibuya, he’s the one who ends up exiled and blamed for letting himself get sealed by the elders who hold all the true power in the situation.

His domain is the perfect metaphor for his character, someone who simultaneously holds all the power and is ultimately powerless.

These other ones are going to be a little bit quicker because we haven’t gotten as many details on their cursed techniques. There’s some serious foiling going on with Yuji and Megumi’s cursed techniques. Yuji and Megumi both revolve around the concept of the shadow. The shadow is the other self, or the repressed self. Both of these characters deal with a lot of themes of repression.

It’s commented several times that Megumi has way more potential, having inherited what is most likely the most powerful technique in the Zenin arsenal in the ten shadows. However, at the same time he’s someone who ignores his own potential my repressing himself.

Megumi is someone who continually represses himself by saying that there’s no way he could ever be as strong as Gojo. He pretends to be weaker than he really is. However, repressing himself is what makes his shadow grow even more powerful.

Megumi and Yuji are both characters who are built around the idea of repressing themselves until they go nuts. They’re both embodying this jungian idea of the other self, the repressed shadow. They both, flip, for lack of a better term.

Megumi is all silent brooding until he goes crazy with power. We don’t know what Yuji’s technique is, but not only does he show the same behavior, all smiles on the surface until he flips out into a violent rage. Yuji also specifically has two sides to himself. The other side is Sukuna, a violent murderer. We’re also shown gradually, over the course of the story, the two sides coming closer to one another.

Both Megumi and Sukuna repress themselves, so their selves are split. Megumi has a shadow based technique, as a metaphor for his true potential being much, much more than he says it is. Sukuna being the flip side of Yuji, shows how Yuji divides himself betwee his “violent self” and his “friendly, nice guy” normal self that he uses mainly to interact with others. Megumi suppresses his potential, Yuji his violent side.

Nobara’s main technique is using pins into a straw doll, to hurt others in the same area on their bodies. (Simplifying, for the sake of time). Rsonance inflicts pain on another person using an effigy, like a hair, or blood, connected to an avatar like the straw doll, or even in some cases her own body like in Origin of Obedience.

It’s actually a pretty common place way to curse others in japan, like you could buy a doll, tie someone’s hair to it, and then stick pins in it. It’s like ouji boards are for us, it’s like a curse that’s in the common popular knowledge. A teen girl might try to curse someone if their boyfriend cheats on them. It’s like how people in america can have witchcraft phases when they’re teenagers (not talking about like, actual practicing wiccans and whatnot). There’s also a commonly used phrase in japan, “When you’re cursing someone prepare to dig two graves.” It means, that in the decision to curse someone else, the curse might rebound and affect yourself too. Like, how revenge won’t just hurt the person you want to avenge yourself on, you might end up hurting somebody else, or even yourself in the process.

Not only does Nobara physically experience this once, she curses herself using resonance in order to harm somebody else by using her body as the straw doll proxy. Nobara’s central character trait is her complete lack of sympathy for other people.

If you try to get Nobara to sympathize, her usual response is “I don’t care.” Nobara being low empathy doesn’t mean she’s a good or bad person, it’s just a facet of who she is. However, she is a very self righteous person. Which factors into her cursed technique, she’s the kind of person who could curse, inflict pain on another, without thinking about how it might rebound and affect her or someone else. Which is exactly what the straw doll proxy does, it inflicts pain, one nail at a time. Nobara doesn’t like it when good people get hurt, same as Yuji, same as Megumi, but when she sees herself in the right she has no problem at all punishing what she calls a “bad” person.

#Anonymous #jjk meta #metasks #jujutsu kaisen meta #cursed techniques #cursed technique #nobara kugisaki #satoru gojo #itadori yuji #megumi fushigoro

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sour-n-salty-citrus · 3 years

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Do you like the backstory for rick? Idk I kinda preferred it when Rick's past was a complete mystery and i dont really care about diane at all. I didn't expect the writers to actually write a canon for him either but I guess they realised how much the audience wanted one for him

Ajdjdjeidjs ack, I'll be honest I'm not... keen on it.

(Bolly-quinn actually puts it into words well how I feel about Rick's backstory here)

I liked the mystery element of his backstory! I know it's always exciting to have things in canon, but like... it being open to interpretation was something I always appreciated.

And... ugh, hoo boy. I'm torn. I mean, I love that Rick is completely different from what dudebros and like- "high iq" redditors present him as. He's a man who loved his wife and daughter, loved them so much he would rather give up travelling the multiverse, becoming a genius scientist, just to stay with them. He was vulnerable, soft, and caring. He wasn't nihilistic and reckless and selfish and some "alpha male who wouldn't let anything tie him down". He was ridiculously romantic, optimistic, sweet and loving, and maybe even kind.

And I don't give a shit.

I don't! I don't care. This might sound incredibly cruel and unfair, but I don't care that Rick lost his family.

Ok- let me explain.

I'm... disappointed. I'm disappointed that losing Beth and Diane is all it was that made Rick into the complete and utter monster he is today (or the start of the series anyway). I don't mean to undermine his loss and grief- at all! It's just... for him to go on a (seemingly decades long) killing spree, slaughtering any version of himself he seemed to come across... christ. Maybe in his eyes, they were all as bad as that One. Which is understandable. I'm very lucky to have not experienced that kind of loss. I haven't had to Grieve the way Rick did. Maybe I just don't get it, because I've never felt it. That's fair.

It just felt... god, I don't want to say excessive. I know, people process grief in different ways, and for some it manifests in unhealthy ways, some lash out at the world, fixate on trying to find an explanation, to find justice, etc. And I like how Rick was an absolute inconsolable wreck at first. Something like that, it needs time to process and overcome before you can start moving again.

I just- I don't know. Something rubbed me the wrong way about it all.

It's like- it's not that I wanted Rick to have spent all that time partying or something. It's just- argh, i don't know! Maybe someone else can put it into better words lol.

I hate that he immediately jumped into not giving a single shit about other people (save birdperson and squanchy!). Like- when he blew up those aliens who gave him whatever it was he needed. Ah- ok, they probably weren't exactly innocent or anything, but still. I think it was just I felt if we ever saw Rick's backstory, I'd want it to be a slow decline into who he is, show him gradually losing so much of his morality and becoming so jaded. Idk i guess i just wanted it to be like, a series of significant (and lesser but still important) events that lead to him going down that path rather than- this ONE thing that just apparently completely ruined him? And yeah ik ik it was a BIG thing, but like- i guess i was expecting.... more? Maybe something like idk Rick trying to save all the other Beths and Dianes and failing, idk, just... something more.

I actually would have preferred it if Diane lived. I dont know, I just- man I really hate the dead wife/daughter turns ordinary man into callous asshole trope. I agree, it's hard to really care all that much for Diane, and for a while I couldn't understand why. I thought, idk, is it internalised misogyny? Do I just not like Diane because I want to ship Rick with someone else?

I think I get it now. Diane, for all her significance in Rick's backstory, just... isn't a character. She's just- the motivation Rick needed to kick off the story. You could replace her with literally anybody else Rick could have loved and it wouldn't feel any different. She just doesn't feel special. She's no more unique than any other Dead Wife. We get nothing, literally nothing of her. I kept thinking, why? Why does this just not hit that hard? Rick's had emotional moments with Beth, with Birdperson, even with Summer and Jerry. And then I got it- it doesn't feel earned. It felt like how you feel when you see side characters or extras in the background of an action movie die. Maybe some faint sadness, but mainly nothing. We as an audience get nothing from Diane, we don't know her, don't get to see how she matters to Rick, don't get to see her relationship with Rick, we don't get any chance to connect with her character. So when she dies and Rick gets his montage of seeking revenge, it doesn't feel earned. It feels more like I'm being told about how this guy suffered than really seeing it (which i believe, may have been the writers intention actually...). It's kind of like a feeling of "damn that sucks bro... and?". There's no real heavy emotional response that I could really get from it...

I actually would have preferred if Rick and Diane broke up, divorced. I feel like that would offer so much more for them BOTH as chatacters. Instead of their relationship being happy and sunshine and rainbows until a Big Bad came in and took that away, I'd prefer it if Rick's downfall was just... his fault. (Actually His fault.) If his marriage fell apart because he couldn't make it work. If he estranged his daughter because he couldn't properly handle fatherhood, despite loving her. If he was flawed, terribly flawed, because of his own misjudgement and shortcomings. I guess my biggest problem, is that this is presented as someone having the perfect life, which is then taken away as a result of someone Else. It's too easy to then say, oh, it's not his fault he's like that! He had his heart broken, his life ruined! He lost himself in a revenge spree, poor thing... I'd have rathered if it was just a little bit more... realistic? If Rick had been the root cause of his own problems. If he'd experienced tragedy, but also been the cause of much more. I just wish there'd been more of a balance? It just felt so rushed. And not because of the montage- it just like Rick became completely apathetic way too fast. I just hate hate HATE the "he was a good guy with the perfect little life until tragedy struck and he was never the same". Rick never made the effort to improve his life, to do better, to be better. He's actively a cruel, callous, unkind person (complex, yes, but these are traits no one can deny he harbours). He's done far worse than was done to him, and that will never be justifiable to me... it just all feels so very cliche and out of place, and out of everything, this was the one thing I had hoped they wouldn't do.

I think the writers are aware of this, strangely enough. I mean, Rick even calls it his "crybaby backstory". I think they didn't want to leave it open any longer, and just got it out of the way. I don't think they really want to elaborate on it anymore. From what I predict, they want to focus on the here and now of Rick (and Morty, haha), and the development of who Rick is NOW, instead of who he WAS. I think they kind of just went, here's your gut-punch, your tragic backstory, now leave it alone. Diane is dead, Rick had a hard past, the series is about moving on and change. Now can we PLEASE get back to the sci-fi shenanigans?

(There was something I LOVED about the backstory though, and that was the soundtrack! Like the music for the Battle of Bloodridge, it fucking SLAPPPEDDDD. I can't imagine making synthwave emotional, but it actually kind of worked! The swell of the music actually did a lot more for getting a reaction out of me than the content lmaooo. It kind of reminded me of Kurzegast's "optimistic nihilism" for some reason... I actually liked the Bloodridge track so much, it got me a little into synthwave, which i never listened to before! The music producers this season have just KILLED IT!)

#citrus speaks #long #ajdjsjdhaj im sorry i just have so many Thoughts on this #as critical as it sounds i promise i dont hate it that much #rant #is this a rant? it sounds like one akdnaja #RaM #Rick and Morty spoilers #rick and morty #RaM S5 finale

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nitrateglow · 4 years

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Favorite films discovered in 2020

Well, this year sucked. I did see some good movies though. Some even made after I was born!

Perfect Blue (dir. Satoshi Kon, 1997)

I watch a lot of thrillers and horror movies, but precious few actually unsettle me in any lasting way. This cannot be said of Perfect Blue, which gave me one of the most visceral cinematic experiences of my life. Beyond the brief flashes of bloodletting (you will never look at a screwdriver the same way again), the scariest thing about Perfect Blue might be how the protagonist has both her life and her sense of self threatened by the villains. The movie’s prescience regarding public persona is also incredibly eerie, especially in our age of social media. While anime is seen as a very niche interest (albeit one that has become more mainstream in recent years), I would highly recommend this movie to thriller fans, whether they typically watch anime or not. It’s right up there with the best of Hitchcock or De Palma.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (dir. Sergio Leone, 1966)

Nothing is better than when an iconic movie lives up to the hype. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef play off of one another perfectly. I was impressed by Wallach as Tuco in particular: his character initially seems like a one-dimensional greedy criminal, but the performance is packed with wonderful moments of humanity. Do I really need to say anything about the direction? Or about the wonderful storyline, which takes on an almost mythic feel in its grandeur? Or that soundtrack?

Die Niebelungen (both movies) (dir. Fritz Lang, 1924)

I did NOT expect to love these movies as much as I did. That they would be dazzlingly gorgeous I never doubted: the medieval world of the story is brought to vivid life through the geometrical mise en scene and detailed costuming. However, the plot itself is so, so riveting, never losing steam over the course of the four hours it takes to watch both movies. The first half is heroic fantasy; the second half involves a revenge plot of almost Shakespearean proportions. This might actually be my favorite silent Fritz Lang movie now.

Muppet Treasure Island (dir. Brian Henson, 1996)

I understand that people have different tastes and all, but how does this movie have such a mixed reception? It’s absolutely hilarious. How could anybody get through the scene with “THA BLACK SPOT AGGHHHHHHH” and not declare this a masterpiece of comedy? And I risk being excommunicated from the Muppet fandom for saying it, but I like this one more than The Great Muppet Caper. It’s probably now my second favorite Muppet movie.

Belle de Jour (dir. Luis Bunuel, 1967)

I confess I’m not terribly fond of “but was it real???” movies. They tend to feel gimmicky more often than not. Belle de Jour is an exception. This is about more than a repressed housewife getting her kicks working as a daytime prostitute. The film delves into victim blaming, trauma, class, and identity-- sure, this sounds academic and dry when I put it that way, but what I’m trying to say is that these are very complicated characters and the blurring of fantasy and reality becomes thought-provoking rather than trite due to that complexity.

Secondhand Lions (dir. Tim McCanlies, 2003)

The term “family movie” is often used as a synonym for “children’s movie.” However, there is an important distinction: children’s movies only appeal to kids, while family movies retain their appeal as one grows up. Secondhand Lions is perhaps a perfect family movie, with a great deal more nuance than one might expect regarding the need for storytelling and its purpose in creating meaning for one’s life. It’s also amazingly cast: Haley Joel Osment is excellent as the juvenile lead, and Michael Caine and Robert Duvall steal the show as Osment’s eccentric uncles.

The Pawnbroker (dir. Sidney Lumet, 1964)

Controversial in its day for depicting frontal nudity, The Pawnbroker shocks today for different reasons. As the top review of the film on IMDB says, we’re used to victims of great atrocities being presented as sympathetic, good people in fiction. Here, Rod Steiger’s Sol Nazerman subverts such a trope: his suffering at the hands of the Nazis has made him a hard, closed-off person, dismissive of his second wife (herself also a survivor of the Holocaust), cold to his friendly assistant, and bitter towards himself. The movie follows Nazerman’s postwar life, vividly presenting his inner pain in a way that is almost too much to bear. Gotta say, Steiger gives one of the best performances I have ever seen in a movie here: he’s so three-dimensional and complex. The emotions on his face are registered with Falconetti-level brilliance.

The Apartment (dir. Billy Wilder, 1960)

While not the most depressing Christmas movie ever, The Apartment certainly puts a good injection of cynicism into the season. I have rarely seen a movie so adept at blending comedy, romance, and satire without feeling tone-deaf. There are a lot of things to praise about The Apartment, but I want to give a special shoutout to the dialogue. “Witty” dialogue that sounds natural is hard to come by-- so often, it just feels smart-assy and strained. Not here.

Anatomy of a Murder (dir. Otto Preminger, 1959)

I’m not big into courtroom dramas, but Anatomy of a Murder is a big exception. Its morally ambiguous characters elevate it from being a mere “whodunit” (or I guess in the case of this movie, “whydunit”), because if there’s something you’re not going to get with this movie, it’s a clear answer as to what happened on the night of the crime. Jimmy Stewart gives one of his least characteristic performances as the cynical lawyer, and is absolutely brilliant.

Oldboy (dir. Park Chan-Wook, 2003)

Oldboy reminded me a great deal of John Webster’s 17th century tragedy The Duchess of Malfi. Both are gruesome, frightening, and heartbreaking works of art, straddling the line between sensationalism and intelligence, proving the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s both entertaining and difficult to watch. The thought of revisiting it terrifies me but I feel there is so much more to appreciate about the sheer craft on display.

Family Plot (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1976)

Family Plot is an enjoyable comedy; you guys are just mean. I know in an ideal world, Hitchcock’s swan song would be a great thriller masterpiece in the vein of Vertigo or Psycho. Family Plot is instead a silly send-up of Hitchcock’s favorite tropes, lampooning everything from the dangerous blonde archetype (with not one but two characters) to complicated MacGuffin plots. You’ll probably demand my film buff card be revoked for my opinion, but to hell with it-- this is my favorite of Hitchcock’s post-Psycho movies.

My Best Girl (dir. Sam Taylor, 1927)

Mary Pickford’s farewell to silent film also happens to be among her best movies. It’s a simple, charming romantic comedy starring her future husband, Charles “Buddy” Rogers. Pickford also gets to play an adult character here, rather than the little girl parts her public demanded she essay even well into her thirties. She and Rogers are sweet together without being diabetes-inducing, and the comedy is often laugh out loud funny. It even mocks a few tropes that anyone who watches enough old movies will recognize and probably dislike-- such as “break his heart to save him!!” (my personal most loathed 1920s/1930s trope).

Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2019)

This feels like such a zeitgeist movie. It’s about the gap between the rich and the poor, it’s ironic, it’s depressing, it’s unpredictable as hell. I don’t like terms like “modern classic,” because by its very definition, a classic can only be deemed as such after a long passage of time, but I have a good feeling Parasite will be considered one of the definitive films of the 2010s in the years to come.

Indiscreet (dir. Stanley Donen, 1958)

Indiscreet often gets criticized for not being Notorious more or less, which is a shame. It’s not SUPPOSED to be-- it’s cinematic souffle and both Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant elevate that light material with their perfect chemistry and comedic timing. It’s also refreshing to see a rom-com with characters over 40 as the leads-- and the movie does not try to make them seem younger or less mature, making the zany moments all the more hilarious. It’s worth seeing for Cary Grant’s jig (picture above) alone.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (dir. Joseph Sargent, 1974)

This movie embodies so much of what I love about 70s cinema: it’s gritty, irreverent, and hard-hitting. It’s both hilarious and suspenseful-- I was tense all throughout the run time. I heard there was a remake and it just seems... so, so pointless when you already have this gem perfect as it is.

They All Laughed (dir. Peter Bogdonavich, 1981)

Bogdonavich’s lesser known homage to 1930s screwball comedy is also a weirdly autumnal movie. Among the last gasps of the New Hollywood movement, it is also marks the final time Audrey Hepburn would star in a theatrical release. The gentle comedy, excellent ensemble cast (John Ritter is the standout), and the mature but short-lived romance between Hepburn and Ben Gazarra’s characters make this a memorably bittersweet gem.

The Palm Beach Story (dir. Preston Sturges, 1942)

Absolutely hilarious. I was watching this with my parents in the room. My mom tends to like old movies while my dad doesn’t, but both of them were laughing aloud at this one. Not much else to say about it, other than I love Joel McCrea the more movies I see him in-- though it’s weird seeing him in comedies since I’m so used to him as a back-breaking man on the edge in The Most Dangerous Game!

Nothing Sacred (dir. William Wellman, 1937)

I tend to associate William Wellman with the pre-code era, so I’ve tried delving more into his post-code work. Nothing Sacred is easily my favorite of those films thus far, mainly for Carole Lombard but also because the story still feels pretty fresh due to the jabs it takes at celebrity worship and moral hypocrisy. For a satire, it’s still very warm towards its characters, even when they’re misbehaving or deluding themselves, so it’s oddly a feel-good film too.

Applause (dir. Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)

I love watching early sound movies, but my inner history nerd tends to enjoy them more than the part of me that, well, craves good, well-made movies. Most early sound films are pure awkward, but there’s always an exception and Applause is one of them. While the plot’s backstage melodrama is nothing special, the way the story is told is super sophisticated and expressive for this period of cinema history, and Helen Morgan makes the figure of the discarded burlesque queen seem truly human and tragic rather than merely sentimental.

Topaz (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1969)

Another late Hitchcock everyone but me seems to hate. After suffering through Torn Curtain, I expected Hitchcock’s other cold war thriller was going to be dull as dishwater, but instead I found an understated espionage movie standing in stark contrast to the more popular spy movies of the period. It’ll never be top Hitchcock, of course-- still it was stylish and enjoyable, with some truly haunting moments. I think it deserves more appreciation than it’s been given.

What were your favorite cinematic discoveries in 2020?

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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B2:S - Chapter 3

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.

Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.

When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.

Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!

Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?

Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!

But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.

There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!

Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.

Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.

Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?

Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.

Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.

But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!

Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.

And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.

But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!

Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.

When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.

Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?

LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY

This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)

I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #ToX spoilers #gloaming glade spoilers #lujanne #callum #rayla #ezran #tdp zym #soren #tdp claudia #tdp bait

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sybilmarlowe · 3 years

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Since I joined the One Piece fandom, I was asked different times which character I ship with Doffy the most. Given I'm usually into self insert things, I'd firstly go with "my OC, of course 😛"... But let's talk about what I think of Doffy's most famous ships 😁

DISCLAIMER: all of what follows is TOTALLY my own opinion, don't want to judge anyone who thinks differently than me. OP is a fictional world made of fictional characters and anyone can ship whoever they likes!

So, here's the ships:

Doffy x Viola

Ok, let's start with what many people's don't want to hear: this ship is canon. Yeah. Like it or not, it's a matter of fact.

I honestly like them together, they're a weird couple but somehow they work. I like to imagine how could have been the dynamic between the two of them, and I'm more than sure there was nothing abusive from Doffy's side. I mean, sexually at least. I agree with the fact destroying one's whole life and Country is pretty abusive, but I'm quite sure the feelings between Doffy and Viola have been real for a while. Maybe the concept could sound trivial, but no one chooses who to love and Doffy has many characteristics which may definitely make a person fall for him. Not totally sure HE has ever truly loved her, but I like to think so. After all he does have a weak side and Viola might have been one of the few (even thanks to her powers) who managed to see it and knowing him deeply. This surely strenghtened their bond and it might have finally resulted in love...

My vote is a 8/10

Doffy x Cora

This is incest. I know. And it's indeed problematic and controversial. Irl a thing like this isn't exactly acceptable.

BUT as I told before, OP is pure fiction, so... I have to say quite like them tbh. In my opinion, as long as a relationship is adult and consensual there's nothing deeply wrong in it IN FICTIONAL WORLDS. (I know, there are fanfictions in which their relationship is abusive, but since we’re talking about headcanons here I like to think it’s not). Have you watcher GoT? Cersei and Jamie were one of the best written pairings in the whole series, the same goes for this situation imo, we have all the conditions to make this ship a sensible one.

They’re a realistic couple cause they went through a lot of difficulties together and, even if they chose different paths of life, their bond is very very deep. Their love is a desperate one, like “you’re the only one in this world I can REALLY trust”. This from both sides. The difference is that Cora is a pure person who just want to love and being loved while Doffy... well, he’s not exactly mentally healthy and he’s like “all or nothing”.

A lot of angst and stuff, of course, for this reason my vote is 7/10

Doffy x Crocodile

I’m sure someone out there is going to want my head for what I’m about to write, the DoffyxCroco fandom is huge after all... but...

I don’t like this ship at all.

Given one can ship two people with no reason or just because they wear matching colours and look good in fanarts (?) imo DoffyxCrocodile has no sense. They interact, yeah, but nothing about their dialogues or shared scenes makes me thing they could be a good couple. Even that most famous encounter at Marineford which made fanpeople scream... They looked just like contenders who quite disliked eachother, nothing less and nothing more :/ and Doffy saying “I’m jelous!” just gave me the same vibes of a childish sacrastic way to piss off a person, pretty much like the stupid classic “you fight like a girl!”.

They’re aesthetically beautiful, nothing to say, they’re both among the most handsome characters in OP and have a similar story, so I’m not saying I don’t understand the reasons of those who ship them... Just... I want ships to be stronger and more credible than this :/

6/10 just because they look good in fanarts XD

Doffy x Luffy

This is pretty diffused, but..... why.

I mean... what happened between the two of them which could have made them fall for eachother?? D: Have you ever tried to date a person after trying GearFourthPunch them out of the troposphere? °A° (Also, Luffy could LITERALLY be Doffy’s son. This is weird. Not the weirdest thing, but still.)

Srsly... If you like them together I ask you to tell me which dynamics are there behind this ship. Cause I really can’t see WHERE do you see even a little trace of feelings between the two of them D:

Sorry D:

3/10

Doffy x Law

Gods, yes. YES.

This ship HELLA works from every single point of view. Doffy and Law are two of the most (if not THE MOST) well written characters in the whole series. They have a complete and complex background, a deep and multifaceted personality and, above all, an extremely strong bond.

Ship them or not, they’re literally OBSESSED by eachother for different reasons.

Law is the ONLY man Doffy considers almost his equal, he thinks he’s like the only person worth being his right hand man and I’m quite sure he’s galvanized by the idea Law is the one who’s gonna sacrifice his life to make him immortal. Like... a great life to complete an even greater one? This is insane. And yet beautiful.

On the other hand, Law’s thoughts have been completely centred on taking revenge on Doffy for 10 years. Like, he was literally obsessed by that man, consumed by the hate he felt for him which obscured anything else, even his maniacal good sense in the end.

Turning this all into a tragic and tormented love story is as easy as drinking water. A long-term reciprocal hate mixed with a deep admiration for eachother (even from Law’s side, after all Doffy was the one who thaught him almost... everything?) which slowly turns into something terribly different. Imagine the tension between two arch enemies who have to admit their hate melted into passion... and yet still have this latent feeling of wanting the other’s death.......

Don’t know what’s your opinion about this kind of stories, but for me, the self proclaimed Queen of Angst, in love with the most tragical Theatre and Literature... THIS IS GOOD STUFF.

10/10 HANDS DOWN.

Doffy x Trebol

What tHE ACTUAL F***K.

-10/10

Doffy x Bellamy

Please, no.

Alright, I hate Bellamy. He’s exactly the kind of character I find terribly pathetic and incomplete. He barely has a personality of his own, he’s a wild fanboy with nothing original (not like Barto. Barto is the best fanboy ever. All my love goes to Barto.).

Now, he spent all his 34 years of life trying to... imitate Doffy? And yet he doesn’t even manage to truly understand him. So he’s worse than a fanboy, he’s attracted to the idealization of a man who’s not even half of the things he expects him to be. This is sad. Really sad. And call me a sadist, he deserved being humiliated imo. Maybe this helped him open his eyes and getting a life. Seriously.

It goes without saying I totally can’t see how a relationship between him and Doffy could work. Doffy despises him, the only kind of plot this thing could have is a quite abusive one :/ and since I deeply dislike abuse.... no. This ship is totally out of question.

0/10

Doffy x Monet

This is another ship which barely touches the canon. I sincerely think the "love" between the two of them is pretty much unilateral. Doffy respects Monet, he deeply appreciates her abilities, intelligence and loyalty, she's clearly among his closest subordinates, but... He doesn't love her in a romantic way. As for Monet, she's totally in love with him, she'd kill and die for him. And in fact that's what she does in the end.

Monet is not among my fav characters, but I still feel quite sorry for how things went for her. She gave her everything away for a helpless, almost obsessive, love.

If something between the two of them really happened for real, I think it was merely physical.

For this reason, tough I have to admit they'd actually look beautiful together, I can't ship them :/

5/10

Doffy x Vergo

Ok, I dislike Vergo. He's quite a flat character imo, don't even like his design 😅 I don't ship him with Doffy for this simple reason, but being honest they could perfectly work as a couple.

Vergo was among Doffy's very first "real friends", he was among those who were considered a family by him and, most importantly, he was the only one around his same age. They literally grew up together, likely supporting each other, and I wouldn't be honest if I said this has no chance to be a good assumptipn for a love story. A quite simple and basic one, if you want, but it's the most realistic kind of bond two people can make.

Still not shipping them, my vote is a honest 7/10.

Guess that's all?

Let me know what do you think about this 😆 do you agree with my votes? Or there are some points you totally disagree with?

Well, anyways. I had fun 😂

#doflamingo headcanons #doflamingo #donquixote doflamingo #one piece #one piece hc

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